I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1796 

To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to require residential carbon 

monoxide detectors to meet the applicable ANSI/UL standard by treating 

that standard as a consumer product safety rule, to encourage States 

to require the installation of such detectors in homes, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 30, 2009 

Mr. MATHESON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to require residential carbon monoxide detectors to meet the applicable 

ANSI/UL standard by treating that standard as a consumer product safety rule, to encourage States to require 

the installation of such detectors in homes, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Residential Carbon 

5 Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas 

4 produced by burning any fuel. Exposure to 

5 unhealthy levels of carbon monoxide can lead to car6 bon monoxide poisoning, a serious health condition 

7 that could result in death. 

8 (2) Carbon monoxide poisoning from the use of 

9 fuel-burning appliances, such as furnaces, water 

10 heaters, portable generators, and stoves, in residen11 tial homes and other dwelling units kills at least 500 

12 people each year and sends more than 20,000 to 

13 hospital emergency rooms for treatment. 

14 (3) Research shows that purchasing and install15 ing carbon monoxide alarms close to the sleeping 

16 areas in residential homes and other dwelling units 

17 can help avoid fatalities. 

18 (4) Congress should promote the purchase and 

19 installation of carbon monoxide alarms in residential 

20 homes and dwelling units nationwide in order to pro21 mote the health and public safety of citizens 

22 throughout the Nation. 


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1 SEC. 3. ADOPTION OF ANSI/UL 2034 AS CONSUMER PROD2 UCT SAFETY RULE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Consumer Product Safety 

4 Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

5 the end thereof the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 43. RESIDENTIAL CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

8 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY STANDARD.—Notwith9 standing any other provision of law, within 90 days 

10 after the date of enactment of the Residential Car11 bon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act, the Con12 sumer Product Safety Commission shall publish in 

13 the Federal Register as a mandatory consumer prod14 uct safety standard the American National Standard 

15 for Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide 

16 Alarms (American National Standard ANSI/UL 

17 2034–2005). The standard shall take effect 180 

18 days after it is published. 

19 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARD.—After the 

20 standard takes effect, it shall be unlawful for any 

21 manufacturer or distributor to import into or dis22 tribute in commerce in the United States any new 

23 assembled or unassembled residential carbon mon24 oxide detector unless it complies with the standard. 

25 ‘‘(3) VIOLATION.—The failure to comply with 

26 paragraph (2) shall be deemed to be a failure to 


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1 comply with a consumer product safety standard 

2 under this Act and subject to all of the penalties and 

3 remedies available under this Act. 

4 ‘‘(4) OTHER TYPES OF CARBON MONOXIDE DE5 TECTORS.—Paragraph (2) does not apply to any 

6 carbon monoxide detector not covered by the stand7 ard as provided in section 1.4 of the standard. 

8 ‘‘(b) LABELING.—Beginning 1 year after the date of 

9 enactment of the Residential Carbon Monoxide Poisoning 

10 Prevention Act, a manufacturer selling or offering for sale 

11 in the United States a residential carbon monoxide detec12 tor manufactured more than 1 year after the date of en13 actment of that Act, shall clearly identify on any container 

14 of the detector and on the detector its conformance with 

15 the requirements of the consumer product safety standard 

16 promulgated under subsection (a). 

17 ‘‘(c) MODIFICATION OF STANDARD.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ANSI REVISIONS.—If the American Na19 tional Standard ANSI/UL 2034–2008 is revised 

20 through the applicable consensus standards develop21 ment process after the date on which the product 

22 safety standard for residential carbon monoxide de23 tectors is published in the Federal Register, the 

24 American National Standards Institute shall notify 

25 the Commission of the revision. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COMMISSION ACTION.—Within 120 days 

2 after it receives notice of such a revision by the 

3 American National Standards Institute, the Com4 mission shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking 

5 in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United 

6 States Code, to amend the product safety standard 

7 for residential carbon monoxide detectors to include 

8 any such revision that the Commission determines is 

9 reasonably related to the performance of such detec10 tors, and notify the Institute of any revision it has 

11 determined not to be so related. The Commission 

12 shall promulgate an amendment to the standard for 

13 such detectors within 180 days after the date on 

14 which the notice of proposed rulemaking for the 

15 amendment is published in the Federal Register. 

