44307 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 142 / Tuesday, July 26, 2022 / Proposed Rules 
1The NPR used the terms ‘‘crib bumpers,’’ ‘‘crib 
bumpers and liners,’’ and ‘‘crib bumpers/liners,’’ 
but this NPR applies only to ‘‘crib bumpers’’ as defined in the SSBA. 
2On July 19, 2022, the Commission voted 5–0 to 
issue this notice of proposed rulemaking. have been codified if the standard had 
become final. Id. 
Alberta E. Mills, 
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission. 
[FR Doc. 2022–15905 Filed 7–25–22; 8:45 am] 
BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 
CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY 
COMMISSION 
16 CFR Part 1309 
[CPSC Docket No. 2022–0024] 
Ban of Crib Bumpers 
AGENCY : Consumer Product Safety 
Commission. 
ACTION : Notice of proposed rulemaking. 
SUMMARY : On May 16, 2022, the 
President signed into law the Safe Sleep 
for Babies Act of 2021, requiring that crib bumpers, ‘‘regardless of the date of manufacture, shall be considered a banned hazardous product’’ under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). Pursuant to this authority, CPSC is proposing to codify the ban on crib bumpers pursuant to the Safe Sleep for Babies Act, and under a separate document, published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, terminate 
the rulemaking on crib bumpers/liners under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). 
DATES : Submit comments by August 25, 
2022. 
ADDRESSES : You can submit comments, 
identified by Docket No. CPSC–2022– 0024, by any of the following methods: 
Electronic Submissions: Submit 
electronic comments to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments. CPSC typically does not accept comments submitted by electronic mail (email), except as described below. CPSC encourages you to submit electronic comments by using the Federal eRulemaking Portal, as described above. 
Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier Written 
Submissions: Submit comments by mail, 
hand delivery, or courier to: Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone (301) 504–7479. If you wish to submit confidential business information, trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be available to the public, you may submit such comments by mail, hand delivery, or courier, or you may email them to: cpsc-os@cpsc.gov. Instructions: All submissions must 
include the agency name and docket number. CPSC may post all comments without change, including any personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal information provided, to: https://www.regulations.gov. Do not 
submit through this website: confidential business information, trade secret information, or other sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be available to the public. If you wish to submit such information, please submit it according to the instructions for mail/hand delivery/courier written submissions. 
Docket: To review background 
documents or comments received on the proposed codification of the Ban on Crib Bumpers, go to: https://www.regulations.gov, and insert the 
docket number, CPSC–2022–0024, into the ‘‘Search’’ box, and follow the prompts. 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT : 
Timothy P. Smith, Project Manager, Directorate for Engineering Sciences, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301)987–2557; email: tsmith@cpsc.gov. 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION : Pursuant 
to section 3 of the Safe Sleep for Babies Act of 2021, H.R. 3182, Public Law 117– 126 (SSBA), CPSC is issuing a proposed rule to codify the ban on crib bumpers under the SSBA. Additionally, under a separate Federal Register document, 
published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Commission is terminating the pending rulemaking on crib bumpers/liners that CPSC initiated under section 104 of the CPSIA, CPSC Docket No. CPSC–2020–0010. 
I. Background and Statutory Authority 
On April 3, 2020, the Commission 
published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPR) that set forth proposed requirements for a safety standard for crib bumpers/liners pursuant to section 104 of the CPSIA (85 FR 18878). The Commission received comments on the proposed rule but has not published a final rule. 
On May 3, 2022, Congress passed the 
SSBA, which the President signed on May 16, 2022. Section 3 of the SSBA requires that, not later than 180 days after enactment, ‘‘crib bumpers, regardless of the date of manufacture, shall be considered a banned hazardous product under section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2057).’’ 15 U.S.C. 2057e. 
In light of the SSBA’s mandate that 
crib bumpers shall be considered a banned hazardous product under section 8 of the CPSA, CPSC no longer proposes to regulate crib bumpers under the CPSIA. By separate Federal Register document, CPSC is terminating the 
rulemaking to establish a consumer product safety standard for crib bumpers/liners.
1Instead, CPSC now 
proposes to achieve a similar improvement to safety by codifying the ban on ‘‘crib bumpers,’’ as defined in section 3 of the SSBA, as banned hazardous products.
2 
II. Description of Proposed Ban on Crib Bumpers 
In this rulemaking, CPSC proposes to 
codify the SSBA’s mandate that ‘‘crib bumpers’’ are banned hazardous products, as set forth below. 
A. Definitions 
The Commission proposes codifying 
the definition of ‘‘crib bumper’’ used in 
the SSBA, which states that ‘‘crib bumper’’: 
•Means any material that is intended 
to cover the sides of a crib to prevent injury to any crib occupant from impacts against the side of a crib or to prevent partial or complete access to any openings in the sides of a crib to prevent a crib occupant from getting any part of the body entrapped in any opening; 
•Includes a padded crib bumper, a 
supported and unsupported vinyl bumper guard, and vertical crib slat covers; and 
•Does not include a non-padded 
mesh crib liner. 
B. Effective Date 
The SSBA states that crib bumpers 
shall be considered banned hazardous 
products ‘‘not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act,’’ i.e., not later 
than November 12, 2022. Applying the 180-day effective date referenced by Congress would avoid confusion among manufacturers and retailers, while also being consistent with the 6-month implementation period the Commission proposed in its 2020 NPR to establish a safety standard for crib bumpers/liners. Therefore, CPSC proposes to make the effective date for the ban on crib bumpers November 12, 2022. 
