[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2681 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2681

    To provide for safe equestrian helmets, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 26, 2002

 Mr. Dodd (for himself and Mr. Chafee) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To provide for safe equestrian helmets, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Christen O'Donnell Equestrian Helmet 
Safety Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR EQUESTRIAN HELMETS.

    (a) In General.--Equestrian helmets manufactured 9 months or more 
after the date of the enactment of this Act shall confirm to--
            (1) the interim standard specified in subsection (b), 
        pending the establishment of a final standard pursuant to 
        subsection (c); and
            (2) the final standard, once it has been established 
        pursuant to subsection (c).
    (b) Interim Standard.--The interim standard is the American Society 
for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard designated as F 1163.
    (c) Final Standard.--
            (1) Requirement.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety 
        Commission shall begin a proceeding under section 553 of title 
        5, United States Code, to--
                    (A) review the requirements of the interim standard 
                specified in subsection (b) and established a final 
                standard based on such requirements;
                    (B) include in the final standard a provision to 
                protect against the risk of helmets coming off the 
                heads of equestrian riders;
                    (C) include in the final standard provisions that 
                address the risk of injury to children; and
                    (D) include any additional provisions that the 
                Commission considers appropriate.
            (2) Inapplicability of certain laws.--Sections 7, 9, and 
        30(d) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2056, 2058, 
        2079(d)) shall not apply to the proceeding under this 
        subsection, and section 11 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2060) shall 
        not apply with respect to any standard issued under such 
        proceeding.
            (3) Effective date.--The final standard shall take effect 1 
        year after the date it is issued.
    (d) Failure To Meet Standards.--
            (1) Failure to meet interim standard.--Until the final 
        standard takes effect, an equestrian helmet that does not 
        conform to the interim standard as required under subsection 
        (a)(1) shall be considered in violation of a consumer product 
        safety standard promulgated under the Consumer Product Safety 
        Act.
            (2) Status of final standard.--The final standard developed 
        under subsection (c) shall be considered a consumer product 
        safety standard promulgated under the Consumer Product Safety 
        Act.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is hereby authorized to 
be appropriated for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to carry out 
activities under this section, $700,000 for fiscal year 2003, with the 
amount to remain available until expended.
    (f) Equestrian Helmet Defined.--In this section, the term 
``equestrian helmet'' means a hard-shell head covering intended to be 
worn while participating in an equestrian event or activity.
                                 <all>