Assembly Bill No. 386–Assemblymen Koivisto, McClain, Ohrenschall, Anderson, Christensen, Claborn, Leslie, Parks and Pierce

 

March 17, 2003

____________

 

Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services

 

SUMMARY—Makes various changes relating to product safety for children. (BDR 38‑53)

 

FISCAL NOTE:  Effect on Local Government: Yes.

                           Effect on the State: Yes.

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

AN ACT relating to product safety for children; requiring the State Board of Health to create a list of unsafe children’s products; prohibiting the use of such products in child care facilities; prohibiting the sale or lease of such products in this state; providing a penalty; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

1-1  Section 1. Chapter 432 of NRS is hereby amended by adding

1-2  thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 10, inclusive, of this

1-3  act.

1-4  Sec. 2.  As used in sections 2 to 10, inclusive, of this act, the

1-5  words and terms defined in sections 3 to 7, inclusive, of this act

1-6  have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.

1-7  Sec. 3.  1.  Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2,

1-8  “children’s product” means a product, including, but not limited

1-9  to, a crib, nonstandard-size crib, toddler bed, bed, car seat, chair,

1-10  high chair, booster chair, hook-on chair, bath seat, gate or other

1-11  enclosure for confining a child, play yard, stationary activity

1-12  center, carrier, stroller, walker, swing, or toy or play equipment,

1-13  that meets the following criteria:

2-1  (a) The product is designed or intended for the care of, or use

2-2  by, children under 6 years of age or is designed or intended for the

2-3  care of, or use by, both children under 6 years of age and children

2-4  6 years of age or older; and

2-5  (b) The product is designed or intended to come into contact

2-6  with the child while the product is used.

2-7  2.  A product is not a “children’s product” if:

2-8  (a) It may be used by or for the care of a child under 6 years of

2-9  age, but it is designed or intended for use by the general

2-10  population or segments of the general population and not solely or

2-11  primarily for use by or for the care of a child; or

2-12      (b) It is a medication, drug or food, or is intended to be

2-13  ingested.

2-14      Sec. 4.  “Commercial user” means a person who deals in

2-15  children’s products or who otherwise by his occupation holds

2-16  himself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to children’s

2-17  products, or any person who is in the business of

2-18  remanufacturing, retrofitting, selling, leasing, subletting or

2-19  otherwise placing children’s products in the stream of commerce.

2-20      Sec. 5.  “Crib” means a bed or containment designed to

2-21  accommodate an infant.

2-22      Sec. 6.  “Infant” means any person less than 35 inches tall or

2-23  less than 3 years of age.

2-24      Sec. 7.  “Nonstandard-size crib” means a crib that is intended

2-25  for use in or around the home, for travel or for other purposes,

2-26  and that has an interior length dimension either greater than 55

2-27  inches or smaller than 49 3/4 inches, or an interior width

2-28  dimension either greater than 30 5/8 inches or smaller than 25 3/8

2-29  inches, or both. The term includes, but is not limited to:

2-30      1.  A crib designed so that it may be folded or collapsed,

2-31  without disassembly, to occupy a volume substantially less than

2-32  the volume it occupies when it is used.

2-33      2.  A crib the legs of which may be removed or adjusted to

2-34  provide for a playpen or play yard for a child.

2-35      3.  An unconventionally shaped crib that incorporates a

2-36  special mattress or other unconventional components.

2-37      Sec. 8.  1.  Except as otherwise provided in section 9 of this

2-38  act, a commercial user shall not remanufacture, retrofit, sell,

2-39  contract to sell or resell, lease, sublet or otherwise place in the

2-40  stream of commerce a children’s product that has been

2-41  determined by the State Board of Health to be unsafe.

2-42      2.  The State Board of Health shall create, maintain and

2-43  update a comprehensive list of children’s products that it

2-44  determines pursuant to this section to be unsafe. A commercial

2-45  user does not violate the provisions of subsection 1 unless the

3-1  unsafe product was included on the list created pursuant to this

3-2  subsection on the day before the violation.

3-3  3.  The State Board of Health may determine that a children’s

3-4  product is unsafe if it meets any of the following criteria:

3-5  (a) It does not conform to all federal laws and regulations

3-6  setting forth standards for children’s products;

3-7  (b) It has been recalled for any reason by an agency of the

3-8  Federal Government or the product’s manufacturer, distributor or

3-9  importer and the recall has not been rescinded; or

3-10      (c) An agency of the Federal Government has issued a

3-11  warning that the intended use of a specific product constitutes a

3-12  safety hazard and the warning has not been rescinded.

3-13      4.  In determining whether a crib is unsafe, the State Board of

3-14  Health shall consider the standards endorsed by the Consumer

3-15  Product Safety Commission and the American Society for Testing

3-16  and Materials, or similar governmental or private entities.

