[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4212 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.4212
One Hundred Twelfth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twelve
An Act
To prevent the introduction into commerce of unsafe drywall, to ensure
the manufacturer of drywall is readily identifiable, to ensure that
problematic drywall removed from homes is not reused, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Drywall Safety Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the Secretary of Commerce should insist that the Government
of the People's Republic of China, which has ownership interests in
the companies that manufactured and exported problematic drywall to
the United States, facilitate a meeting between the companies and
representatives of the United States Government on remedying
homeowners that have problematic drywall in their homes; and
(2) the Secretary of Commerce should insist that the Government
of the People's Republic of China direct the companies that
manufactured and exported problematic drywall to submit to
jurisdiction in United States Federal Courts and comply with any
decisions issued by the Courts for homeowners with problematic
drywall.
SEC. 3. DRYWALL LABELING REQUIREMENT.
(a) Labeling Requirement.--Beginning 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the gypsum board labeling provisions of standard
ASTM C1264-11 of ASTM International, as in effect on the day before the
date of the enactment of this Act, shall be treated as a rule
promulgated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission under section
14(c) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(c)).
(b) Revision of Standard.--If the gypsum board labeling provisions
of the standard referred to in subsection (a) are revised on or after
the date of the enactment of this Act, ASTM International shall notify
the Commission of such revision no later than 60 days after final
approval of the revision by ASTM International. The revised provisions
shall be treated as a rule promulgated by the Commission under section
14(c) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(c)), in lieu of the prior version,
effective 180 days after the Commission is notified of the revision (or
such later date as the Commission considers appropriate), unless within
90 days after receiving that notice the Commission determines that the
revised provisions do not adequately identify gypsum board by
manufacturer and month and year of manufacture, in which case the
Commission shall continue to enforce the prior version.
SEC. 4. SULFUR CONTENT IN DRYWALL STANDARD.
(a) Rule on Sulfur Content in Drywall Required.--Except as provided
in subsection (c), not later than 2 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall
promulgate a final rule pertaining to drywall manufactured or imported
for use in the United States that limits sulfur content to a level not
associated with elevated rates of corrosion in the home.
(b) Rule Making; Consumer Product Safety Standard.--A rule under
subsection (a)--
(1) shall be promulgated in accordance with section 553 of
title 5, United States Code; and
(2) shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule
promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15
U.S.C. 2058).
(c) Exception.--
(1) Voluntary standard.--Subsection (a) shall not apply if the
Commission determines that--
(A) a voluntary standard pertaining to drywall manufactured
or imported for use in the United States limits sulfur content
to a level not associated with elevated rates of corrosion in
the home;
(B) such voluntary standard is or will be in effect not
later than two years after the date of enactment of this Act;
and
(C) such voluntary standard is developed by Subcommittee
C11.01 on Specifications and Test Methods for Gypsum Products
of ASTM International.
(2) Federal register.--Any determination made under paragraph
(1) shall be published in the Federal Register.
(d) Treatment of Voluntary Standard for Purposes of Enforcement.--
If the Commission determines that a voluntary standard meets the
conditions in subsection (c)(1), the sulfur content limit in such
voluntary standard shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule
promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15
U.S.C. 2058) beginning on the date that is the later of--
(1) 180 days after publication of the Commission's
determination under subsection (c); or
(2) the effective date contained in the voluntary standard.
(e) Revision of Voluntary Standard.--If the sulfur content limit of
a voluntary standard that met the conditions of subsection (c)(1) is
subsequently revised, the organization responsible for the standard
shall notify the Commission no later than 60 days after final approval
of the revision. The sulfur content limit of the revised voluntary
standard shall become enforceable as a Commission rule promulgated
under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), in
lieu of the prior version, effective 180 days after the Commission is
notified of the revision (or such later date as the Commission
considers appropriate), unless within 90 days after receiving that
notice the Commission determines that the sulfur content limit of the
revised voluntary standard does not meet the requirements of subsection
(c)(1)(A), in which case the Commission shall continue to enforce the
prior version.
(f) Future Rulemaking.--The Commission, at any time subsequent to
publication of the consumer product safety rule required by subsection
(a) or a determination under subsection (c), may initiate a rulemaking
in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to
modify the sulfur content limit or to include any provision relating
only to the composition or characteristics of drywall that the
Commission determines is reasonably necessary to protect public health
or safety. Any rule promulgated under this subsection shall be treated
as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the
Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058).
SEC. 5. REVISION OF REMEDIATION GUIDANCE FOR DRYWALL DISPOSAL REQUIRED.
Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission shall revise its guidance
entitled ``Remediation Guidance for Homes with Corrosion from Problem
Drywall'' to specify that problematic drywall removed from homes
pursuant to the guidance should not be reused or used as a component in
production of new drywall.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.