16 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the 

18 Commission may, pursuant to sections 7 and 9 of 

19 this Act, amend the product safety standard for resi20 dential carbon monoxide detectors to include any ad21 ditional provision that the Commission determines is 

22 reasonably necessary to ensure their safe and effec23 tive operation. 

24 ‘‘(4) CERTAIN PROVISIONS NOT APPLICABLE.— 

25 Sections 7 and 9 of this Act shall not apply to proVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:18 Apr 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1796.IH H1796

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1 mulgation of any amendment of the product safety 

2 standard under paragraph (2). Judicial review of 

3 any amendment of the standard under paragraph 

4 (2) shall be in accordance with chapter 7 of title 5, 

5 United States Code.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con7 tents of the Consumer Product Safety Act is amended by 

8 inserting after the item relating to section 42 the fol9 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 43. Residential carbon monoxide detectors.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. REDUCING DEATHS AND INJURIES FROM CARBON 

11 MONOXIDE POISONING. 

12 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission 

14 shall promulgate consumer product safety rules, pursuant 

15 to section 7 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 

16 U.S.C. 2056), requiring, at a minimum, the following: 

17 (1) WARNING LABELS.—Each portable gener18 ator sold to the public for purposes other than resale 

19 shall have a large, prominently displayed warning 

20 label on the exterior packaging, if any, of the port21 able generator and permanently affixed on the port22 able generator regarding the carbon monoxide haz23 ard posed by incorrect use of the portable generator. 

24 The warning label shall include the word ‘‘DAN25 GER’’ in prominently displayed text and shall inVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:18 Apr 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1796.IH H1796

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1 clude the following information, at a minimum, pre2 sented in a clear manner: 

3 (A) Indoor use of a portable generator can 

4 kill quickly. 

5 (B) Portable generators should be used 

6 outdoors only and away from garages and open 

7 windows. 

8 (C) Portable generators produce carbon 

9 monoxide, a poisonous gas that people cannot 

10 see or smell. 

11 (2) PICTOGRAM.—Each portable generator sold 

12 to the public for purposes other than resale shall 

13 have a large pictogram, affixed to the portable gen14 erator, which clearly states ‘‘OUTDOOR USE 

15 ONLY: EMITS POISONOUS GAS’’ and visually 

16 depicts the harmful effects of breathing carbon mon17 oxide. 

18 (3) INSTRUCTION MANUAL.—The instruction 

19 manual, if any, that accompanies any portable gen20 erator sold to the public for purposes other than re21 sale shall include detailed, clear, and conspicuous 

22 statements that include the following elements: 

23 (A) A warning that portable generators 

24 emit carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that can 

25 kill people. 


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1 (B) A warning that people cannot smell, 

2 see, or taste carbon monoxide. 

3 (C) An instruction to operate portable gen4 erators only outdoors and away from windows, 

5 garages, and air intakes. 

6 (D) An instruction never to operate port7 able generators inside homes, garages, sheds, or 

8 other semi-enclosed spaces, even if a person 

9 runs a fan or opens doors and windows. 

10 (E) A warning that if a person begins to 

11 feel sick, dizzy, or weak while using a portable 

12 generator, that person should shut off the port13 able generator, get to fresh air immediately, 

14 and consult a doctor. 

15 SEC. 5. STATE GRANT PROGRAM FOR CARBON MONOXIDE 

16 ALARMS. 

17 (a) STATE APPROVED CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM

18 GRANT PROGRAM.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of 

20 appropriations authorized by subsection (c), the 

21 Consumer Product Safety Commission shall estab22 lish a grant program to provide assistance to eligible 

23 States to carry out a carbon monoxide alarm pro24 gram. 


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1 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant 

2 under the program, a State shall— 

3 (A) demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 

4 Commission that the State has adopted a stat5 ute, or a State agency has adopted a state-wide 

6 rule, regulation, or similar measure with the 

7 force and effect of law, requiring the inclusion 

8 of approved carbon monoxide alarms installed 

9 in accordance with NFPA 720 in all commer10 cial residential dwelling units and all new dwell11 ing unit construction and providing penalties 

12 for failure to include such alarms; and 

13 (B) submit an application to the Commis14 sion at such time, in such form, and containing 

15 such additional information as the Commission 

16 may require. The application may be filed on 

17 behalf of any qualified State by the fire code 

18 enforcement officials for such State. 

