Proposed Rule2022-15904
Ban of Inclined Sleepers for Infants
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 26, 2022
Issuing agencies
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Abstract
On May 16, 2022, the President signed into law the Safe Sleep for Babies Act of 2021 (SSBA), requiring that "inclined sleepers for infants, regardless of the date of manufacture, shall be considered a banned hazardous product" under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). Pursuant to this authority, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC, or Commission) is proposing to codify the ban on inclined sleepers for infants.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 142 (Tuesday, July 26, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 26, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44309-44310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15904]
[[Page 44309]]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
16 CFR Part 1310
[CPSC Docket No. 2022-0025]
Ban of Inclined Sleepers for Infants
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: On May 16, 2022, the President signed into law the Safe Sleep
for Babies Act of 2021 (SSBA), requiring that ``inclined sleepers for
infants, regardless of the date of manufacture, shall be considered a
banned hazardous product'' under the Consumer Product Safety Act
(CPSA). Pursuant to this authority, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC, or Commission) is proposing to codify the ban on
inclined sleepers for infants.
DATES: Submit comments by August 25, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You can submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2020-
0025, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments. CPSC typically does not accept
comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except as described
below. CPSC encourages you to submit electronic comments by using the
Federal eRulemaking Portal, as described above.
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier Written Submissions: Submit comments by
mail, hand delivery, or courier to: Office of the Secretary, Consumer
Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814;
telephone (301) 504-7479. If you wish to submit confidential business
information, trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected
information that you do not want to be available to the public, you may
submit such comments by mail, hand delivery, or courier, or you may
email them to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1e7d6e6d7d33716d5e7d6e6d7d30797168"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ea899a9989c78599aa899a9989c48d859c">[email protected]</span></a>.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number. CPSC may post all comments without change, including any
personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal
information provided, to: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Do not submit
through this website: confidential business information, trade secret
information, or other sensitive or protected information that you do
not want to be available to the public. If you wish to submit such
information, please submit it according to the instructions for mail/
hand delivery/courier written submissions.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, and insert the
docket number, CPSC-2020-0025f, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the
prompts.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Celestine T. Kish, Project Manager,
Directorate for Engineering, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5
Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301) 987-2547; email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dbb8b0b2a8b39bb8aba8b8f5bcb4ad"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="583b33312b30183b282b3b763f372e">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background and Statutory Authority
On May 3, 2022, Congress passed the Safe Sleep for Babies Act of
2021, H.R. 3182, Public Law 117-126, which the President signed on May
16, 2022. Section 2(a) of the SSBA requires that, not later than 180
days after enactment, ``inclined sleepers for infants, regardless of
the date of manufacture, shall be considered a banned hazardous product
under section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2057).''
15 U.S.C. 2057d(a).
II. Description of Proposed Ban on Inclined Infant Sleepers
In this rulemaking, CPSC proposes to codify the SSBA's mandate that
``inclined sleepers for infants'' are a banned hazardous product, as
set forth below.\1\
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\1\ On July 19, 2022, the Commission voted 5-0 to issue this
notice of proposed rulemaking.
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A. Definitions
The Commission proposes codifying the definition of ``inclined
sleepers for infants'' as stated in section 2(b) the SSBA: ``a product
with an inclined sleep surface greater than ten degrees that is
intended, marketed, or designed to provide sleeping accommodations for
an infant up to 1 year old.''
B. Effective Date
Section 2(a) of the SSBA states that inclined sleepers for infants
shall be considered a banned hazardous product ``not later than 180
days after the enactment of this Act,'' i.e., not later than November
12, 2022. CPSC proposes to make the effective date for this ban
November 12, 2022, consistent with 180-day period referenced by
Congress.
C. Inventory
The SSBA states that the ban applies to inclined sleepers for
infants as defined in section 2 ``regardless of the date of
manufacture.'' Therefore, inclined sleepers for infants manufactured
before the ban becomes effective will be banned hazardous products
beginning on the effective date, as well as any inclined sleepers for
infants manufactured or sold on or after the effective date.
III. Preemption
Section 3(b)(2)(A) of Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform
(Feb. 5, 1996), directs agencies to specify the preemptive effect of
any rule. 61 FR 4729 (Feb. 7, 1996). Because the SSBA states that
inclined sleepers for infants are banned hazardous products, any state
performance standards for inclined sleepers for infants, as those
products are defined in the SSBA, would be inconsistent with federal
law and therefore preempted by this ban.
IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601-612, requires that
agencies review proposed rules for their potential economic impact on
small entities, including small businesses, and identify alternatives
that may reduce such impact, unless the agency certifies that the rule
will not, if promulgated, have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. The SSBA will take effect on
November 12, 2022. Because the proposed rule would adopt the same
effective date and is limited to codifying the relevant provisions of
the SSBA with regard to inclined sleepers for infants, the proposed
rule imposes no additional economic impact on small entities beyond the
requirements of section 2 of the SSBA. Therefore, the Commission
certifies that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small entities.
V. Environmental Considerations
The Commission's regulations address whether the agency must
prepare an environmental assessment or an environmental impact
statement. Under these regulations, certain categories of CPSC actions
that have ``little or no potential for affecting the human
environment'' do not require an environmental assessment or an
environmental impact statement. 16 CFR 1021.5(c). The proposed rule
codifying section 2 of the SSBA falls within the categorical exclusion,
so no environmental assessment or environmental impact statement is
required.
[[Page 44310]]
VI. Paperwork Reduction Act
The proposed rule to codify inclined sleepers for infants as a
banned hazardous product contains no information collection
requirements that would be subject to public comment and review by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3521). However, if the Commission requires
testing and certification to this ban, the Commission will expand the
existing control number for Third Party Testing of Children's Products,
OMB Control No. 3041-0159.
