[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4212 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.4212

                      One Hundred Twelfth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and twelve


                                 An Act


 
 To prevent the introduction into commerce of unsafe drywall, to ensure 
  the manufacturer of drywall is readily identifiable, to ensure that 
  problematic drywall removed from homes is not reused, and for other 
                                purposes.

    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 ``Drywall Safety Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    It is the sense of Congress that--
        (1) the Secretary of Commerce should insist that the Government 
    of the People's Republic of China, which has ownership interests in 
    the companies that manufactured and exported problematic drywall to 
    the United States, facilitate a meeting between the companies and 
    representatives of the United States Government on remedying 
    homeowners that have problematic drywall in their homes; and
        (2) the Secretary of Commerce should insist that the Government 
    of the People's Republic of China direct the companies that 
    manufactured and exported problematic drywall to submit to 
    jurisdiction in United States Federal Courts and comply with any 
    decisions issued by the Courts for homeowners with problematic 
    drywall.
SEC. 3. DRYWALL LABELING REQUIREMENT.
    (a) Labeling Requirement.--Beginning 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the gypsum board labeling provisions of standard 
ASTM C1264-11 of ASTM International, as in effect on the day before the 
date of the enactment of this Act, shall be treated as a rule 
promulgated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission under section 
14(c) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(c)).
    (b) Revision of Standard.--If the gypsum board labeling provisions 
of the standard referred to in subsection (a) are revised on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, ASTM International shall notify 
the Commission of such revision no later than 60 days after final 
approval of the revision by ASTM International. The revised provisions 
shall be treated as a rule promulgated by the Commission under section 
14(c) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(c)), in lieu of the prior version, 
effective 180 days after the Commission is notified of the revision (or 
such later date as the Commission considers appropriate), unless within 
90 days after receiving that notice the Commission determines that the 
revised provisions do not adequately identify gypsum board by 
manufacturer and month and year of manufacture, in which case the 
Commission shall continue to enforce the prior version.
SEC. 4. SULFUR CONTENT IN DRYWALL STANDARD.
    (a) Rule on Sulfur Content in Drywall Required.--Except as provided 
in subsection (c), not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall 
promulgate a final rule pertaining to drywall manufactured or imported 
for use in the United States that limits sulfur content to a level not 
associated with elevated rates of corrosion in the home.
    (b) Rule Making; Consumer Product Safety Standard.--A rule under 
subsection (a)--
        (1) shall be promulgated in accordance with section 553 of 
    title 5, United States Code; and
        (2) shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule 
    promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 
    U.S.C. 2058).
    (c) Exception.--
        (1) Voluntary standard.--Subsection (a) shall not apply if the 
    Commission determines that--
            (A) a voluntary standard pertaining to drywall manufactured 
        or imported for use in the United States limits sulfur content 
        to a level not associated with elevated rates of corrosion in 
        the home;
            (B) such voluntary standard is or will be in effect not 
        later than two years after the date of enactment of this Act; 
        and
            (C) such voluntary standard is developed by Subcommittee 
        C11.01 on Specifications and Test Methods for Gypsum Products 
        of ASTM International.
        (2) Federal register.--Any determination made under paragraph 
    (1) shall be published in the Federal Register.
    (d) Treatment of Voluntary Standard for Purposes of Enforcement.--
If the Commission determines that a voluntary standard meets the 
conditions in subsection (c)(1), the sulfur content limit in such 
voluntary standard shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule 
promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 
U.S.C. 2058) beginning on the date that is the later of--
        (1) 180 days after publication of the Commission's 
    determination under subsection (c); or
        (2) the effective date contained in the voluntary standard.
    (e) Revision of Voluntary Standard.--If the sulfur content limit of 
a voluntary standard that met the conditions of subsection (c)(1) is 
subsequently revised, the organization responsible for the standard 
shall notify the Commission no later than 60 days after final approval 
of the revision. The sulfur content limit of the revised voluntary 
standard shall become enforceable as a Commission rule promulgated 
under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), in 
lieu of the prior version, effective 180 days after the Commission is 
notified of the revision (or such later date as the Commission 
considers appropriate), unless within 90 days after receiving that 
notice the Commission determines that the sulfur content limit of the 
revised voluntary standard does not meet the requirements of subsection 
(c)(1)(A), in which case the Commission shall continue to enforce the 
prior version.
    (f) Future Rulemaking.--The Commission, at any time subsequent to 
publication of the consumer product safety rule required by subsection 
(a) or a determination under subsection (c), may initiate a rulemaking 
in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to 
modify the sulfur content limit or to include any provision relating 
only to the composition or characteristics of drywall that the 
Commission determines is reasonably necessary to protect public health 
or safety. Any rule promulgated under this subsection shall be treated 
as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the 
Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058).
SEC. 5. REVISION OF REMEDIATION GUIDANCE FOR DRYWALL DISPOSAL REQUIRED.
    Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall revise its guidance 
entitled ``Remediation Guidance for Homes with Corrosion from Problem 
Drywall'' to specify that problematic drywall removed from homes 
pursuant to the guidance should not be reused or used as a component in 
production of new drywall.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.