[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 540 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 540

   To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to 
    liability under State and local requirements respecting devices.


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                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2009

Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Harkin, 
Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Reed, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Brown, Mr. Casey, Mrs. Hagan, 
Mr. Merkley, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs. McCaskill, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Schumer, 
Mr. Udall of New Mexico, and Mrs. Boxer) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to 
    liability under State and local requirements respecting devices.

    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 ``Medical Device Safety Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. LIABILITY UNDER STATE AND LOCAL REQUIREMENTS RESPECTING 
              DEVICES.

    (a) Amendment.--Section 521 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 
Act (21 U.S.C. 360k) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) No Effect on Liability Under State Law.--Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to modify or otherwise affect any action for 
damages or the liability of any person under the law of any State.''.
    (b) Effective Date; Applicability.--The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall--
            (1) take effect as if included in the enactment of the 
        Medical Device Amendments of 1976 (Public Law 94-295); and
            (2) apply to any civil action pending or filed on or after 
        the date of enactment of this Act.
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