§2075 — Title 15 Commerce and Trade | U.S. Code

Summary

When a federal consumer product safety rule covers a particular danger from a product, states and their local governments cannot make or keep any different safety rules about how the product is made, designed, labeled, packaged, or performs to address that same danger unless their rules are exactly the same as the federal rule. The federal government, a state, or a local government can set a different rule for products it buys or uses if that rule gives more protection than the federal one. A state or local government can also ask the Consumer Product Safety Commission for an exemption. The Commission can grant one after public notice and a chance to speak if the state rule gives a significantly higher level of protection and does not unfairly hurt trade between states, and it may impose conditions.

Title 15, §2075

Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Whenever a consumer product safety standard under this chapter is in effect and applies to a risk of injury associated with a consumer product, no State or political subdivision of a State shall have any authority either to establish or to continue in effect any provision of a safety standard or regulation which prescribes any requirements as to the performance, composition, contents, design, finish, construction, packaging, or labeling of such product which are designed to deal with the same risk of injury associated with such consumer product, unless such requirements are identical to the requirements of the Federal standard.

(b)Subsection (a) of this section does not prevent the Federal Government or the government of any State or political subdivision of a State from establishing or continuing in effect a safety requirement applicable to a consumer product for its own use which requirement is designed to protect against a risk of injury associated with the product and which is not identical to the consumer product safety standard applicable to the product under this chapter if the Federal, State, or political subdivision requirement provides a higher degree of protection from such risk of injury than the standard applicable under this chapter.

(c)Upon application of a State or political subdivision of a State, the Commission may by rule, after notice and opportunity for oral presentation of views, exempt from the provisions of subsection (a) (under such conditions as it may impose in the rule) any proposed safety standard or regulation which is described in such application and which is designed to protect against a risk of injury associated with a consumer product subject to a consumer product safety standard under this chapter if the State or political subdivision standard or regulation—

(1)provides a significantly higher degree of protection from such risk of injury than the consumer product safety standard under this chapter, and

(2)does not unduly burden interstate commerce.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1976—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–284 substituted provision that a standard provide a significantly higher degree of protection from the risk of injury for the provision that the standard impose a higher level of performance. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 94–284 substituted requirement that a State standard provide a significantly higher degree of protection from the risk of injury than the standard under this chapter for the requirement that the State standard impose a higher level of performance, eliminated the requirement of a compelling local condition, and inserted the requirement that the Commission make specific findings in determining the burden on interstate commerce.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the sixtieth day following Oct. 27, 1972, see section 34 of Pub. L. 92–573, set out as a note under section 2051 of this title. PreemptionThe provisions of this section establishing the extent to which the Consumer Product Safety Act [15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.] preempts, limits, or otherwise affects any other Federal, State, or local law, any rule, procedure, or regulation, or any cause of action under State or local law not to be expanded or contracted in scope, or limited, modified or extended in application, by any rule or regulation under the Consumer Product Safety Act, or by reference in any preamble, statement of policy, executive branch statements, or other matter associated with the publication of any such rule or regulation, see section 231 of Pub. L. 110–314, set out as a note under section 2051 of this title.

§2075 State Standards