Replacement Parts Availability Act

Keeps replacement parts available for consumers

If enacted, this bill would limit when federal regulators can ban or restrict replacement parts for complex durable and consumer goods. It would exempt replacement parts that were designed before the rule's publication date in the Federal Register. The Administrator could only regulate such parts after a risk evaluation finds they contribute significantly to risk to the general population or an identified susceptible subpopulation, and after an express written determination, supported by substantial evidence, that the part alone causes that risk. If replacement parts are excluded from a risk evaluation, the exclusion rule would be final agency action for parts designed before the rule was published. The bill would bar banning the manufacture, processing, or import of a chemical to the extent that chemical is necessary to make exempted replacement parts, while requiring procedures to limit such chemical activity to the part manufacturer. Any prohibition or restriction on replacement parts would require a transition period of at least 10 years. The bill also makes two small wording fixes to the Toxic Substances Control Act definitions section.