Title: Reese’s Law
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Reese's Law
This bill requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish product safety standards with respect to batteries that pose an ingestion hazard (e.g., button cell or coin batteries).
Specifically, consumer products with these batteries must include (1) a warning label instructing consumers to keep the batteries out of the reach of children, and (2) a battery compartment that prevents access to the batteries by children who are six years of age or younger.
Additionally, such batteries, if sold separately or included separately with a product, must comply with federal child-resistant packaging regulations.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3278 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3278

To protect children and other consumers against hazards associated with 
the accidental ingestion of button cell or coin batteries by requiring 
the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a consumer product 
    safety standard to require child-resistant closures on consumer 
       products that use such batteries, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 30, 2021

    Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To protect children and other consumers against hazards associated with 
the accidental ingestion of button cell or coin batteries by requiring 
the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a consumer product 
    safety standard to require child-resistant closures on consumer 
       products that use such batteries, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as ``Reese's Law''.

SEC. 2. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY STANDARD FOR BUTTON CELL OR COIN 
              BATTERIES AND CONSUMER PRODUCTS CONTAINING SUCH 
              BATTERIES.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, in accordance with section 
553 of title 5, United States Code, promulgate a final consumer product 
safety standard for button cell or coin batteries and consumer products 
containing button cell or coin batteries that includes at least--
            (1) a performance standard requiring the button cell or 
        coin battery compartments of a consumer product containing 
        button cell or coin batteries to be secured in a manner that 
        prevents access to button cell or coin batteries by children 
        that are 6 years of age or younger during reasonably 
        foreseeable use or misuse conditions; and
            (2) warning label requirements--
                    (A) to be included on the packaging of button cell 
                or coin batteries and the packaging of a consumer 
                product containing button cell or coin batteries;
                    (B) to be included in any literature, such as a 
                user manual, that accompanies a consumer product 
                containing button cell or coin batteries; and
                    (C) to be included, as practicable, directly on a 
                consumer product containing button cell or coin 
                batteries in a manner that is visible to the consumer 
                upon installation or replacement of the button cell or 
                coin battery.
    (b) Requirements for Warning Labels.--Warning labels required under 
subsection (a)(2) shall--
            (1) clearly identify the hazard of ingestion; and
            (2) instruct consumers, as practicable, to keep new and 
        used batteries out of the reach of children, to seek immediate 
        medical attention if a battery is ingested, and to follow any 
        other consensus medical advice.
    (c) Treatment of Standard for Enforcement Purposes.--A consumer 
product safety standard promulgated under subsection (a) shall be 
treated as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 
of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058).
    (d) Exception for Reliance on Voluntary Standard.--
            (1) Before promulgation of standard by commission.--
        Subsection (a) shall not apply if the Commission determines, 
        before the Commission promulgates a final consumer product 
        safety standard under such subsection, that--
                    (A) there is a voluntary consumer product safety 
                standard that meets the requirements for a standard 
                promulgated under subsection (a); and
                    (B) the voluntary standard described in 
                subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) is in effect at the time of the 
                        determination by the Commission; or
                            (ii) will be in effect not later than the 
                        date that is 180 days after the date of the 
                        enactment of this Act.
            (2) After promulgation of standard by commission.--A final 
        consumer product safety standard promulgated under subsection 
        (a) shall cease to apply on the date described in subsection 
        (e)(2) if the Commission determines that--
                    (A) there is a voluntary consumer product safety 
                standard that meets the requirements for a standard 
                promulgated under subsection (a); and
                    (B) the voluntary standard described in 
                subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) is in effect at the time of the 
                        determination by the Commission; or
                            (ii) will be in effect not later than the 
                        date that is 180 days after the date of the 
                        determination by the Commission.
            (3) Determination required to be published in federal 
        register.--Any determination made by the Commission under this 
        subsection shall be published in the Federal Register.
    (e) Treatment of Voluntary Standard for Enforcement Purposes.--
            (1) In general.--If the Commission makes a determination 
        under subsection (d) with respect to a voluntary standard, the 
        requirements of such voluntary standard shall be treated as a 
        consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the 
        Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058) beginning on the 
        date described in paragraph (2).
            (2) Date described.--The date described in this paragraph 
        is the later of--
                    (A) the date of the determination of the Commission 
                under subsection (d) with respect to the voluntary 
                standard described in paragraph (1); or
                    (B) the effective date contained in the voluntary 
                standard described in paragraph (1).
    (f) Revision of Voluntary Standard.--
            (1) Notice to commission.--If a voluntary standard with 
        respect to which the Commission has made a determination under 
        subsection (d) is subsequently revised, the organization that 
        revised the standard shall notify the Commission after the 
        final approval of the revision.
            (2) Effective date of revision.--Beginning on the date that 
        is 180 days after the Commission is notified of a revised 
        voluntary standard described in paragraph (1) (or such later 
        date as the Commission determines appropriate), such revised 
        voluntary standard shall become enforceable as a consumer 
        product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer 
        Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058), in place of the prior 
        version, unless, within 90 days after receiving the notice, the 
        Commission determines that the revised voluntary standard does 
        not meet the requirements for a standard promulgated under 
        subsection (a).
    (g) Future Rulemaking.--At any time after the promulgation of a 
final consumer product safety standard under subsection (a), a 
voluntary standard is treated as a consumer product safety rule under 
subsection (e), or a revised voluntary standard becomes enforceable as 
a consumer product safety rule under subsection (f), the Commission may 
initiate a rulemaking in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United 
States Code, to modify the requirements of the standard or revised 
standard or to include in the standard or revised standard any 
additional provision that the Commission determines is necessary to 
protect children from ingesting button cell or coin batteries or that 
would lessen the severity of injury or risk of death in the event of 
ingestion. Any rule promulgated under this subsection shall be treated 
as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the 
Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058).

