HF 374

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to child safety; prohibiting the sale and 
  1.3             commercial use of certain cribs; providing 
  1.4             enforcement; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes, chapter 325F. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:  
  1.7      Section 1.  [325F.171] [CRIB SAFETY.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) "Commercial user" means 
  1.9   any person who deals in cribs or who otherwise by one's 
  1.10  occupation holds oneself out as having knowledge or skill 
  1.11  peculiar to cribs, or any person who is in the business of 
  1.12  remanufacturing, retrofitting, selling, leasing, subletting, or 
  1.13  otherwise placing cribs in the stream of commerce. 
  1.14     (b) "Infant" means any person less than 35 inches tall and 
  1.15  less than three years of age. 
  1.16     (c) "Crib" means a bed or containment designed to 
  1.17  accommodate an infant. 
  1.18     (d) "Full-size crib" means a full-size crib as defined in 
  1.19  the Code of Federal Regulations, title 16, section 1508.3, 
  1.20  regarding the requirements for full-size cribs. 
  1.21     (e) "Non-full-size crib" means a non-full-size crib as 
  1.22  defined in the Code of Federal Regulations, title 16, section 
  1.23  1509.2, regarding the requirements for non-full-size cribs. 
  1.24     (f) "Place in the stream of commerce" means to sell, offer 
  1.25  for sale, give away, offer to give away, or allow to use. 
  2.1      Subd. 2.  [UNSAFE CRIBS PROHIBITED.] (a) No commercial user 
  2.2   may remanufacture, retrofit, sell, contract to sell or resell, 
  2.3   lease, sublet, or otherwise place any unsafe crib in the stream 
  2.4   of commerce on or after January 1, 2004. 
  2.5      (b) On or after January 1, 2004, no person operating a 
  2.6   hotel, motel, or lodging establishment shall provide any unsafe 
  2.7   crib to any guest, either with or without charge, for use during 
  2.8   the guest's stay.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "hotel," 
  2.9   "motel," and "lodging establishment" have the meanings given 
  2.10  them in section 157.15. 
  2.11     (c) A crib is presumed to be unsafe for purposes of this 
  2.12  section if it does not conform to the standards endorsed or 
  2.13  established by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, including 
  2.14  but not limited to the Code of Federal Regulations, title 16, 
  2.15  and ASTM International, as follows: 
  2.16     (1) Code of Federal Regulations, title 16, part 1508, and 
  2.17  any regulations adopted to amend or supplement the regulations; 
  2.18     (2) Code of Federal Regulations, title 16, part 1509, and 
  2.19  any regulations adopted to amend or supplement the regulations; 
  2.20     (3) Code of Federal Regulations, title 16, part 1303, and 
  2.21  any regulations adopted to amend or supplement the regulations; 
  2.22     (4) the following standards and specifications of ASTM 
  2.23  International for corner posts of baby cribs and structural 
  2.24  integrity of baby cribs: 
  2.25     (i) ASTM F 966 (corner post standard); 
  2.26     (ii) ASTM F 1169 (structural integrity of full-size baby 
  2.27  cribs); 
  2.28     (iii) ASTM F 1822 (non-full-size cribs).  
  2.29     (d) Cribs that are unsafe include, but are not limited to, 
  2.30  cribs that have any of the following dangerous features or 
  2.31  characteristics: 
  2.32     (1) corner posts that extend more than one-sixteenth of an 
  2.33  inch; 
  2.34     (2) spaces between side slats more than 2.375 inches; 
  2.35     (3) mattress support that can be easily dislodged from any 
  2.36  point of the crib.  A mattress segment can be easily dislodged 
  3.1   if it cannot withstand at least a 25-pound upward force from 
  3.2   underneath the crib; 
  3.3      (4) cutout designs on the end panels; 
  3.4      (5) rail height dimensions that do not conform to both of 
  3.5   the following: 
  3.6      (i) the height of the rail and end panel as measured from 
  3.7   the top of the rail or panel in its lowest position to the top 
  3.8   of the mattress support in its highest position is at least nine 
  3.9   inches; 
  3.10     (ii) the height of the rail and end panel as measured from 
  3.11  the top of the rail or panel in its highest position to the top 
  3.12  of the mattress support in its lowest position is at least 26 
  3.13  inches; 
  3.14     (6) any screws, bolts, or hardware that are loose and not 
  3.15  secured; 
  3.16     (7) sharp edges, points, or rough surfaces, or any wood 
  3.17  surfaces that are not smooth and free from splinters, splits, or 
  3.18  cracks; 
  3.19     (8) tears in mesh or fabric sides in a non-full-size crib; 
  3.20     (9) the mattress pad in a non-full-size mesh/fabric crib 
  3.21  exceeds one inch. 
