Text of S. 3278 (117th): Reese’s Law (Reported by Senate Committee version)

Calendar No. 643

117th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 3278

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 30, 2021

Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Markey, Mr. Luján, and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

December 14, 2022

Reported by Ms. Cantwell, with an amendment

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic

A BILL

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

This Act may be cited as Reese’s Law.

(a)

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, promulgate a final consumer product safety standard for button cell or coin batteries and consumer products containing button cell or coin batteries that includes at least—

(1)

a performance standard requiring the button cell or coin battery compartments of a consumer product containing button cell or coin batteries to be secured in a manner that prevents access to button cell or coin batteries by children that are 6 years of age or younger during reasonably foreseeable use or misuse conditions; and

(2)

warning label requirements—

(A)

to be included on the packaging of button cell or coin batteries and the packaging of a consumer product containing button cell or coin batteries;

(B)

to be included in any literature, such as a user manual, that accompanies a consumer product containing button cell or coin batteries; and

(C)

(b)

Warning labels required under subsection (a)(2) 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, to seek immediate medical attention if a battery is ingested, and to follow any other consensus medical advice.

(c)

A consumer product safety standard promulgated under subsection (a) shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058).

(d)

(1)

Subsection (a) shall not apply if the Commission determines, before the Commission promulgates a final consumer product safety standard under such subsection, that—

(A)

there is a voluntary consumer product safety standard that meets the requirements for a standard promulgated under subsection (a); and

(B)

the voluntary standard described in subparagraph (A)—

(i)

is in effect at the time of the determination by the Commission; or

(ii)

will be in effect not later than the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(2)

A final consumer product safety standard promulgated under subsection (a) shall cease to apply on the date described in subsection (e)(2) if the Commission determines that—

(A)

there is a voluntary consumer product safety standard that meets the requirements for a standard promulgated under subsection (a); and

(B)

the voluntary standard described in subparagraph (A)—

(i)

is in effect at the time of the determination by the Commission; or

(ii)

will be in effect not later than the date that is 180 days after the date of the determination by the Commission.

(3)

Any determination made by the Commission under this subsection shall be published in the Federal Register.

(e)

(1)

If the Commission makes a determination under subsection (d) with respect to a voluntary standard, the requirements of 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 described in paragraph (2).

(2)

The date described in this paragraph is the later of—

(A)

the date of the determination of the Commission under subsection (d) with respect to the voluntary standard described in paragraph (1); or

(B)

the effective date contained in the voluntary standard described in paragraph (1).

(f)

(1)

If a voluntary standard with respect to which the Commission has made a determination under subsection (d) is subsequently revised, the organization that revised the standard shall notify the Commission after the final approval of the revision.

(2)

Beginning on the date that is 180 days after the Commission is notified of a revised voluntary standard described in paragraph (1) (or such later date as the Commission determines appropriate), such revised voluntary standard shall become enforceable as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), in place of the prior version, unless, within 90 days after receiving the notice, the Commission determines that the revised voluntary standard does not meet the requirements for a standard promulgated under subsection (a).

(g)

At any time after the promulgation of a final consumer product safety standard under subsection (a), a voluntary standard is treated as a consumer product safety rule under subsection (e), or a revised voluntary standard becomes enforceable as a consumer product safety rule under subsection (f), the Commission may initiate a rulemaking in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to modify the requirements of the standard or revised standard or to include in the standard or revised standard any additional provision that the Commission determines is necessary to protect children from ingesting button cell or coin batteries or that would lessen the severity of injury or risk of death in the event of ingestion. 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).

(a)

Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, any button cell or coin battery sold, offered for sale, manufactured for sale, distributed in commerce, or imported into the United States, or included separately with a consumer product sold, offered for sale, manufactured for sale, distributed in commerce, or imported into the United States, shall be packaged in accordance with the standards provided in section 1700.15 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation), as determined through testing in accordance with the method described in section 1700.20 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).

(b)

The requirement of subsection (a) shall be treated as a standard for the special packaging of a household substance established under section 3(a) of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 (15 U.S.C. 1472(a)).

The standards promulgated under this Act shall not apply with respect to any toy product that is in compliance with ASTM International's Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety (F963) on the date of enactment of this Act.

In this Act:

(1)

The term button cell or coin battery means—

(A)

a single cell battery with a diameter greater than the height of the battery; or

(B)

any other battery, regardless of the technology used to produce an electrical charge, that is determined by the Commission to pose an ingestion hazard.