19 (3) GRANT AMOUNT; PRIORITY.—The Commis20 sion shall determine the amount of the grants 

21 awarded under this section, and shall give priority 

22 to— 

23 (A) multi-State applications (including 

24 those made by a nonprofit organization rep25 resenting fire code enforcement officials on beVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:18 Apr 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1796.IH H1796

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1 half of more than 1 State) if all participating 

2 States meet the requirements of this paragraph; 

3 and 

4 (B) States demonstrating greater than av5 erage losses of life from carbon monoxide poi6 soning in the home. 

7 (4) USE OF FUNDS.—A State receiving a grant 

8 under this section may use grant funds— 

9 (A) to train that State’s fire code enforce10 ment officials in the proper enforcement of 

11 State laws concerning approved carbon mon12 oxide alarms and the installation of such alarms 

13 in accordance with NFPA 720; 

14 (B) for the development and dissemination 

15 of training materials, instructors, and any other 

16 costs related to the training sessions authorized 

17 by this paragraph; and 

18 (C) to educate the public about the risk as19 sociated with carbon monoxide as a poison and 

20 the importance of proper carbon monoxide 

21 alarm use. 

22 (5) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.— 

23 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 

24 than 10 percent of any grant funds may be 

25 used to cover administrative costs not directly 


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1 related to training described in paragraph 

2 (4)(A). 

3 (B) PUBLIC OUTREACH.—No more than 

4 25 percent of any grant may be used to cover 

5 costs of activities described in paragraph 

6 (4)(C). 

7 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) APPROVED CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM.— 

9 The term ‘‘approved carbon monoxide alarm’’ means 

10 a carbon monoxide alarm that complies with the 

11 standards, whether voluntary or mandatory, issued, 

12 approved, or otherwise supported by the Commission 

13 with respect to such alarms, whether those stand14 ards have been developed unilaterally by the Com15 mission or in conjunction with other parties. 

16 (2) CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM.—The term 

17 ‘‘carbon monoxide alarm’’ means a device that de18 tects the presence of carbon monoxide and sounds 

19 an alarm if the level of carbon monoxide detected by 

20 the device poses a health risk to persons within the 

21 vicinity of the device. 

22 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

23 means the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

24 (4) DWELLING UNIT.—The term ‘‘dwelling 

25 unit’’ means a room or suite of rooms used for 


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1 human habitation, and includes a single family resi2 dence as well as each living unit of a multiple family 

3 residence (including apartment buildings) and each 

4 living unit in a mixed use building. 

5 (5) FIRE CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.— 

6 The term ‘‘fire code enforcement officials’’ means of7 ficials of the Fire Safety Code Enforcement Agency 

8 of a State. 

9 (6) NFPA 720.—The term ‘‘NFPA 720’’ 

10 means the Standard for the Installation of Carbon 

11 Monoxide (CO) Warning Equipment in Dwelling 

12 Units issued by the National Fire Protection Asso13 ciation in 2008 and any amended or similar suc14 cessor standard pertaining to the proper installation 

15 of carbon monoxide alarms in dwelling units. 

16 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission 

18 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014 

19 to carry out this subsection, such sums to remain available 

20 until expended. Any amounts appropriated pursuant to 

21 this paragraph that remain unexpended and unobligated 

22 at the end of fiscal year 2014 shall be retained by the 

23 Commission and credited to the appropriations account 

24 that funds enforcement of the Consumer Products Safety 

25 Act. 


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1 (d) COMMISSION REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the last day of each fiscal year for which grants are 

3 made under this section, the Commission shall submit to 

4 Congress a report evaluating the implementation of the 

5 grant program authorized by this section. 

Æ 


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