Product Safety Standard-Making Powers under the Consumer Product Safety Act

• Date: 01 June 1973
• DOI: 10.1177/0003603X7301800206
• Published date: 01 June 1973
• Subject Matter: Article

PRODUCT SAFETY STANIDARD.MAKING POWERS

UNDER THE CONSUMER PRO'DUCT

SAFETY

ACT

by

RICHARD

A.

GIVENS·

The Consumer

Product

Safety Act! represents a new

departure

in the

granting

of express rule-making power to a

federal agency regarding abroad range of consumer products,

with specific sanctions contained in the law for violations of

the rules adopted by the agency.

The coverage of the Act includes almost all products

"distributed

...

for

sale to a consumer

for

use in or around

apermanent or temporary household or residence, a school, in

recreation or otherwise

...

"2

other

than

products specifically

regulated by other agencies, the most important one being

food, drugs, devices

and

cosmetics covered by the Federal

Food,

Drug

and

Cosmetic Act.

The Act creates aConsumer

Product

Safety Commission

consisting of five Commissioners appointed by the President

subject to Senate confirmation, with a Chairman designated

by the President who continues to act as Chairman until the

expiration of his

term

as Commissioner,"

The Commission is authorized to promulgate consumer

product safety

standards

as to "performance, composition,

contents, design, construction, finish, or packaging of a con-

sumer

product,""

or

requiring warnings

or

instrnctions in

connection with produets.s

• Regional Director, New York Regional

Office,

FTC.

AUTHOR'S

NOTE:

The views expressed

are

solely my own

and

are

not attributable to any government agency.

1Public Law 92-573.

s Section

3(a)

(1)

(i).

II Section

4(a).

" Section 7( a) (1) .

II Section

7(a)

(2).

243