(2)

The term Commission means the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

(3)

The term consumer product has the meaning given such term in section 3(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)).

(4)

The term consumer product containing button cell or coin batteries means a consumer product containing or designed to use one or more button cell or coin batteries, regardless of whether such batteries are intended to be replaced by the consumer or are included with the product or sold separately.

(5)

The term toy product means any object designed, manufactured, or marketed as a plaything for children under 14 years of age.

This Act may be cited as Reese’s Law.

(a)

(1)

a performance standard requiring the button cell or coin battery compartments of a consumer product containing button cell or coin batteries to be secured in a manner that would eliminate or adequately reduce the risk of injury from button or coin cell battery ingestion by children that are 6 years of age or younger during reasonably foreseeable use or misuse conditions; and

(2)

warning label requirements—

(A)

to be included on the packaging of button cell or coin batteries and the packaging of a consumer product containing button cell or coin batteries;

(B)

to be included in any literature, such as a user manual, that accompanies a consumer product containing button cell or coin batteries; and

(C)

to be included, as practicable, directly on a consumer product containing button cell or coin batteries in a manner that is visible to the consumer upon installation or replacement of the button cell or coin battery, or in the case of a product for which the battery is not intended to be replaced or installed by the consumer, to be included directly on the consumer product in a manner that is visible to the consumer upon access to the battery compartment, except that if it is impracticable to label the product, this information shall be placed on the packaging or instructions.

(b)

Warning labels required under subsection (a)(2) shall—

(1)

clearly identify the hazard of ingestion; and

(2)

(c)

A consumer product safety standard promulgated under subsection (a) shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058).

(d)

(1)

Subsection (a) shall not apply if the Commission determines, before the Commission promulgates a final consumer product safety standard under such subsection, that—

(A)

with respect to any consumer product where there is a voluntary consumer product safety standard that meets the requirements for a standard promulgated under subsection (a) with respect to such products; and

(B)

the voluntary standard described in subparagraph (A)—

(i)

is in effect at the time of the determination by the Commission; or

(ii)

will be in effect not later than the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(2)

Any determination made by the Commission under this subsection shall be published in the Federal Register.

(e)

(1)

(2)

The date described in this paragraph is the later of—

(A)

the date of the determination of the Commission under subsection (d) with respect to the voluntary standard described in paragraph (1); or

(B)

the effective date contained in the voluntary standard described in paragraph (1).

(f)

(1)

(2)

Beginning on the date that is 180 days after the Commission is notified of a revised voluntary standard described in paragraph (1) (or such later date as the Commission determines appropriate), such revised voluntary standard in whole or in part shall be considered to be a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), in place of the prior version, unless, within 90 days after receiving the notice, the Commission notifies the organization that the revised voluntary standard, in whole or in part, does not improve the safety of the consumer product covered by the standard and that the Commission is retaining all or part of the existing consumer product safety standard.

(g)

At any time after the promulgation of a final consumer product safety standard under subsection (a), a voluntary standard is treated as a consumer product safety rule under subsection (e), or a revised voluntary standard becomes enforceable as a consumer product safety rule under subsection (f), the Commission may initiate a rulemaking in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to modify the requirements of the standard or revised standard. 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).

(a)

(b)

The standards promulgated under this Act shall not apply with respect to any toy product that is in compliance with the battery accessibility and labeling requirements of part 1250 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, and, in reference to section 3(a) shall not apply with respect to button cell or coin batteries that are in compliance with the marking and packaging provisions of the ANSI Safety Standard for Portable Lithium Primary Cells and Batteries (ANSI C18.3M).

In this Act:

(1)

The term button cell or coin battery means—

(A)

a single cell battery with a diameter greater than the height of the battery; or

(B)

any other battery, regardless of the technology used to produce an electrical charge, that is determined by the Commission to pose an ingestion hazard.

(2)

The term Commission means the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

(3)

The term consumer product has the meaning given such term in section 3(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)).

(4)

(5)

The term toy product means any object designed, manufactured, or marketed as a plaything for children under 14 years of age.

The standard promulgated under section 2(a) and the requirements of section 3(a) shall only apply to a product that is manufactured or imported after the effective date of such standard or requirement.

December 14, 2022

Reported with an amendment

S. 3278 (117^th): Reese’s Law

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