[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4266 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4266

 To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue regulations 
        concerning the safety and labeling of certain furniture.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 4, 2007

 Ms. Schwartz (for herself and Mr. McGovern) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue regulations 
        concerning the safety and labeling of certain furniture.

    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 ``Katie Elise and Meghan Agnes Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 victims are treated 
        annually in hospital emergency rooms in the United States for 
        injuries associated with the tipping over of furniture or 
        appliances, and more than 100 deaths have been reported since 
        2000. Approximately 80 percent of the injuries were incurred by 
        children under age 5.
            (2) These injuries and deaths frequently occur when 
        children climb onto, fall against, or pull themselves up on 
        such items as shelves, bookcases, dressers, bureaus, desks, 
        chests, television stands, and television sets.
            (3) ASTM International, a voluntary consensus standards 
        organization, has issued a voluntary standard to prevent 
        furniture tipping accidents. However, many furniture 
        manufacturers do not abide by the voluntary standard.
            (4) Glass tables without safety glass injure more than 
        15,000 people a year.
            (5) The European Union requires that glass table tops be 
        made of safety glass, and the Consumer Product Safety 
        Commission (CPSC) has issued standards for the use of safety 
        glass in doors, storm doors, bathtub doors, shower doors, and 
        sliding glass doors, but not in tables and other furniture.
            (6) The issuance of mandatory safety standards to prevent 
        accidents related to furniture tipover and glass furniture 
        would greatly reduce the risk of injuries associated with these 
        products.

SEC. 3. FURNITURE TIPPING SAFETY STANDARDS.

    (a) Rulemaking; Applicable Furniture.--Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission (in this Act referred to as the ``Commission'') shall 
promulgate final consumer product safety standards under section 7(a) 
of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2056(a)) applicable to 
any furniture that the Commission determines poses a substantial safety 
hazard due to tipping because of its design, height, weight, stability, 
or other features.
    (b) Safety Standards.--At a minimum, the standards prescribed under 
subsection (a) shall be substantially the same as the January 22, 2007 
proposed revision to standard ASTM F2057-06 or any successor standard 
thereto issued by ASTM International, which requires applicable 
furniture to withstand pressure of 50 pounds and be equipped with 
anchoring devices capable of withstanding 100 pounds of force.

SEC. 4. GLASS FURNITURE SAFETY STANDARDS.

    (a) Rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of the Act, the Commission shall promulgate final consumer 
product safety standards under section 7(a) of the Consumer Product 
Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), to require that, in any furniture 
containing a glass surface or pane of a size the Commission determines 
may pose a safety hazard to consumers upon breaking, the glass 
contained therein be safety glass.
    (b) Safety Glass Defined.--For purposes of the safety standard 
required under this section, the term ``safety glass'' means reinforced 
glass that has been laminated or tempered to increase its strength or 
to cause it to hold together or break into small, less dangerous pieces 
when broken.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON FURNITURE SAFETY.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Commission shall transmit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation of the Senate a report on--
            (1) the degree of industry compliance with the standards 
        prescribed under sections 3 and 4;
            (2) any enforcement actions brought by the Commission to 
        enforce such standards; and
            (3) reports of incidents involving children and furniture, 
        including both furniture that is and is not in compliance with 
        the standards prescribed under sections 3 and 4.
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