CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye March 2 told an ICPHSO audience in Washington D.C. that the agency is looking at the possibility of doing more to inform the public when it refers cases to for handling by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Kaye said decisions to move to DOJ – including possibility criminal charges – are "big deals," and he suggested that is a public right-to-know matter. Such situations often are not publicized until resolution of the cases if ever.
Relatedly, he warned that the absence of discussion of DOJ referral during a civil penalty negotiation with CPSC does not necessarily indicate the move won't occur.
Other points raised by Kaye during his speech included:
- Workshops and Feedback: The agency plans to organize events to address the "festering issues" of Section 15(b) (see related story in this issue) and recall effectiveness. The latter was the subject of numerous sessions during the conference. Separately, he solicited input from companies on their international training needs.
- Emerging Technology: He called for governments and standards group to work towards creation of "standards of principles" for safe market introduction. He specifically compared the challenges of 3D printing to those linked to the emergence of manufacturing in China and developing nations, but with educational and other challenges moving back to the U.S. as consumers become manufacturers.
- Old Challenges: At the lunch and elsewhere, he used the phrase "this is the year" to express optimism about long standing difficulty in resolving the issues of window coverings (see related story in this issue) and ROVs.
- Commission Collegiality: He framed the recent trend as more than respect among colleagues. It positively affects regulated companies, he suggested, as there is rational debate and receptiveness to discussion versus fights. That fosters sounder decisions, he said.
- Compliance/Enforcement: He noted decision to require commission votes for recalls involving deaths and emphasized the likelihood of higher penalties occurring (see related stories in this issue).
