110 HR 2474 : Product Safety Civil Penalties U.S. House of Representatives 2007-10-15 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IIB 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2474 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES October 15, 2007 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation AN ACT To provide for an increased maximum civil penalty for violations under the Consumer Product Safety Act.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Product Safety Civil Penalties Improvement Act.

2.

Maximum civil penalties of the Consumer Product Safety Commission

(a)

Initial increase in maximum civil penalties

(1)

Temporary increase

Notwithstanding the dollar amounts specified for maximum civil penalties specified in section 20(a)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(a)(1)), section 5(c)(1) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, and section 5(e)(1) of the Flammable Fabrics Act (15 U.S.C. 1194(e)(1)), the maximum civil penalties for any violation specified in such sections shall be $5,000,000, beginning on the date that is the earlier of the date on which final regulations are issued under section 3(b) or 360 days after the date of enactment of this Act. (2)

Effective date

Paragraph (1) shall cease to be in effect on the date on which the amendments made by subsection (b)(1) shall take effect. (b)

Permanent increase in maximum civil penalties

(1)

Amendments

(A)

Consumer Product Safety Act

Section 20(a)(1) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(a)(1)) is amended by striking $1,250,000 both places it appears and inserting $10,000,000. (B)

Federal Hazardous Substances Act

Section 5(c)(1) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1264(c)(1)) is amended by striking $1,250,000 both places it appears and inserting $10,000,000. (C)

Flammable Fabrics Act

Section 5(e)(1) of the Flammable Fabrics Act (15 U.S.C. 1194(e)(1)) is amended by striking $1,250,000 and inserting $10,000,000. (2)

Effective date

The amendments made by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the earlier of— (A)the date on which final regulations are issued pursuant to section 3(b); or (B)360 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

3.

Determination of penalties by the Consumer Product Safety Commission

(a)

Factors to be considered

(1)

Consumer Product Safety Act

Section 20(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(b)) is amended— (A)by inserting the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation, including after shall consider; (B)by striking products distributed, and and inserting products distributed,; and (C)by inserting , and such other factors as appropriate before the period. (2)

Federal Hazardous Substances Act

Section 5(c)(3) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1264(c)(3)) is amended— (A)by inserting the nature, circumstances, extent ,and gravity of the violation, including after shall consider; (B)by striking substance distributed, and and inserting substance distributed,; and (C)by inserting , and such other factors as appropriate before the period. (3)

Flammable Fabrics Act

Section 5(e)(2) of the Flammable Fabrics Act (15 U.S.C. 1194(e)(2)) is amended— (A)by striking nature and number and inserting nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity; (B)by striking absence of injury, and and inserting absence of injury,; and (C)by inserting , and such other factors as appropriate before the period. (b)

Regulations

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and in accordance with the procedures of section 553 of title 5, United States Code, the Commission shall issue a final regulation providing its interpretation of the penalty factors described in section 20(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2069(b)), section 5(c)(3) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1264(c)(3)), and section 5(e)(2) of the Flammable Fabrics Act (15 U.S.C. 1194(e)(2)), as amended by subsection (a).

Passed the House of Representatives October 9, 2007. Lorraine C. Miller, Clerk.