Notice2026-09642
Guidance on Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement
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
May 14, 2026
Issuing agencies
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Abstract
This notice describes the CPSC's plans to address guidance concerning criminal regulatory offenses under Executive Order 14294 on Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 93 (Thursday, May 14, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 93 (Thursday, May 14, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27308-27309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09642]
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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
Guidance on Referrals for Potential Criminal Enforcement
AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice describes the CPSC's plans to address guidance
concerning criminal regulatory offenses under Executive Order 14294 on
Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa V. Hampshire, Supervisory
Attorney, Division of Federal Court Litigation, U.S Consumer Product
Safety Commission, Office of the General Counsel, 4340 East West
Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814; telephone (301)504-7631 email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#610c09000c11120908130421021112024f060e17"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b4d9dcd5d9c4c7dcddc6d1f4d7c4c7d79ad3dbc2">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 9, 2025, the President issued
Executive Order (``E.O.'') 14294, Fighting Overcriminalization in
Federal Regulations. 90 FR 20363 (published May 14, 2025). Section 7 of
E.O. 14294 provides that within 45 days of the order, and in
consultation with the Attorney General, each agency should publish
guidance in the Federal Register describing its plan to address
criminal regulatory offenses.
The CPSC advises the public that by May 11, 2026, the CPSC, in
consultation with the Attorney General, will provide to the Director of
the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') a report containing: (1)
a list of all of the agency's criminal regulatory offenses \1\
enforceable by the CPSC or the Department of Justice (``DOJ''); and (2)
for each such criminal regulatory offense, the range of potential
criminal penalties for a violation and the applicable mens rea standard
\2\ for the criminal regulatory offense. CPSC regulations are enforced
through statutory provisions administered by the CPSC that provide for
criminal penalties. CPSC regulations in and of themselves do not
provide for criminal penalties without a violation of an underlying
statutory provision that provides for criminal penalties. CPSC will
list statutes, if any, that provide for criminal penalties, including
those statutes that include strict liability offenses for regulatory
violations enforced by CPSC found in the Code of Federal Regulations in
16 CFR subchapters B, C, D, E and F.
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\1\ ``Criminal regulatory offense'' means a Federal regulation
that is enforceable by a criminal penalty. E.O. 14294, sec. 3(b).
\2\ ``Mens rea'' means the state of mind that by law must be
proven to convict a particular defendant of a particular crime. E.O.
14294, sec. 3(c).
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This notice also announces a general policy, subject to appropriate
exceptions and to the extent consistent with law, that when the CPSC is
deciding whether to refer alleged violations of criminal regulatory
offenses to DOJ, officers and employees of the CPSC should consider,
among other factors:
<bullet> the harm or risk of harm, pecuniary or otherwise, caused
by the alleged offense;
<bullet> whether the statutory offense is a strict liability
offense with no mens rea requirement;
<bullet> the potential gain to the putative defendant that could
result from the offense;
<bullet> whether the putative defendant held specialized knowledge,
expertise,
[[Page 27309]]
or was licensed in an industry related to the rule or regulation at
issue; and
<bullet> evidence, if any is available, of the putative defendant's
general awareness of the unlawfulness of his conduct as well as his
knowledge or lack thereof of the regulation at issue.
This general policy is not intended to, and does not, create any
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in
equity by any party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other
person.
Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2026-09642 Filed 5-13-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P
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