[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1173 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1173

To authorize the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a consumer 
 product safety rule to prevent injuries to users of vending machines 
                   and entrapment by small children.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2007

    Ms. Millender-McDonald introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a consumer 
 product safety rule to prevent injuries to users of vending machines 
                   and entrapment by small children.

    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 ``Vending Machine Safety Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) In October 2006, after failing to scoop out a stuffed 
        replica of Sponge Bob Square Pants in a crane vending machine, 
        three-year-old Robert Moore took off his coat and squeezed 
        through an opening in the machine.
            (2) In May 2005, a 3 year old boy in Elkhart, Indiana, had 
        to be rescued by firefighters after he was trapped in a crane 
        vending machine. The boy was rescued after firefighters removed 
        the back of the machine.
            (3) In June 2000, a 4 year old boy in O'Fallon, Missouri, 
        had to be rescued after getting trapped inside a crane vending 
        machine. The child crawled into the machine through the trap 
        door through which toys are dispensed. The child was freed from 
        the machine only after rescue workers pried the top of the 
        machine off.
            (4) In June 2000, another case of a child being trapped 
        inside the same trap door of a crane vending machine occurred 
        in Texas.
            (5) Since 1990, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has 
        received at least 43 reported incidents of individuals' use of 
        vending machines which has resulted in personal injury 
        primarily to the individuals' arms and hands.
            (6) At least 25 of the reported injuries were suffered by 
        minors, 15 of which were by children under the age of 10.
            (7) It is clear that there are defects in the design of the 
        vending machines which have led to the reported injuries.

SEC. 3. VENDING MACHINE RULE.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall issue a consumer product 
safety standard under section 7 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 
U.S.C. 2056), for the manufacture and installation of vending machines, 
particularly those using a lever or crane apparatus to dispense a 
product. Such standard may include a requirement for warning labels or 
signs relating to the use of such machines to prevent injuries to 
individuals, including children, and may, in the case of a vending 
machine with an opening of sufficient size to permit entrapment by a 
small child, include requirements for an emergency release latch or 
mechanism for opening the vending machine.
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