[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC2056]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 47--CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY
Sec. 2056. Consumer product safety standards
(a) Types of requirements
The Commission may promulgate consumer product safety standards in
accordance with the provisions of section 2058 of this title. A consumer
product safety standard shall consist of one or more of any of the
following types of requirements:
(1) Requirements expressed in terms of performance requirements.
(2) Requirements that a consumer product be marked with or
accompanied by clear and adequate warnings or instructions, or
requirements respecting the form of warnings or instructions.
Any requirement of such a standard shall be reasonably necessary to
prevent or reduce an unreasonable risk of injury associated with such
product.
(b) Reliance of Commission upon voluntary standards
(1) The Commission shall rely upon voluntary consumer product safety
standards rather than promulgate a consumer product safety standard
prescribing requirements described in subsection (a) of this section
whenever compliance with such voluntary standards would eliminate or
adequately reduce the risk of injury addressed and it is likely that
there will be substantial compliance with such voluntary standards.
(2) The Commission shall devise procedures to monitor compliance
with any voluntary standards--
(A) upon which the Commission has relied under paragraph (1);
(B) which were developed with the participation of the
Commission; or
(C) whose development the Commission has monitored.
(c) Contribution of Commission to development cost
If any person participates with the Commission in the development of
a consumer product safety standard, the Commission may agree to
contribute to the person's cost with respect to such participation, in
any case in which the Commission determines that such contribution is
likely to result in a more satisfactory standard than would be developed
without such contribution, and that the person is financially
responsible. Regulations of the Commission shall set forth the items of
cost in which it may participate, and shall exclude any contribution to
the acquisition of land or buildings. Payments under agreements entered
into under this subsection may be made without regard to section 3324(a)
and (b) of title 31.
(Pub. L. 92-573, Sec. 7, Oct. 27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1212; Pub. L. 94-284,
Secs. 6, 7, 8(a), May 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 505, 506; Pub. L. 95-631,
Secs. 3, 4(a)-(c), 5, Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3742-3744; Pub. L. 97-35,
title XII, Sec. 1202, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 703; Pub. L. 101-608,
title I, Sec. 107(a), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3111.)
Codification
In subsec. (c), ``section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31'' substituted
for ``section 3648 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (31
U.S.C. 529)'' on authority of Pub. L. 97-258, Sec. 4(b), Sept. 13, 1982,
96 Stat. 1067, the first section of which enacted Title 31, Money and
Finance.
Amendments
1990--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101-608 designated existing provisions as
par. (1) and added par. (2).
1981--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97-35 amended subsec. (a) generally, and
in the requirements for consumer product safety standards, struck out
reference to composition, contents, design, construction, finish, or
packaging of consumer products, and struck out provision that the
requirements of the standards other than requirements relating to
labeling, warnings, or instructions, shall, whenever, feasible, be
expressed in terms of performance requirements.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 97-35 amended subsec. (b) generally,
substituting provisions relating to the reliance by the Commission upon
voluntary standards for provisions prescribing procedure for development
of consumer product safety standards.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97-35 amended subsec. (c) generally,
substituting provisions relating to contribution by the Commission to
the development cost of consumer safety standards for provisions
relating to publication of proposed safety rules developed from existing
standards.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 97-35 struck out subsec. (d) which related to
the acceptance of offers to develop proposed standards and the
Commission's contribution to development costs.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 97-35 struck out subsec. (e) which related to
development of proposed safety rules by the Commission.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 97-35 struck out subsec. (f) which provided for
termination of rule-making proceedings and a statement relating to the
reasons therefor.
1978--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95-631, Sec. 3, designated existing
provision as par. (1), and in par. (1) as so redesignated, redesignated
pars. (1) to (4) as subpars. (A) and (D), in subpar. (D) as so
redesignated, inserted provision including as a means of commencing a
proceeding, a publication in the Federal Register of a statement that
the Commission intends to develop the proposed consumer product safety
standard, added subpar. (E), struck out provision that the period
specified within which the offeror of an accepted offer develops the
proposed standard be a period ending 150 days after the date the offer
was accepted unless the Commission for good cause found, and included
such finding in the notice that a different period was appropriate, and
added par. (2).
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 95-631, Sec. 5, amended subsec. (c) generally,
inserting provisions relating to subsec. (b)(1)(D) and striking out
provisions for publication of a proposed consumer product safety rule,
in lieu of acceptance of an offer under subsec. (d), where a standard
had been issued or adopted by any Federal agency or by any other
qualified agency, organization, or institution and the standard if
promulgated under the chapter would eliminate or reduce the unreasonable
risk of injury associated with the product.
Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 95-631, Sec. 4(a)(1), inserted ``subsection
(b)(2) and by'' after ``as provided by'' and substituted references to
subsec. (b)(1)(D)(ii)(I) for (b)(4)(B) of this section and subsec.
(b)(1)(E) for (b) of this section.
Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 95-631, Sec. 4(a)(2)(A)-(C), inserted in
first sentence ``or if any person participates with the Commission in
the development of a consumer product safety standard under subsection
(b)(2)(A) or subsection (e) of this section'' after ``under this
subsection'', ``or the person's cost with respect to such
participation'' after ``safety standards'' and ``or person'' after
``offeror''.
Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 95-631, Sec. 4(a)(3), added par. (4).
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 95-631, Sec. (4)(b), amended provisions
generally, and among other changes, substituted references to subsec.
(b)(1)(D)(ii)(I) of this section for prior references to subsec. (b) of
this section, and struck out par. (3) defining the development period,
now covered in subsec. (b)(1)(E) of this section.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 95-631, Sec. 4(c), amended provisions
generally, and among other changes, reduced the period within which to
publish a proposed consumer product safety standard to forty-five days
from 150 days and required the publication in the Federal Register of
the reasons for not publishing the proposed standard, including a
statement indicative of the taking of other approaches such as a
voluntary consumer safety standard adopted by persons to be subject to
the proposed standard.
1976--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94-284, Sec. 6, designated existing
provision as par. (1), redesignated as subpars. (A) and (B) existing
pars. (1) and (2), and added par. (2).
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94-284, Sec. 7(a), substituted ``date the offer
is accepted'' for ``publication of notice'' in provision following par.
(4)(B).
Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 94-284, Sec. 8(a), inserted provision which
permits the Commission to advance public moneys without the need of
authorized appropriations as required by section 529 of title 31.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 94-284, Sec. 7(b), permitted the Commission to
develop and publish a proposed consumer safety product rule if the
development period as specified in par. (3) ends.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 94-284, Sec. 7(c), provided that if within 60
days after publication of notice for a proceeding for the development of
a consumer product safety standard (or longer if the Commission so
prescribe), no offer is submitted or none is acceptable, the Commission
terminate the proceeding or develop proposals of its own, which
proposals be published as a rule within 150 days after the expiration of
the 60 day period or the proceeding then terminated, and that if an
offer is accepted within the 60 day period, then within 210 days after
acceptance, the Commission must publish the proposal as a rule or
terminate the proceeding.
Effective Date of 1981 Amendment
Amendment by Pub. L. 97-35 applicable with respect to regulations
under this chapter and chapters 25 and 30 of this title for which
notices of proposed rulemaking are issued after Aug. 14, 1981, see
section 1215 of Pub. L. 97-35, set out as a note under section 2052 of
this title.
Automatic Garage Door Openers
Section 203 of Pub. L. 101-608 provided that:
``(a) Consumer Product Safety Rule.--The provisions of subsection
(b) shall be considered to be a consumer product safety rule issued by
the Consumer Product Safety Commission under section 9 of the Consumer
Product Safety Act [15 U.S.C. 2058].
``(b) Requirements.--
``(1) Effective on and after January 1, 1991, each automatic
residential garage door opener manufactured on or after that date
for sale in the United States shall conform to the entrapment
protection requirements of the American National Standards Institute
Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Standards for Safety--UL 325, third
edition, as revised May 4, 1988.
``(2)(A) Effective on and after January 1, 1993, all residential
automatic garage door openers manufactured on and after such date
for sale in the United States shall conform to any additional
entrapment protection requirements of the American National
Standards Institute Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Standards for
Safety--UL 325, third edition, which were issued after the date of
the enactment of this Act [Nov. 16, 1990] to become effective on or
before January 1, 1993.
``(B) If, by June 1, 1992, the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.,
has not issued a revision to the May 4, 1988, Standards for Safety--
UL 325, third edition, to require an entrapment protection feature
or device in addition to that required by the May 4, 1988, Standard,
the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall begin a rulemaking
proceeding, to be completed no later than October 31, 1992, to
require an additional such feature or device on all automatic
residential garage door openers manufactured on or after January 1,
1993, for sale in the United States. If such a revision is issued by
the Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. after the rulemaking has
commenced, the rulemaking shall be terminated and the revision shall
be incorporated in the consumer product safety rule under subsection
(a) unless the Commission has determined under subsection (c) that
such revision does not carry out the purposes of subsection (b).
``(c) Revision of Rule.--If, after June 1, 1992, or the date of a
revision described in subsection (b)(2)(B) if later, the Underwriters
Laboratories, Inc. proposes to further revise the entrapment protection
requirements of the American National Standards Institute Underwriters
Laboratories, Inc. Standards for Safety--UL 325, third edition, the
Laboratories shall notify the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the
proposed revision and the proposed revision shall be incorporated in the
consumer product safety rule under subsection (a) unless, within 30 days
of such notice, the Commission notifies the Laboratories that the
Commission has determined that such revision does not carry out the
purposes of subsection (b).
``(d) Labeling.--On and after January 1, 1991, a manufacturer
selling or offering for sale in the United States an automatic
residential garage door opener manufactured on or after January 1, 1991,
shall clearly identify on any container of the system and on the system
the month or week and year the system was manufactured and its
conformance with the requirements of subsection (b). The display of the
UL logo or listing mark, and compliance with the date marking
requirements of UL 325, on both the container and the system, shall
satisfy the requirements of this subsection.
``(e) Notification.--Effective on and after July 1, 1991, all
manufacturers of automatic residential garage door openers shall, in
consultation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, notify the
public of the potential for entrapment by garage doors equipped with
automatic garage door openers