SEC. 3. CHILD-RESISTANT PACKAGING FOR BUTTON CELL OR COIN BATTERIES.

    (a) Requirement.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, any button cell or coin battery sold, offered 
for sale, manufactured for sale, distributed in commerce, or imported 
into the United States, or included separately with a consumer product 
sold, offered for sale, manufactured for sale, distributed in commerce, 
or imported into the United States, shall be packaged in accordance 
with the standards provided in section 1700.15 of title 16, Code of 
Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation), as determined 
through testing in accordance with the method described in section 
1700.20 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 
regulation).
    (b) Applicability.--The requirement of subsection (a) shall be 
treated as a standard for the special packaging of a household 
substance established under section 3(a) of the Poison Prevention 
Packaging Act of 1970 (15 U.S.C. 1472(a)).

SEC. 4. EXEMPTION FOR COMPLIANCE WITH EXISTING STANDARD.

    The standards promulgated under this Act shall not apply with 
respect to any toy product that is in compliance with ASTM 
International's Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety 
(F963) on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Button cell or coin battery.--The term ``button cell or 
        coin battery'' means--
                    (A) a single cell battery with a diameter greater 
                than the height of the battery; or
                    (B) any other battery, regardless of the technology 
                used to produce an electrical charge, that is 
                determined by the Commission to pose an ingestion 
                hazard.
            (2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Consumer 
        Product Safety Commission.
            (3) Consumer product.--The term ``consumer product'' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 3(a) of the Consumer 
        Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)).
            (4) Consumer product containing button cell or coin 
        batteries.--The term ``consumer product containing button cell 
        or coin batteries'' means a consumer product containing or 
        designed to use one or more button cell or coin batteries, 
        regardless of whether such batteries are intended to be 
        replaced by the consumer or are included with the product or 
        sold separately.
            (5) Toy product.--The term ``toy product'' means any object 
        designed, manufactured, or marketed as a plaything for children 
        under 14 years of age.
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