C. Inventory 
The SSBA states that the ban applies 
to crib bumpers ‘‘regardless of the date 
of manufacture.’’ Therefore, crib bumpers manufactured before the ban 
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becomes effective will be banned 
hazardous products beginning on the effective date of the SSBA, as well as any crib bumpers manufactured or sold after the effective date. 
III. Preemption 
Section 3(b)(2)(A) of the Executive 
Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform (Feb. 
5, 1996), directs agencies to specify the preemptive effect of any rule. 61 FR 4729 (Feb. 7, 1996). Because the SSBA states that crib bumpers are banned hazardous products, any state performance standards for a ‘‘crib bumper,’’ as defined in the SSBA (which expressly excludes non-padded mesh crib liners), would be inconsistent with federal law, and therefore, preempted. 
IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act 
The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 
U.S.C. 601–612, requires that agencies 
review proposed rules for their potential economic impact on small entities, including small businesses, and identify alternatives that may reduce such impact, unless the agency certifies that the rule if promulgated, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The SSBA will take effect no later than November 12, 2022. Because the proposed rule is limited to codifying section 3 of the SSBA, with an effective date of November 12, 2022, the proposed rule imposes no additional economic impact on small entities beyond the requirements of the SSBA itself. Therefore, the Commission certifies that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
V. Environmental Considerations 
The Commission’s regulations address 
whether the agency must prepare an 
environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. Under these regulations, certain categories of CPSC actions that have ‘‘little or no potential for affecting the human environment’’ do not require an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. 16 CFR 1021.5(c). The proposed rule codifying section 3 of the SSBA falls within the categorical exclusion, so no environmental assessment or environmental impact statement is required. 
VI. Paperwork Reduction Act 
The proposed rule to codify crib 
bumpers as a banned hazardous product contains no information collection 
requirements that would be subject to public comment and review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501–3521). However, if the Commission requires testing and certification to this ban, the Commission will expand the existing control number for Third Party Testing of Children’s Products, OMB Control No. 3041–0159. 
VII. Request for Comments 
We invite comments on all aspects of 
the Commission’s proposal to codify the 
ban on crib bumpers in section 3 of the SSBA with an effective date of November 12, 2022. Comments must be submitted in accordance with the instructions in the 
ADDRESSES section at 
the beginning of this document. CPSC specifically requests comment on the following: 
A. Effective Date: The Commission 
proposes to implement the crib bumper ban in the SSBA with an effective date of November 12, 2022. Should the Commission adopt this proposed effective date, or an alternative date ‘‘[n]ot later than 180 days after the date of enactment’’? If the commenter believes that an effective date later than November 12, 2022, is permitted under section 3 of the SSBA, what is the legal basis for that assertion, and what later date should be adopted? 
B. Testing and Certification: When a 
ban does not remove all products in a product category from the market, testing and certification requirements may apply. For example, CPSC requires a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC) for certain banned hazardous products. See, e.g., https://
www.cpsc.gov/Business-- Manufacturing/Testing-Certification/ Lab-Accreditation/Rules-Requiring-a- General-Certificate-of-Conformity, CPSC’s website providing guidance that bans set forth in 16 CFR parts 1304, 1305, and 1306 require a GCC. In this case, non-padded mesh crib liners are not within the scope of the SSBA’s ban on crib bumpers. Because the crib bumper ban does not eliminate non- padded mesh crib liners from the market, what, if any, testing and certification requirements remain? For example, should CPSC require certification to the ban for non-padded mesh crib liners to demonstrate that a product is not within the scope of the 
ban? Why, or why not? Additionally, should the Commission add ‘‘non- padded mesh crib liners’’ to the list of durable infant or toddler products that require a registration card? Why, or why not? 
List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 1309 
Administrative practice and 
procedure, Consumer protection, Infants 
and children. 
For the reasons stated in the 
preamble, the Commission proposes to add part 1309 to title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations to read as follows: 
PART 1309—BAN OF CRIB BUMPERS 
Sec. 
1309.1 Purpose and scope. 1309.2 Definitions. 1309.3 Banned hazardous product. 1309.4 Effective date. 
Authority: Sec. 3, Pub. L. 117–126, 136 
Stat. 1208. 15 U.S.C. 2057e. 
§ 1309.1 Purpose and scope. 
The purpose of this part is to prohibit 
the sale of crib bumpers, as defined in 
§ 1309.2, as set forth in the Safe Sleep for Babies Act of 2021. 
§ 1309.2 Definitions. 
Crib bumper, as used in this part: 
a. Means any material that is intended 
to cover the sides of a crib to prevent 
injury to any crib occupant from impacts against the side of a crib or to prevent partial or complete access to any openings in the sides of a crib to prevent a crib occupant from getting any part of the body entrapped in any opening; 
b. Includes a padded crib bumper, a 
supported and unsupported vinyl bumper guard, and vertical crib slat covers; and 
c. Does not include a non-padded 
mesh crib liner. 
§ 1309.3 Banned hazardous product. 
Any crib bumper, as defined in 
section 1309.2, regardless of the date of manufacture, is a banned hazardous product under section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2057). 
§ 1309.4 Effective date. 
The effective date of this ban is 
November 12, 2022. 
Alberta E. Mills, 
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission. 
[FR Doc. 2022–15906 Filed 7–25–22; 8:45 am] 
BILLING CODE 6355–01–P 
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