CPSC Approves Play Yards Section 104 Switch 4-0

Two 4-0 votes occurred quickly in CPSC’s June 27 approval of its play yard section 104 switch. The first made changes to the proposal and the second approved it. Commissioner Anne Northup motioned, and Commissioner Robert Adler seconded, that the commission should make three changes: move the effective date of the rule back to six months; remove the bassinet misassembly requirement from the final rule; and modify the rule’s preamble to reflect those changes.

Northup recommended publishing the bassinet rule as a separate one, with a 75-day comment period and six-month effective date. During a June 13 briefing (PSL, 6/18/12, p. 1) she had raised the issue of removing the bassinet misassembly requirement from the play yard standard, questioning the expediency of the added language.

Prior to the votes, Chairman Inez Tenenbaum opened the session by thanking CPSC staff as well as Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar (parents of Danny Keysar, whose suffocation death in a play yard sparked the creation of Danny’s Law, the part of the CPSIA that requires CPSC to review two durable infant nursery products rules every six months).

“We have honored Danny Kazar and many other children who were taken too soon by approving this new federal play yard safety standard,” she remarked. “Tragedy has been turned into action, and children will be safer as a result of our actions here today” she continued.

Meanwhile, in her prepared remarks issued the next day, she explained the bassinet issue and alluded to a complaint by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association about proper notice and comment (PSL, 6/25/12, p. 6). She wrote:

“While some have voiced concern over the Bassinet Misassembly Requirement under the Administrative Procedures Act, it is evident to me that there was sufficient notice and comment here. The Bassinet Misassembly Requirement arose out of a comment from our play yards NPR and was a logical outgrowth of the play yards rule-making. The NPR specifically mentioned misassembly and ‘entrapment of children in accessories.’ Additionally, the Bassinet Misassembly Requirement was deliberated and drafted over the course of several months by a task group comprised of industry engineers, consumer advocates, and CPSC staff. Based on the fact that there has already been one round of notice and comment and given the extensive input from industry during the subsequent ATSM process, I anticipate that this amendment to the rule will be finalized quickly barring any unforeseen comments on this reproposal.”

Meanwhile, Tenenbaum and others, including Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-N.Y.), also held a related press event on Capitol Hill June 27 to promote the play yard vote:

“Since I became Chairman in June 2009, we have established the strongest crib safety standards in the world, and established stringent mandatory standards for baby walkers, baby bath seats, bed rails, and toddler beds.

 

“In the works at the Commission are new rules for bassinets and cradles, strollers, and infant carriers. My commitment and CPSC’s commitment to fully implementing ‘Danny’s Law’ is unwavering. 'Danny’s Law' has made CPSC a stronger agency and made countless homes safer for children to live in.

 

“It will take years for CPSC to complete the task of creating federal standards for all of the key juvenile products. But, I believe the end result will be greater consumer confidence in the marketplace, fewer defective juvenile products, lives saved, and injuries prevented and lives saved.”