[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4298 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4298
To provide that certain water beads products shall be considered banned
hazardous products under section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety Act,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 9, 2024
Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Casey, and Ms. Collins) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide that certain water beads products shall be considered banned
hazardous products under section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety Act,
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 ``Esther's Law''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Art material or art material product.--The term ``art
material or art material product'' has the meaning given such
term in section 23(b)(1) of the Federal Hazardous Substances
Act (15 U.S.C. 1277(b)(1)) as applied to a child under 14 years
of age.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Consumer
Product Safety Commission.
(3) Educational material.--The term ``educational
material'' means any substance or product, other than a toy, as
defined in paragraph (5), that is designed, intended, or
marketed by the producer or repackager as suitable to assist
with the cognitive development of a child under 14 years of
age.
(4) Sensory stimulation material or sensory tool.--The term
``sensory stimulation material or sensory tool'' means a
consumer product, as defined in section 3(a)(5) of the Consumer
Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)(5)), that stimulates the
visual or tactile sense of a child under 14 years of age.
(5) Toy.--The term ``toy'' has the meaning given such term
in section 3.1.92 of ASTM F963-23 (Standard Consumer Safety
Specification for Toy Safety), or any successor to such
document.
(6) Water beads product.--The term ``water beads product''
means a consumer product, whether accessible or not, that--
(A) is composed, in whole or in part, of water-
absorbing super absorbent polymers, such as
polyacrylamides and polyacrylates; and
(B) at the point of sale to a consumer, contains at
least 1 individual bead that can--
(i) fit entirely within the cylinder
described in section 1501.4 of title 16, Code
of Federal Regulations; and
(ii) through water absorption, expand--
(I) to a size of at least 3
millimeters (in 1 or more dimensions);
or
(II) by 50 percent or more in
diameter in any dimension from its as-
received state.
SEC. 3. CERTAIN WATER BEADS PRODUCTS CONSIDERED BANNED HAZARDOUS
PRODUCTS.
(a) In General.--On and after the date that is 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, a water beads product, without
regard to the date of manufacture or importation, shall be considered a
banned hazardous product under section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety
Act (15 U.S.C. 2057).
(b) Water Beads Product.--For purposes of subsection (a), the term
``water beads product'' (as defined in section 2) refers to a product
that is designed, intended, or marketed as--
(1) a toy;
(2) educational material;
(3) art material or art material product; or
(4) sensory stimulation material or sensory tool.
SEC. 4. REGULATION OF WATER BEAD PRODUCTS NOT DESIGNED, INTENDED, OR
MARKETED AS TOYS, EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS, ART MATERIALS,
OR SENSORY TOOLS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 24 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, in accordance with section
553 of title 5, United States Code, promulgate a final consumer product
safety standard for water beads products that are not banned under
section 3 that--
(1) may contain requirements on the colors of such water
beads products, so as to deter use by children; and
(2) shall contain warning label requirements--
(A) to be included, as practicable, on the
packaging of such products;
(B) to be included on any literature distributed
with the product, in print or in an online format; and
(C) that shall contain language describing the risk
of injury and death if used by children or around
children, including--
(i) the hazard of ingestion, orally or
otherwise;
(ii) the need for the consumer to keep the
product out of an environment that contains
children; and
(iii) instructions for the consumer to seek
medical care and advice should the consumer
suspect ingestion by a child.
(b) Future Rulemaking.--At any time after the promulgation of a
final consumer product safety standard under subsection (a), the
Commission may initiate rulemaking in accordance with section 553 of
title 5, United States Code, to modify the requirements of the standard
or any revised standard. 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).
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed as applying to water beads that are used commercially in
diapers, personal care products, sanitary products, or agricultural
supplies, including fertilizers and agricultural soil conditioners.
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