Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB95 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R1729 JSC-F
2	2	By: Van de Putte, Zaffirini S.B. No. 95
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to prohibiting the sale or use of unsafe children's
8	8	products; providing a civil penalty.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 9, Health and Safety Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Chapter 762 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 762. CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS SAFETY
13	13	Sec. 762.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
14	14	(1) "Child-care facility" has the meaning assigned by
15	15	Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
16	16	(2) "Children's product" means a product that is
17	17	designed or intended to be used by a child under eight years of age
18	18	or used in the care of a child under eight years of age and that is
19	19	designed or intended to come into contact with the child while the
20	20	product is used. The term includes a crib, toddler bed, bed, car
21	21	seat, chair, high chair, booster chair, hook-on chair, bath seat,
22	22	gate or other enclosure for confining a child, play yard,
23	23	stationary activity center, carrier, stroller, walker, swing, or
24	24	toy or play equipment. The term does not include:
25	25	(A) an item that may be used by a child under
26	26	eight years of age or used in the care of a child under eight years
27	27	of age if the item is designed or intended to be used by the general
28	28	population or segments of the general population and not solely or
29	29	primarily by a child under eight years of age or in the care of a
30	30	child under eight years of age; or
31	31	(B) a medication, a drug, food, or another item
32	32	that is intended to be ingested.
33	33	(3) "Crib" means a bed designed to provide sleeping
34	34	accommodations for a child less than 35 inches tall and younger than
35	35	three years of age. The term includes full-size cribs and
36	36	non-full-size cribs.
37	37	Sec. 762.002. PRESUMPTION. (a) A children's product is
38	38	presumed to be unsafe for purposes of this chapter if:
39	39	(1) it does not conform to all federal laws and
40	40	regulations setting forth standards for the product;
41	41	(2) it has been recalled for any reason by an agency of
42	42	the federal government or the product's manufacturer, distributor,
43	43	or importer and the recall has not been rescinded; or
44	44	(3) an agency of the federal government has issued a
45	45	warning that the product's intended use constitutes a safety hazard
46	46	and the warning has not been rescinded.
47	47	(b) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (a), a
48	48	crib is presumed to be unsafe for purposes of this chapter if it
49	49	does not conform to:
50	50	(1) the most recent safety guidelines adopted by the
51	51	United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, including 16
52	52	C.F.R. Parts 1303, 1508, and 1509; and
53	53	(2) the standards published by ASTM International for
54	54	corner posts and structural integrity of baby cribs, including ASTM
55	55	F966-00, ASTM F1169-07, and ASTM F406-08, as those standards
56	56	existed on January 1, 2009.
57	57	(c) A children's product that has been recalled for any
58	58	reason by an agency of the federal government or the product's
59	59	manufacturer, distributor, or importer is not presumed to be unsafe
60	60	if the product has been remanufactured or retrofitted so that the
61	61	product is safe.
62	62	Sec. 762.003. LIST OF UNSAFE CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS. (a) The
63	63	Department of State Health Services shall maintain a list of unsafe
64	64	children's products. The department shall make the list available
65	65	to the public at no cost through the department's Internet website.
66	66	(b) Not later than 24 hours after the Department of State
67	67	Health Services learns that a children's product is unsafe, the
68	68	department shall add the product to the list.
69	69	(c) The Department of State Health Services shall inform
70	70	child-care facilities about the list and provide the facilities
71	71	with the Internet address to access the list on the department's
72	72	website. The department shall provide a written copy of the list to
73	73	a child-care facility that does not have access to the Internet.
74	74	Sec. 762.004. CHILD-CARE FACILITY. (a) Except as provided
75	75	by Subsection (b), a child-care facility may not use an unsafe
76	76	children's product or have an unsafe children's product on the
77	77	premises of the child-care facility.
78	78	(b) A child-care facility may have an unsafe children's
79	79	product on the premises if:
80	80	(1) the product is an antique or collectible
81	81	children's product and is not used by, or accessible to, any child
82	82	in the child-care facility;
83	83	(2) the unsafe children's product has been
84	84	remanufactured or retrofitted so that the product is safe; or
85	85	(3) the unsafe children's product is being retrofitted
86	86	and the product is not used by, or accessible to, any child in the
87	87	child-care facility.
88	88	(c) The Department of Family and Protective Services shall
89	89	notify a child-care facility of the provisions of this chapter in
90	90	plain, nontechnical language that will enable the child-care
91	91	facility to effectively inspect the children's products at the
92	92	facility and identify unsafe children's products.
93	93	(d) The Department of Family and Protective Services shall
94	94	provide the notice required by Subsection (c):
95	95	(1) at the time an application for a license,
96	96	registration, or certification or a renewal is submitted to the
97	97	department; and
98	98	(2) during a license, registration, or certificate
99	99	monitoring visit.
100	100	(e) Each child-care facility shall, as part of the
101	101	licensing, licensing renewal, or periodic update process conducted
102	102	by the Department of Family and Protective Services, certify in
103	103	writing that the facility has reviewed each of the bulletins and
104	104	notices issued by the Department of State Health Services regarding
105	105	unsafe children's products and that there are no unsafe products in
106	106	the facility. The Department of Family and Protective Services
107	107	shall retain the certification form completed by each facility in
108	108	the facility's licensing file.
109	109	(f) A child-care facility must maintain all written
110	110	information provided by the Department of Family and Protective
111	111	Services or the Department of State Health Services to the facility
112	112	regarding unsafe children's products in a file accessible to
113	113	facility staff and parents of children attending the facility.
114	114	(g) A child-care facility shall post in a prominent location
115	115	regularly visited by parents written notification of the existence
116	116	of the comprehensive list of unsafe children's products and the
117	117	Internet address to access the list.
118	118	Sec. 762.005. RULES. The executive commissioner of the
119	119	Health and Human Services Commission shall adopt rules and forms
120	120	necessary to implement this chapter.
121	121	Sec. 762.006. CIVIL PENALTY. (a) A person who violates
122	122	this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter is liable to the
123	123	state for a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each violation.
124	124	(b) Each day a violation continues may be considered a
125	125	separate violation for purposes of a civil penalty assessment.
126	126	(c) The attorney general may bring suit to recover a civil
127	127	penalty imposed under this section.
128	128	SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
129	129	is amended by adding Section 42.0423 to read as follows:
130	130	Sec. 42.0423. UNSAFE CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS. A child-care
131	131	facility shall comply with Chapter 762, Health and Safety Code, and
132	132	rules adopted under that chapter.
133	133	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.