Text: HF02233 Text: HF02235 Text: HF02200 - HF02299 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 237A.12, subsection 1, Code 2001, is
1 2 amended by adding the following new paragraph:
1 3 NEW PARAGRAPH. i. Requirements relating to unsafe
1 4 children's products pursuant to section 237A.31.
1 5 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 237A.31 CHILDREN'S PRODUCT SAFETY.
1 6 1. Beginning January 1, 2003, a child care facility shall
1 7 not use or have on the premises an unsafe children's product.
1 8 This prohibition does not apply to an antique or collectible
1 9 children's product if the product is not used by or accessible
1 10 to any child in the child care facility.
1 11 2. The department shall, no later than September 1, 2002,
1 12 send a notice to all licensed or registered child care
1 13 facilities informing the facilities of the provisions of this
1 14 section. The department shall send notices to child care
1 15 facilities on a periodic basis of the provisions of this
1 16 section and of the most recent listing of unsafe children's
1 17 products maintained by the office of the attorney general
1 18 pursuant to section 714.26.
1 19 3. A licensed or registered child care facility shall
1 20 conspicuously post on the premises the most recently updated
1 21 copy of the list of unsafe children's products provided by the
1 22 department.
1 23 4. a. A licensed or registered child care facility shall
1 24 maintain a file of all notices sent by the department
1 25 regarding unsafe children's products, and shall make the file
1 26 available to facility personnel and to the parents of children
1 27 attending the facility.
1 28 b. A licensed or registered child care facility shall make
1 29 the file available to the department as part of any
1 30 inspection, investigation, or licensing or registration
1 31 process, and the facility shall certify in writing during any
1 32 of the processes, on a form provided by the department, that
1 33 the facility has reviewed each of the notices and that no
1 34 unsafe children's products are on the premises of the
1 35 facility. The department shall create and provide to all
2 1 licensed or registered child care facilities a certification
2 2 form to be used under this section.
2 3 5. The department may suspend or revoke the license or
2 4 certificate of registration of a child care facility or may
2 5 reduce the license of a child care facility to a provisional
2 6 license in accordance with section 237A.8, if the child care
2 7 facility does not comply with the requirements of this
2 8 section.
2 9 6. For the purposes of this section, "child", "children's
2 10 product", and "unsafe children's product" mean the same as
2 11 defined in section 714.26.
2 12 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 714.26 CHILDREN'S PRODUCT SAFETY –
2 13 PENALTIES.
2 14 1. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise
2 15 requires:
2 16 a. "Child" means an unmarried person who is under eighteen
2 17 years of age.
2 18 b. "Children's product" means a product, including but not
2 19 limited to a full-size baby crib, non-full-size baby crib,
2 20 toddler bed, bed, car seat, chair, high chair, booster chair,
2 21 hook-on chair, bath seat, gate or other enclosure for
2 22 confining a child, play yard, stationary activity center,
2 23 carrier, stroller, walker, swing, or toy or play equipment,
2 24 that meets all of the following criteria:
2 25 (1) The product is designed or intended for the care of,
2 26 or use by, children under six years of age or is designed or
2 27 intended for the care of, or use by, both children under six
2 28 years of age and children six years of age or older.
2 29 (2) The product is designed or intended to come into
2 30 contact with the child while the product is used.
2 31 "Children's product" does not include a product that may be
2 32 used by or for the care of a child under six years of age, but
2 33 the product is designed or intended for use by the general
2 34 population or segments of the general population and not
2 35 solely or primarily for use by or the care of a child, or a
3 1 product that is a medication, drug, or food or is intended to
3 2 be ingested.
3 3 c. "Commercial user" means a person who deals in
3 4 children's products or who holds the person out as having
3 5 knowledge or skill relating to children's products, or a
3 6 person who is in the business of remanufacturing,
3 7 retrofitting, selling, leasing, subletting, or otherwise
3 8 placing in the stream of commerce children's products.
3 9 d. "Consumer product safety commission" means the consumer
3 10 product safety commission created by the federal Consumer
3 11 Product Safety Act, Pub. L. No. 92-573, 86 Stat. 1210.
3 12 e. "Crib" means a bed or containment designed to
3 13 accommodate an infant.
3 14 f. "Full-size baby crib" means a full-size baby crib as
3 15 defined in 16 C.F.R. } 1508.1(a).
3 16 g. "Infant" means a person less than thirty-five inches
3 17 tall and less than three years of age.
3 18 h. "Non-full-size baby crib" means a non-full-size baby
3 19 crib as defined in 16 C.F.R. } 1509.2(b).
3 20 i. "Unsafe children's product" means any of the following:
3 21 (1) A children's product that does not conform to all
3 22 federal laws and regulations for the specific children's
3 23 product.
3 24 (2) The children's product has been recalled for any
3 25 reason by an agency of the federal government or the product's
3 26 manufacturer, distributor, or importer and the recall has not
3 27 been rescinded.
3 28 (3) An agency of the federal government has issued a
3 29 warning that the specific children's product's intended use
3 30 constitutes a safety hazard and the warning has not been
3 31 rescinded.
3 32 (4) With regard to a children's product that is a crib,
3 33 "unsafe children's product" means a crib that does not conform
3 34 to the standards endorsed or established by the consumer
3 35 product safety commission.
4 1 2. a. A commercial user shall not remanufacture,
4 2 retrofit, sell, contract to sell or resell, lease, sublet, or
4 3 otherwise place in the stream of commerce, an unsafe
4 4 children's product.
