CPSC Votes to Lift the Stay of Testing and Certification Requirements for Certain Products and Extend the Stay for Others

By Michelle L. Butler –

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC” or “Commission”) has now voted to lift the stay of the testing and certification requirements for certain products and extend the stay for others.  The Commission issued a press release last Friday regarding the decision, along with a revised draft Federal Register notice, reflecting changes resulting from the Commission’s vote.  The press release includes a useful chart detailing the categories of products and whether the stay has been lifted or extended as well as links to statements by the Commissioners regarding their votes.  The main changes to the draft Federal Register notice pertain to the extension of the stay for bicycles and lead content – the revised draft shortens the extension for bicycles and lengthens the extension for lead content by six months from August 10, 2010 to February 10, 2011.  See Draft Notice, at 17.

You will remember a discussion in our previous post regarding an ambiguity surrounding the scope of the stay of certification for products regulated under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (“PPPA”).  (For your convenience, here is a link to our prior, more detailed post.)  In an informal response from an informed CPSC staff member, we were told that this person did not believe that the Commission intended to draw a distinction between PPPA-regulated “consumer products” and other PPPA-regulated products, such as drugs, devices, cosmetics, and food, but rather intended to lift the stay with respect to certification to PPPA requirements generally.  Consistent with this view, we note that in the revised draft Federal Register notice, the heading that had been titled “Consumer Products Where the Commission is Lifting the Stay of Enforcement and for Which General Conformity Certification Will Become Necessary” is now titled “Products Where the Commission is Lifting the Stay of Enforcement and for Which General Conformity Certification Will Become Necessary” – the word “consumer” has been deleted.