[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 2, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 80159-80160]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22062]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 1240

[CPSC Docket No. CPSC-2023-0046]


Safety Standard for Infant and Infant/Toddler Rockers; 
Supplemental Information; Notice of Availability and Request for 
Comment; Reopening of Comment Period

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In October 2023, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 
published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) 
to address risks of death and injury associated with infant 
suffocations, falls, and other hazards associated with infant and 
infant/toddler rockers (rockers). On August 22, 2024, CPSC published a 
notice of availability and request for comment (NOA) to announce the 
availability of, and to seek comment on, details about incident data 
relevant to the NPR. The NOA also sought comment on a standard 
tessellation language (STL) file for a firmness test fixture proposed 
in the NPR, and an amended version of the voluntary standard for 
rockers. The NOA invited the public to submit written comments during a 
30-day comment period, beginning on the NOA publication date and ending 
on September 23, 2024. In response to a request for a 90-day extension 
of the NOA comment period, the Commission is reopening the comment 
period. Comments are now due November 7, 2024.

DATES: The comment period for the proposed rule published August 22, 
2024, at 89 FR 67917, is reopened. Submit comments by November 7, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2023-0046, 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 email, except through www.regulations.gov. CPSC 
encourages you to submit electronic comments by using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal, as described above.
    Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier/Confidential 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; (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: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#97f4e7e4f4baf8e4d7f4e7e4f4b9f0f8e1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="90f3e0e3f3bdffe3d0f3e0e3f3bef7ffe6">[email protected]</span></a>.
    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/confidential written submissions.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to: https://www.regulations.gov, and insert the 
docket number, CPSC-2023-0046, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary S. Foster, Project Manager, 
Division of Human Factors, Directorate for Engineering Sciences, 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, Rockville, MD 
20850; telephone (301) 987-2034; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1f6579706c6b7a6d5f7c6f6c7c31787069"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d4aeb2bba7a0b1a694b7a4a7b7fab3bba2">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    Pursuant to section 104 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement 
Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 2056a), the Commission is required to promulgate 
consumer product safety standards for

[[Page 80160]]

durable infant or toddler products. Under this statutory direction, the 
Commission published an NPR, Safety Standard for Infant and Infant/
Toddler Rockers, to establish a safety standard for rockers to reduce 
the risk of death and injury associated with these products. 88 FR 
73551 (Oct. 26, 2023). The NPR proposes incorporating by reference the 
2022 version of the rockers voluntary standard, ASTM F3084-22, Standard 
Consumer Safety Specification for Infant and Infant/Toddler Rockers, 
with modifications to make the standard more stringent, to further 
reduce the risk of injury associated with rockers.
    On August 22, 2024, the Commission published in the Federal 
Register an additional request for comment and a release of the 
underlying incident data, titled Safety Standard for Infant and Infant/
Toddler Rockers; Supplemental Information; Notice of Availability and 
Request for Comment (NOA). The NOA sought comment on three items: (1) 
incorporation of the updated July 2024 version of the voluntary 
standard for rockers--ASTM F3084-24; (2) incident reports underlying 
the data discussed in the NPR; and (3) an STL file of the firmness test 
fixture proposed in the NPR for gauging the firmness of a rocker seat.

B. Request for Comment Period Extension

    On September 6, 2024, Lisa Trofe, Executive Director of the 
Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), on behalf of JPMA's 
members and three companies that individually co-signed the request, 
submitted a request for a 90-day extension of the NOA comment period 
(JPMA request).<SUP>1 2</SUP> The JPMA request asserts that the 30-day 
comment period is insufficient for stakeholders to provide meaningful 
feedback on the NOA and complete dataset because when first available 
on August 22, 2024, the STL file and underlying data was only viewable 
and not downloadable, and some documents did not become available for 
review until August 28.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ JMPA's request has been placed on the docket for this 
rulemaking, as well as attached as to Staff's September 17, 2024, 
Briefing Memorandum: Safety Standard for Infant and Infant/Toddler 
Rockers; Supplemental Information; Notice of Availability and 
Request for Comment; Extension of Comment Period, available at: 
https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Safety-Standard-for-Infant-and-Infant-Toddler-Rockers-Notice-of-Availability-and-Request-for-Comment.pdf?VersionId=VKfNRsEI29yqGgHoacfb0MEMlhum5J5L.
    \2\ On September 19, 2024, the Commission voted (4-1) to publish 
this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. Assessment of the JPMA Request

    CPSC's practice is to make available the underlying incident data 
that it is legally authorized to publicize. Stakeholders are currently 
able to review all underlying incident data that supports the NPR and 
submit comments on that data; therefore, there is no need for 
stakeholders to download the underlying incident data. The Commission 
agrees, though, that stakeholders may benefit from additional time to 
review the complete underlying incident dataset because some of the 
data became reviewable on August 28, 2024, rather than August 22 as 
intended. Further, CPSC agrees with JPMA that the STL file is difficult 
to evaluate without downloading it, and that this file was not 
downloadable until September 9, 2024.
    An additional 90 days, totaling 4 months (30 days plus 90 days), is 
unnecessary to assess the STL file and incident data, and provide 
feedback. However, CPSC is reopening the comment period for an 
extension of 45 days from the closing date of September 23, 2024. This 
reopening provides commenters not only additional time to review 
incident data, but also, in the assessment of CPSC's technical staff, 
ample time to manufacture, test, and comment on the firmness test 
fixture proposed in the NPR and described in the STL file.

D. Conclusion

    The Commission has considered JPMA's request to reopen the comment 
period and staff's assessment of the request. The comment period closed 
on September 23, 2024. To provide additional time for stakeholders to 
comment on the NOA, the Commission is reopening the comment period for 
an additional 45-days until November 7, 2024.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2024-22062 Filed 10-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P


</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>