CPSC discusses proposed changes in rules, policies

For a long time — even before the latest problems with Chinese imports — we’ve been one of many voices calling for changes to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s authority. The agency is operating under a 35-year-old law that needs be modernized.

We’re glad to report that CPSC’s acting chairman Nancy Nord (pictured) seems to agree. Earlier this week, her staff held two meetings — one with a group representing manufacturers and the other with several consumer groups including Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports — to discuss some of her ideas. We haven’t had much time to study these proposals, which the agency may officially release as early as next week. Even so, we’d like to share some of the discussion’s highlights:

• The CPSC wants to make it unlawful to sell a recalled product after the date of public notice. Currently, it not unlawful to sell a recalled product. It’s unclear how this provision would be enforced.
• Manufacturers and importers will have to certify that their products meet mandatory standards or voluntary industry standards that the commission relies on as effective safety standards. Although there is a requirement for certification now, the new provision would make certification a more public process. It’s unclear who would do the certification, possibly a third-party company.
• To speed up the rulemaking process — which has taken 10 years or more for some safety regulations — the commission is considering taking a more aggressive approach in putting its stamp of approval on voluntary industry standards if they are deemed effective safety standards. If these voluntary standards become relied-upon CPSC standards, then companies selling products that violate these standards could be fined — and their products could also be seized by U.S. Customs officials. Today, if custom officials find imported products such as cigarette lighters or ATVs that don't meet voluntary industry standards, they don't have the authority to seize the product and keep them off the market.
• Currently, companies have 30 days to respond to commission inquiries before the agency can begin working on a unilateral public recall or safety announcement. To speed up the process, the commission wants to trim that to 10 days.

The commission is also reviewing the current cap on civil penalties, imposed on companies that fail to report safety defects to the commission in a timely manner. The current cap is $1.825 million, a ceiling that some in Congress believe is far too low. A House bill proposes boosting the penalty to $20 million. The commission staff, saying the agency never assessed a fine even close to the current cap, believes that such a high penalty is unnecessary — and that any increase should be phased in.