[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 170 (Friday, September 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54202-54203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18987]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CPSC-2015-0029]


Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: Revision to the 
Voluntary Standard for Children's Chairs and Children's Stools

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's (Commission or 
CPSC) mandatory rule, Safety Standard for Children's Folding Chairs and 
Children's Folding Stools, incorporates by reference ASTM F2613-21, 
Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Children's Chairs and 
Stools. The Commission has received notice of a revision to this 
incorporated voluntary standard. CPSC seeks comment on whether the 
revision improves the safety of the consumer products covered by the 
standard.

DATES: Comments must be received by September 16, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2015-0029, by 
any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. Do not submit through this 
website: confidential business information, trade secret information, 
or other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be 
available to the public. CPSC typically does not accept comments 
submitted by electronic mail (email), except as described below.
    Mail/hand delivery/courier/confidential Written Submissions: CPSC 
encourages you to submit electronic comments by using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal. You may, however, submit comments by mail, hand 
delivery, or courier to: Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product 
Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; 
telephone: (301) 504-7479.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number. CPSC may post all comments without change, including any 
personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal 
information provided, to: https://www.regulations.gov. If you wish to 
submit confidential business information, trade secret information, or 
other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be 
available to the public, you may submit such comments by mail, hand 
delivery, or courier, or you may email them to: [email protected].
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to: https://www.regulations.gov, and insert the 
docket number, CPSC-2015-0029, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin K. Lee, Directorate for 
Engineering Sciences, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 
Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301) 987-2486; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product 
Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) requires the Commission to adopt 
mandatory standards for durable infant

[[Page 54203]]

or toddler products. 15 U.S.C. 2056a(b)(1). Mandatory standards must be 
``substantially the same as'' voluntary standards, or may be ``more 
stringent'' than voluntary standards, if the Commission determines that 
more stringent requirements would further reduce the risk of injury 
associated with the products. Id. Mandatory standards may be based, in 
whole or in part, on a voluntary standard.
    Pursuant to section 104(b)(4)(B) of the CPSIA, if a voluntary 
standards organization revises a standard that has been adopted, in 
whole or in part, as a consumer product safety standard under CPSIA 
section 104, it must notify the Commission. The revised voluntary 
standard then shall be considered to be a consumer product safety 
standard issued by the Commission under section 9 of the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), effective 180 days after the date 
on which the organization notifies the Commission (or a later date 
specified by the Commission in the Federal Register) unless, within 90 
days after receiving that notice, the Commission responds to the 
organization that it has determined that the proposed revision does not 
improve the safety of the consumer product covered by the standard, and 
therefore the Commission is retaining its existing mandatory consumer 
product safety standard. 15 U.S.C. 2056a(b)(4)(B).
    Under this authority, the Commission issued a mandatory safety rule 
for children's folding chairs and children's folding stools in 2017. 
The rulemaking created 16 CFR part 1232, which incorporated by 
reference, without modification, ASTM F2613-17a, Standard Consumer 
Safety Specification for Children's Chairs and Stools. Although the 
voluntary standard applies to children's chairs and children's stools, 
the scope of the mandatory standard is limited to children's folding 
chairs and children's folding stools. 82 FR 59505 (Dec. 15, 2017). The 
mandatory standard includes performance requirements and test methods, 
as well as requirements for warning labels and instructions, to address 
hazards to children associated with children's folding chairs and 
children's folding stools. After promulgation of the final rule, ASTM 
revised the voluntary standard in 2019 and 2021, and the Commission 
issued two direct final rules to update the mandatory standard for 
children's folding chairs and children's folding stools to incorporate 
by reference the latest version of ASTM F2613:
     On April 1, 2020, the Commission published a direct final 
rule to update part 1232 to reflect incorporation by reference of ASTM 
F2613-19, with no modifications (85 FR 18111).
     On May 17, 2021, the Commission published a direct final 
rule to update part 1232 to reflect incorporation by reference of ASTM 
F2613-21, with no modifications (86 FR 26654).
    In August 2022, ASTM published a revised version of the 
incorporated voluntary standard, ASTM F2613-22. On August 22, 2022, 
ASTM notified the Commission that it had approved and published that 
revised version of the voluntary standard. CPSC staff is assessing the 
revised voluntary standard to determine, consistent with section 
104(b)(4)(B) of the CPSIA, its effect on the safety of consumer 
products covered by the standard. The Commission invites public comment 
on that question, to inform staff's assessment and any subsequent 
Commission consideration of the revisions in ASTM F2613-22.\1\
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    \1\ The Commission voted unanimously (5-0) to approve this 
notice.
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    The incorporated voluntary standard and the revised voluntary 
standard are available for review in several ways. ASTM has provided on 
its website (at https://www.astm.org/CPSC.htm), at no cost, a read-only 
copy of ASTM F2613-22 and a red-lined version that identifies the 
changes made to ASTM F2613-21. Likewise, a read-only copy of the 
existing, incorporated standard (ASTM F2613-21) is available for 
viewing, at no cost, on the ASTM website at: https://www.astm.org/READINGLIBRARY/. Interested parties can also download copies of the 
standards by purchasing them from ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor 
Drive, P.O. Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959; phone: 610-832-
9585; https://www.astm.org. Alternatively, interested parties can 
schedule an appointment to inspect copies of the standards at CPSC's 
Office of the Secretary, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 
East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814, telephone: 301-504-7479; email: 
mailto:[email protected].
    Comments must be received by September 16, 2022. Because of the 
short statutory time frame Congress established for the Commission to 
consider revised voluntary standards under section 104(b)(4) of the 
CPSIA, CPSC will not consider comments received after this date.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2022-18987 Filed 9-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P