[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 584 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 584

 To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a rule 
 that requires manufacturers of certain consumer products to establish 
  and maintain a system for providing notification of recalls of such 
        products to consumers who first purchase such a product.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 10, 2003

 Ms. Landrieu introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a rule 
 that requires manufacturers of certain consumer products to establish 
  and maintain a system for providing notification of recalls of such 
        products to consumers who first purchase such a product.

    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 ``Product Safety Notification and 
Recall Effectiveness Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Consumer Product Safety Commission conducts 
        approximately 300 recalls of hazardous, dangerous, and 
        defective consumer products each year.
            (2) In developing comprehensive corrective action plans 
        with recalling companies, the Consumer Product Safety 
        Commission staff greatly relies upon the media and retailers to 
        alert consumers to the dangers of unsafe consumer products, 
        because the manufacturers do not generally possess contact 
        information regarding the purchasing consumers. Based upon 
        information received from companies maintaining customer 
        registration lists, such contact information is known for 
        generally less than 7 percent of the total consumer products 
        produced and distributed.
            (3) The Consumer Product Safety Commission staff has found 
        that most consumers do not return purchaser identification 
        cards because of requests for marketing and personal 
        information on the cards, and the likelihood of receiving 
        unsolicited marketing materials.
            (4) The Consumer Product Safety Commission staff has 
        conducted research demonstrating that direct consumer contact 
        is one of the most effective ways of motivating consumer 
        response to a consumer product recall.
            (5) Companies that maintain consumer product purchase data, 
        such as product registration cards, warranty cards, and rebate 
        cards, are able to effectively notify consumers of a consumer 
        product recall.
            (6) The Consumer Product Safety Commission staff has found 
        that a consumer product safety owner card, without marketing 
        questions or requests for personal information, that 
        accompanied products such as small household appliances and 
        juvenile products would increase consumer participation and 
        information necessary for direct notification in consumer 
        product recalls.
            (7) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has, 
        since March 1993, required similar simplified, marketing-free 
        product registration cards on child safety seats used in motor 
        vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
        has found this requirement has increased recall compliance 
        rates.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to reduce the number of 
deaths and injuries from defective and hazardous consumer products 
through improved recall effectiveness, by--
            (1) requiring the Consumer Product Safety Commission to 
        promulgate a rule to require manufacturers of juvenile 
        products, small household appliances, and certain other 
        consumer products, to include a simplified product safety owner 
        card with those consumer products at the time of original 
        purchase by consumers, or develop effective electronic 
        registration of the first purchasers of such products, to 
        develop a customer database for the purpose of notifying 
        consumers about recalls of those products; and
            (2) encouraging manufacturers, private labelers, retailers, 
        and others to use creativity and innovation to create and 
        maintain effective methods of notifying consumers in the event 
        of a consumer product recall.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Terms defined in consumer product safety act.--The 
        definitions set forth in section 3 of the Consumer Product 
        Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052) shall apply to this Act.
            (2) Covered consumer product.--The term ``covered consumer 
        product'' means--
                    (A) a juvenile product;
                    (B) a small household appliance; and
                    (C) such other consumer product as the Commission 
                considers appropriate for achieving the purpose of this 
                Act.
            (3) Juvenile product.--The term ``juvenile product''--
                    (A) means a consumer product intended for use, or 
                that may be reasonably expected to be used, by children 
                under the age of 5 years; and
                    (B) includes, among other items--
                            (i) full-size cribs and nonfull-size cribs;
                            (ii) toddler beds;
                            (iii) high chairs, booster chairs, and 
                        hook-on chairs;
                            (iv) bath seats;
                            (v) gates and other enclosures for 
                        confining a child;
                            (vi) playpens;
                            (vii) stationary activity centers;
                            (viii) strollers;
                            (ix) walkers;
                            (x) swings;
                            (xi) child carriers;
                            (xii) bassinets and cradles; and
                            (xiii) children's toys.
            (4) Product safety owner card.--The term ``product safety 
        owner card'' means a standardized product identification card 
        supplied with a consumer product by the manufacturer of the 
        product, at the time of original purchase by the first 
        purchaser of such product for purposes other than resale, that 
        only requests that the consumer of such product provide to the 
        manufacturer a minimal level of personal information needed to 
        enable the manufacturer to contact the consumer in the event of 
        a recall of the product.
            (5) Small household appliance.--The term ``small household 
        appliance'' means a consumer product that is a toaster, toaster 
        oven, blender, food processor, coffee maker, or other similar 
        small appliance as provided for in the rule promulgated by the 
        Consumer Product Safety Commission.

SEC. 4. RULE REQUIRING SYSTEM TO PROVIDE NOTICE OF RECALLS OF CERTAIN 
              CONSUMER PRODUCTS.

    (a) In General.--The Commission shall promulgate a rule under 
section 16(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2065(b)) 
that requires that the manufacturer of a covered consumer product shall 
establish and maintain a system for providing notification of recalls 
of such product to consumers of such product.
    (b) Requirement To Create Database.--
            (1) In general.--The rule shall require that the system 
        include use of product safety owner cards, Internet 
        registration, or an alternative method, to create a database of 
        information regarding consumers of covered consumer products, 
        for the sole purpose of notifying such consumers of recalls of 
        such products.
            (2) Use of technology.--Alternative methods specified in 
        the rule may include use of on-line product registration and 
        consumer notification, consumer information data bases, 
        electronic tagging and bar codes, embedded computer chips in 
        consumer products, or other electronic and design strategies to 
        notify consumers about product recalls, that the Commission 
        determines will increase the effectiveness of recalls of 
        covered consumer products.
    (c) Use of Commission Staff Proposal.--In promulgating the rule, 
the Commission shall consider the staff draft for an Advanced Notice of 
Proposed Rulemaking entitled ``Purchaser Owner Card Program'', dated 
June 19, 2001.
    (d) Exclusion of Low-Price Items.--The Commission shall have the 
authority to exclude certain low-cost items from the rule for good 
cause.
    (e) Deadlines.--
            (1) In general.--The Commission--
                    (A) shall issue a proposed rule under this section 
                by not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
                of this Act; and
                    (B) shall promulgate a final rule under this 
                section by not later than 270 days after the date of 
                enactment of this Act.
            (2) Extension.--The Commission may extend the deadline 
        described in paragraph (1) if the Commission provides timely 
        notice to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
        Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate.
                                 <all>