#Cpsia

Finally, some legislative news out of Washington that doesn’t involve the phrase “debt ceiling”. The U.S. House and the Senate have passed a bill that would exempt youth off-highway vehicles from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, also known as the “lead ban”.

The House approved the bill, H.R. 2715, which amends the CPSIA to exempt off-highway vehicles and gives the Consumer Product Safety Commission the discretion to allow other exemptions.

The bill, introduced by Reps. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), was approved by a 421-2 vote on Aug. 1, and later that day passed unanimously through the Senate. The bill now awaits the signature of President Barack Obama before it becomes law.

Enacted in 2008, the CPSIA was designed to prohibit the sale of products containing certain levels of substances such as lead. As a result, the CPSIA banned the sale of youth OHVs because of traces of lead. The CPSC, which enforces the CPSIA, put a stay on enforcement of the act when it comes to OHVs, as various groups lobbied for an amendment.

[Source: AMA, MIC]