[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 11366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04217]



[[Page 11366]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Parts 1112 and 1261

[Docket No. CPSC-2017-0044]


Safety Standard for Clothing Storage Units; Notice of Opportunity 
for Oral Presentation of Comments

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; opportunity for oral 
presentation of comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC) 
will be providing an opportunity for interested parties to present oral 
comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) the Commission 
issued regarding a safety standard for clothing storage units (CSUs). 
Any oral comments will be part of the rulemaking record.

DATES: The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 
April 6, 2022, via webinar. All attendees should pre-register for the 
webinar online at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4382433867276269835. Any individual interested in making an oral 
presentation must register for the webinar and submit a request to make 
an oral presentation to the Division of the Secretariat, along with the 
written text of the oral presentation, and such requests must be 
received no later than 5 p.m. EST on March 23, 2022. All other 
individuals who wish to attend the meeting should register before the 
start of the hearing.

ADDRESSES: The hearing will be held via webinar. Attendance is free of 
charge. Submit requests to make oral presentations and provide the 
written text of oral presentations to the Division of the Secretariat, 
with the caption, ``Clothing Storage Units NPR; Oral Presentation,'' by 
email to [email protected], or by mail to the Division of the 
Secretariat, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-West 
Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814. Detailed instructions for those making 
oral presentations and other attendees will be made available on the 
CPSC public calendar.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about the subject 
matter of this hearing, contact Kirsten Talcott, Project Manager, 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 
20850; phone: (301) 987-2311, email: [email protected]. For information 
about the procedure to make an oral presentation, contact Alberta E. 
Mills, Division of the Secretariat, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 
4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; (301) 504-7479, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The Commission voted 4-0 to publish this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On February 3, 2022, the Commission published an NPR in the Federal 
Register, proposing to issue a safety standard for CSUs under the 
Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA; 15 U.S.C. 2051-2089), and seeking 
written comments. 87 FR 6246. The proposed rule seeks to address the 
risk of injuries and death, particularly to children, associated with 
CSUs tipping over, by requiring CSUs to be tested for stability and to 
exceed minimum stability requirements; to be marked and labeled with 
safety information; and to bear a hang tag providing performance and 
technical data about the stability of the CSU. The proposed rule would 
apply to ``clothing storage units,'' which the NPR proposes to define 
as follows:

    Clothing storage unit means a freestanding furniture item, with 
drawer(s) and/or door(s), that may be reasonably expected to be used 
for storing clothing, that is greater than or equal to 27 inches in 
height, and with a total functional volume of the closed storage 
greater than 1.3 cubic feet and greater than the sum of the total 
functional volume of the open storage and the total volume of the 
open space. Common names for clothing storage units include, but are 
not limited to: Chests, bureaus, dressers, armoires, wardrobes, 
chests of drawers, drawer chests, chifforobes, and door chests. 
Whether a product is a clothing storage unit depends on whether it 
meets this definition. Some products that generally do not meet the 
criteria in this definition and, therefore, likely are not 
considered clothing storage units are: Shelving units, office 
furniture, dining room furniture, laundry hampers, built-in closets, 
and single-compartment closed rigid boxes (storage chests).

    The NPR proposes to exempt clothes lockers and portable storage 
closets from the standard. The NPR is available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2022-02-03/pdf/2022-01689.pdf, and CPSC 
staff's briefing package for the NPR is available at: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Proposed%20Rule-%20Safety%20Standard%20for%20Clothing%20Storage%20Units.pdf.

II. The Public Hearing

    The Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551-562) and section 9 
of the CPSA require the Commission to provide interested parties with 
an opportunity to submit ``written data, views, or arguments'' 
regarding a proposed rule. 5 U.S.C. 553(c); 15 U.S.C. 2058(d)(2). The 
NPR invited such written comments. In addition, section 9 of the CPSA 
requires the Commission to provide interested parties ``an opportunity 
for oral presentation of data, views, or arguments.'' 15 U.S.C. 
2058(d)(2). The Commission must keep a transcript of such oral 
presentations. Id. In accordance with this requirement, the Commission 
is providing a forum for oral presentations concerning the proposed 
standard for CSUs.
    To request the opportunity to make an oral presentation, see the 
information under the DATES and ADDRESSES sections of this notice. 
Participants should limit their presentations to approximately 10 
minutes, excluding time for questioning by the Commissioners or CPSC 
staff. To avoid duplicate presentations, groups should designate a 
spokesperson, and the Commission reserves the right to limit 
presentation times or impose further restrictions, as necessary.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2022-04217 Filed 2-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P