VII. Request for Comments
We invite comments on all aspects of the Commission's proposal to
codify the ban on inclined sleepers for infants under section 2 of the
SSBA with an effective date of November 12, 2022. Comments must be
submitted in accordance with the instructions in the ADDRESSES section
at the beginning of this notice. We also invite comment on the
following topics:
A. Effective Date: The Commission proposes to implement the
inclined sleeper ban in the SSBA with an effective date of November 12,
2022. Should the Commission adopt this proposed effective date, or an
alternative date ``[n]ot later than 180 days after the date of
enactment''? If the commenter believes that an effective date later
than November 12, 2022, is permitted under section 2 of the SSBA, what
is the legal basis for that assertion, and what later date should be
adopted?
B. Interpretation: In 2021, the Commission promulgated its Safety
Standard for Infant Sleep Products (16 CFR part 1236, the ISP Rule),
which became effective on June 23, 2022. (86 FR 33022 (June 23, 2021)).
Pursuant to 16 CFR 1236.2(b)(10)(i), the ISP Rule defines an ``infant
sleep product'' as a ``product marketed or intended to provide a
sleeping accommodation for an infant up to 5 months of age, and that is
not subject to'' one of the following: 16 CFR part 1218 (bassinets and
cradles); 16 CFR part 1219 (full-size cribs); 16 CFR part 1220 (non-
full-size cribs); 16 CFR part 1221 (play yards); and 16 CFR part 1222
(bedside sleepers) (collectively, CPSC sleep standards).\2\ 86 FR at
33072. The SSBA, by contrast, applies to products ``marketed, intended,
or designed'' for infants up to 1 years old. The operative provisions
of the SSBA and the ISP Rule thus are not identical. Particularly in
that light, the Commission requests comment on interpreting, codifying,
and enforcing the SSBA with respect to inclined sleep products,
including:
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\2\ If an infant sleep product does not already comply with a
CPSC sleep standard, the ISP Rule requires the sleep surface angle
to measure l0 degrees or less, and the product must meet part 1218
of the Commission's Rules, the bassinet standard, including the
definition of a bassinet, meaning the product must have a stand. The
ISP Rule applies to both flat and inclined products.
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1. How should the Commission interpret and implement the phrase
``sleeping accommodations'' for purposes of the SSBA ban?
2. What, if any, effect should inclusion of the term ``designed''
in the SSBA have on the Commission's interpretation and implementation
of the SSBA as compared to the ISP Rule? For example, what
significance, if any, might ``designed'' have for inclined products
that are not marketed for sleep but in which an infant may fall asleep,
such as bouncers, swings, and rockers?
3. In the SSBA, what product characteristics, if any, demonstrate
that a product is ``designed'' for sleep?
4. How should the Commission interpret and implement the terms
``marketed'' and ``intended'' as a sleeping accommodation in the SSBA?
Should these terms be interpreted and implemented the same as in the
ISP Rule? Why or why not?
5. What is the significance of the age distinction between the ISP
Rule and the SSBA's ban? How might this difference bear on
implementation of the SSBA as compared to the ISP Rule, including with
respect to developmental differences between a newborn to 5 month old
as identified in the ISP Rule, versus a newborn to 1 year old as
identified in the SSBA?
6. How, if at all, should the SSBA's ban of inclined sleepers for
infants affect the ISP Rule or the Commission's application of it?
C. Testing and Certification: When a ban does not remove all
products in a product category from the market, testing and
certification requirements may apply. For example, CPSC requires a
General Certificate of Conformity (GCC) for certain banned hazardous
products. See, e.g., <a href="https://www.cpsc.gov/Business-Manufacturing/Testing-Certification/Lab-Accreditation/Rules-Requiring-a-General-Certificate-of-Conformity">https://www.cpsc.gov/Business-Manufacturing/Testing-Certification/Lab-Accreditation/Rules-Requiring-a-General-Certificate-of-Conformity</a>, CPSC's website providing guidance that bans
set forth in 16 CFR parts 1304, 1305, and 1306 require a GCC. In this
case, inclined sleepers with an inclined sleep surface of 10 degrees or
less, or that are marketed, intended, or designed to provide sleeping
accommodations for an infant older than 1 year, are not within the
scope of the SSBA's ban. To the extent inclined sleepers remain on the
market that are not banned by this rule, and that are not regulated
under the ISP Rule, should CPSC require testing and certification to
this ban, to demonstrate that a product is not within the scope of the
ban? Why, or why not?
List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 1310
Administrative practice and procedure, Consumer protection, Infants
and children.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Commission proposes to
add part 1310 to title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations as
follows:
PART 1310--BAN OF INCLINED SLEEPERS FOR INFANTS
Sec.
1310.1 Purpose and scope
1310.2 Definition
1310.3 Banned hazardous product
1310.4 Effective date
Authority: Sec. 2, Pub. L. 117-126, 136 Stat. 1208; 15 U.S.C.
2057d.
Sec. 1310.1 Purpose and scope
The purpose of this rule is to prohibit the sale of inclined
sleepers for infants as set forth in the Safe Sleep for Babies Act of
2021.
Sec. 1310.2 Definition
Inclined sleeper for infants means ``a product with an inclined
sleep surface greater than ten degrees that is intended, marketed, or
designed to provide sleeping accommodations for an infant up to 1 year
old.''
Sec. 1310.3 Banned Hazardous product
Any inclined sleeper for infants, regardless of the date of
manufacture, is a banned hazardous product under section 8 of the
Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2057).
Sec. 1310.4 Effective date
The effective date of this ban is November 12, 2022.
Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2022-15904 Filed 7-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 26, 2022.
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