3-17      5.  In addition to other criteria for determining safety, a crib is

3-18  unsafe if it has any of the following dangerous features or

3-19  characteristics:

3-20      (a) Corner posts that extend more than one-sixteenth of an

3-21  inch.

3-22      (b) Spaces between side slats more than 2 3/8 inches.

3-23      (c) Mattress support that can be easily dislodged from any

3-24  point of the crib. A mattress support can be easily dislodged if it

3-25  cannot withstand at least a 25-pound upward force from

3-26  underneath the crib.

3-27      (d) Cutout designs on the end panels.

3-28      (e) Rail height dimensions that do not conform to both of the

3-29  following:

3-30          (1) The height of the rail and end panel as measured from

3-31  the top of the rail or panel in its lowest position to the top of the

3-32  mattress support in its highest position must be at least 9 inches.

3-33          (2) The height of the rail and end panel as measured from

3-34  the top of the rail or panel in its highest position to the top of the

3-35  mattress support in its lowest position must be at least 26 inches.

3-36      (f) Any screw, bolt or hardware that is loose and not secured.

3-37      (g) Sharp edges, points or rough surfaces, or any wood

3-38  surfaces that are not smooth and free from splinters, splits and

3-39  cracks.

3-40      (h) Tears in mesh or fabric sides in a nonstandard-size crib.

3-41      (i) A nonstandard-size crib that folds into a “V” shape design

3-42  that does not have top rails that automatically lock into place

3-43  when the crib is fully set up.

3-44      (j) A nonstandard-size crib with a mattress pad that exceeds 1

3-45  inch in depth.

4-1  Sec. 9.  1.  A children’s product that has been determined by

4-2  the State Board of Health to be unsafe because it meets the criteria

4-3  specified in subsection 3 of section 8 of this act may be retrofitted

4-4  if:

4-5  (a) The retrofit has been approved by the agency of Federal

4-6  Government issuing the recall or warning; or

4-7  (b) The agency responsible for approving the retrofit is

4-8  different from the agency issuing the recall or warning.

4-9  2.  A retrofitted children’s product may be sold if, except as

4-10  otherwise provided in subsection 3, it is accompanied at the time of

4-11  sale by a notice declaring that it is safe to use for a child under 6

4-12  years of age. The notice must include:

4-13      (a) A description of the original problem that made the

4-14  recalled product unsafe;

4-15      (b) A description of the retrofit that explains how the original

4-16  problem was eliminated and declaring that it is now safe to use for

4-17  a child under 6 years of age; and

4-18      (c) The name and address of the commercial user who

4-19  accomplished the retrofit certifying that the work was done along

4-20  with the name and model number of the product

4-21  retrofitted.

4-22  The commercial user is responsible for ensuring that the notice is

4-23  present with the retrofitted product at the time of sale.

4-24      3.  A retrofit does not require the notice declaring its safety

4-25  specified in subsection 2 if:

4-26      (a) The retrofit is for a children’s product that requires

4-27  assembly by the consumer, the notice of the approved retrofit is

4-28  provided with the product by the commercial user, and the retrofit

4-29  is accompanied at the time of sale by instructions explaining how

4-30  to apply for the retrofit; or

4-31      (b) The seller of a previously unsold product before selling the

4-32  product accomplishes the repair approved or recommended by an

4-33  agency of the Federal Government.

4-34      Sec. 10.  1.  A commercial user who willfully and knowingly

4-35  violates the provisions of section 8 of this act is guilty of a

4-36  misdemeanor.

4-37      2.  The Attorney General, or a district attorney in the county

4-38  in which a violation of section 8 of this act occurred, may bring a

4-39  civil action to enforce the provisions of sections 2 to 10, inclusive,

4-40  of this act.

4-41      3.  The remedies available pursuant to sections 2 to 10,

4-42  inclusive, of this act are in addition to any other remedies or

4-43  procedures available to an aggrieved person.

 

5-1  Sec. 11.  Chapter 432A of NRS is hereby amended by adding

5-2  thereto a new section to read as follows:

5-3  1.  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a child

5-4  care facility shall not use or have on its premises a children’s

5-5  product determined to be unsafe by the State Board of Health

5-6  pursuant to section 8 of this act. This subsection does not apply to

5-7  an antique or collectible children’s product if it is not used by, or

5-8  accessible to, any child in the child care facility.

5-9  2.  The Bureau shall notify child care facilities, on an ongoing

5-10  basis, of the provisions of this section and of children’s products

5-11  determined by the State Board of Health to be unsafe. The notice

5-12  must be written in plain, nontechnical language that will enable a

5-13  child care facility to inspect its children’s products effectively and

5-14  identify unsafe children’s products.

5-15      3.  As used in this section, “children’s product” has the

5-16  meaning ascribed to it in section 3 of this act.

 

5-17  H