[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1165 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1165

To protect children and other consumers against hazards associated with 
  the accidental ingestion of button cell batteries by requiring the 
   Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate consumer product 
safety standards to require child-resistant closures on remote controls 
  and other consumer products that use such batteries, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 9, 2011

 Mr. Rockefeller (for himself and Mr. Pryor) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To protect children and other consumers against hazards associated with 
  the accidental ingestion of button cell batteries by requiring the 
   Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate consumer product 
safety standards to require child-resistant closures on remote controls 
  and other consumer products that use such batteries, 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 ``Button Cell Battery Safety Act of 
2011''.

SEC. 2. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY STANDARDS FOR BUTTON CELL BATTERY 
              ACCESS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Battery-operated or assisted consumer product.--The 
        term ``battery-operated or assisted consumer product'' means a 
        remote control, clock, musical greeting card, automobile key, 
        flashlight, novelty, or other consumer product powered in whole 
        or in part by a button cell battery and that is designed, 
        manufactured, and sold primarily for use by consumers in or 
        around their homes or motor vehicles.
            (2) Button cell battery.--The term ``button cell battery'' 
        means--
                    (A) a cell battery that is 32 millimeters or less 
                in diameter and less than its diameter in length; or
                    (B) any other battery, regardless of the technology 
                used to produce an electrical charge, as determined by 
                the Consumer Product Safety Commission to pose an 
                ingestion hazard.
            (3) Consumer product.--The term ``consumer product'' has 
        the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Consumer Product 
        Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052).
    (b) Standards Required.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall 
promulgate, as a final consumer product safety standard under section 
7(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2056(a))--
            (1) a standard requiring button cell battery compartments 
        of battery-operated or assisted consumer products to be 
        secured, to the greatest extent practicable, in a manner that 
        reduces access to button cell batteries by children that are 3 
        years of age or younger; and
            (2) standards requiring warning labels--
                    (A) to be included in any literature that 
                accompanies a battery-operated or assisted consumer 
                product, such as a user manual;
                    (B) to be included on packaging for button cell 
                batteries sold to consumers; and
                    (C) to be included, as practicable, directly on a 
                battery-operated or assisted consumer product in a 
                manner that is visible to the consumer upon 
                installation or replacement of the button cell battery.
    (c) Warning Labels.--Warning labels required under subsection (b) 
shall--
            (1) clearly identify the hazard of ingestion; and
            (2) instruct consumers, as practicable, to keep new and 
        used batteries out of the reach of children and to seek 
        immediate medical attention if a battery is ingested.
    (d) Expedited Rulemaking.--
            (1) In general.--The standards required by subsection (b) 
        shall be promulgated in accordance with section 553 of title 5, 
        United States Code.
            (2) Inapplicability of certain promulgation requirements.--
        The requirements of subsections (a) through (f) and (g)(1) of 
        section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058) 
        shall not apply to the promulgation of the standards required 
        by subsection (b) of this section.
    (e) Effective Date.--Each final consumer product safety standard 
required by subsection (b) shall apply to battery-operated or assisted 
consumer products manufactured on or after the date that is 1 year 
after the date on which the Commission promulgates the standard.
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