4 5 b. Notwithstanding paragraph "a", an unsafe children's
4 6 product may be retrofitted if the retrofit has been approved
4 7 by the federal agency issuing the recall or warning or the
4 8 federal agency responsible for approving the retrofit if that
4 9 federal agency is not the same federal agency issuing the
4 10 recall or warning. A retrofitted children's product may be
4 11 sold if the children's product is accompanied at the time of
4 12 the sale by a notice declaring that the product is safe to
4 13 use. The notice shall include all of the following:
4 14 (1) A description of the original problem that made the
4 15 recalled product an unsafe children's product.
4 16 (2) A description of the retrofit that explains how the
4 17 original problem was eliminated and declaring that it is now
4 18 safe to use.
4 19 (3) The name and address of the commercial user who
4 20 accomplished the retrofit certifying that the work was done
4 21 along with the name and model number of the product
4 22 retrofitted. The commercial user shall be responsible for
4 23 ensuring that the notice is provided with the retrofitted
4 24 product at the time of the sale.
4 25 c. A retrofit is not required to comply with paragraph
4 26 "b", subparagraphs (1) through (3), if either of the following
4 27 apply:
4 28 (1) The retrofit is for a children's product that requires
4 29 assembly by the consumer, the approved retrofit is provided
4 30 with the product by the commercial user, and the retrofit is
4 31 accompanied at the time of sale by instructions explaining how
4 32 to apply the retrofit.
4 33 (2) The seller of a previously unsold children's product
4 34 accomplishes the repair prior to the sale and the repair is
4 35 approved or recommended by a federal agency.
5 1 3. a. The office of the attorney general shall create,
5 2 maintain, and update a comprehensive list of unsafe children's
5 3 products no later than January 1, 2003. The list shall be
5 4 available to the public at no cost and the list shall be
5 5 available on the office of the attorney general's internet
5 6 site.
5 7 4. A commercial user who willfully and knowingly violates
5 8 this section commits an unlawful practice and shall be subject
5 9 to the provisions of section 714.16 relating to an unlawful
5 10 practice.
5 11 5. A commercial user is not in violation of this section
5 12 if the specific unsafe children's product in question was not
5 13 included in the department listing thirty days prior to the
5 14 product being placed in the stream of commerce.
5 15 6. Remedies available under this section are in addition
5 16 to any other remedies or procedures that may be available to
5 17 an aggrieved party.
5 18 EXPLANATION
5 19 This bill relates to unsafe children's products. The bill
5 20 provides that beginning January 1, 2003, a licensed or
5 21 registered child care facility is prohibited from using or
5 22 having on its premises an unsafe children's product. No later
5 23 than September 1, 2002, the department of human services is to
5 24 send a notice of the prohibition to each child care facility
5 25 and is to send periodic notices that include information
5 26 regarding the prohibition and the most recently updated list
5 27 of unsafe children's products maintained by the office of the
5 28 attorney general to each child care facility. Each child care
5 29 facility is to maintain a file of all notices received and is
5 30 to conspicuously post on the premises the most recently
5 31 updated copy of the list of unsafe children's products, is to
5 32 maintain a file of all notices sent by the department
5 33 regarding unsafe children's products, is to make the file
5 34 available to facility personnel and to the parents of children
5 35 attending the facility, is to make the file available to the
6 1 department as part of any inspection, investigation, licensing
6 2 or registration process, and is to certify in writing during
6 3 any of the processes, on a form provided by the department,
6 4 that the facility has reviewed each of the notices and that no
6 5 unsafe children's products are on the premises of the
6 6 facility. The bill directs the department of human services
6 7 to create and provide to all child care facilities the
6 8 certification form to be used. A child care facility that
6 9 does not comply with the requirements related to children's
6 10 product safety is subject to suspension or revocation of
6 11 licensure or certificate of registration or to reduction of a
6 12 license to a provisional license.
6 13 The bill also prohibits a commercial user as defined in the
6 14 bill from remanufacturing, retrofitting, selling, contracting
6 15 to sell or resell, leasing, subletting, or otherwise placing
6 16 in the stream of commerce, an unsafe children's product. The
6 17 bill provides exceptions for certain retrofitting of products.
6 18 The bill provides definitions of "child", "children's
6 19 product", "commercial user", "consumer product safety
6 20 commission", "crib", "full-size baby crib", "infant", "non-
6 21 full-size baby crib", and "unsafe children's product". The
6 22 bill directs the office of the attorney general to create,
6 23 maintain, and update a comprehensive list of unsafe children's
6 24 products no later than January 1, 2003. The list is to be
6 25 available to the public at no cost and is also to be available
6 26 on the office of the attorney general's internet site. The
6 27 bill provides that a commercial user who willfully and
6 28 knowingly violates the bill commits an unlawful practice and
6 29 is subject to the provisions of the consumer frauds
6 30 provisions, which provides for civil penalties and injunctive
6 31 relief. The bill also provides that remedies available under
6 32 the bill are in addition to any other remedies or procedures
6 33 that may be available to an aggrieved party. A commercial
6 34 user is not in violation of the bill if the specific unsafe
6 35 children's product in question was not included in the
7 1 attorney general's listing 30 days prior to the product being
7 2 placed in the stream of commerce.
7 3 LSB 5726YH 79
7 4 pf/sh/8
Text: HF02233 Text: HF02235 Text: HF02200 - HF02299 Text: HF Index Bills and Amendments: General Index Bill History: General Index
© 2002 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa
Comments about this site or page?
webmaster@legis.iowa.gov.
Please remember that the person listed above does not vote on bills. Direct all comments concerning legislation to State Legislators.
Last update: Thu Feb 14 03:30:19 CST 2002
URL: /DOCS/GA/79GA/Legislation/HF/02200/HF02234/020206.html
jhf