  3.22     Subd. 3.  [LIST OF UNSAFE CRIBS.] The department of human 
  3.23  services shall create, maintain, and update a comprehensive list 
  3.24  of cribs that have been identified as meeting any of the 
  3.25  criteria in subdivision 2.  The department shall make the list 
  3.26  available to the public at no cost and shall post it on the 
  3.27  Internet and encourage links to it. 
  3.28     Subd. 4.  [UNSAFE CRIBS; CHILD CARE PROVIDERS.] (a) A 
  3.29  licensed child care provider may not use or have on the 
  3.30  premises, on or after January 1, 2004, any unsafe crib.  This 
  3.31  subdivision does not apply to an antique or collectible crib if 
  3.32  it is not used by, or accessible to, any child in the child care 
  3.33  facility.  The department of human services shall notify child 
  3.34  care providers on an ongoing basis of the provisions of this 
  3.35  section and of unsafe cribs, as determined in accordance with 
  3.36  subdivision 3, in plain nontechnical language that will enable 
  4.1   each facility to effectively inspect cribs and identify unsafe 
  4.2   cribs. 
  4.3      (b) Before granting or renewing a license to any child care 
  4.4   provider, the department of human services shall require that 
  4.5   the provider certify in writing that it has reviewed the list of 
  4.6   unsafe cribs created under subdivision 3 and that there are no 
  4.7   unsafe cribs in its facility.  The department shall retain 
  4.8   certifications in a licensed provider's license file.  Each 
  4.9   provider shall retain a copy of the list of unsafe cribs issued 
  4.10  under subdivision 3 and make the copy available to its staff and 
  4.11  to the parents of children who attend the facility. 
  4.12     (c) The department may revoke or refuse to renew the 
  4.13  license of any child care provider who fails to comply with any 
  4.14  requirement of this section. 
  4.15     Subd. 5.  [RETROFITS.] (a) An unsafe crib, as determined 
  4.16  under subdivision 2, may be retrofitted if the retrofit has been 
  4.17  approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  A 
  4.18  retrofitted crib may be sold if it is accompanied at the time of 
  4.19  sale by a notice stating that it is safe to use for a child 
  4.20  under three years of age.  The commercial user is responsible 
  4.21  for ensuring that the notice is present with the retrofitted 
  4.22  crib at the time of sale.  The notice must include: 
  4.23     (1) a description of the original problem that made the 
  4.24  crib unsafe; 
  4.25     (2) a description of the retrofit which explains how the 
  4.26  original problem was eliminated and declaring that the crib is 
  4.27  now safe to use for a child under three years of age; and 
  4.28     (3) the name and address of the commercial user who 
  4.29  accomplished the retrofit certifying that the work was done 
  4.30  along with the name and model number of the crib. 
  4.31     (b) A retrofit is exempt from this section if: 
  4.32     (1) the retrofit is for a crib that requires assembly by 
  4.33  the consumer, the approved retrofit is provided with the product 
  4.34  by the commercial user, and the retrofit is accompanied at the 
  4.35  time of sale by instructions explaining how to apply the 
  4.36  retrofit; or 
  5.1      (2) the seller of a previously unsold product accomplishes 
  5.2   the retrofit prior to sale. 
  5.3      Subd. 6.  [EXCEPTION.] A commercial user does not violate 
  5.4   this section if the crib placed in the stream of commerce by the 
  5.5   commercial user was not included on the department of human 
  5.6   services' list on the day before this placement. 
  5.7      Subd. 7.  [PENALTY.] A commercial user who knowingly and 
  5.8   willfully violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor. 
  5.9      Subd. 8.  [ENFORCEMENT.] Any person, including, but not 
  5.10  limited to, the attorney general, or the county attorney in a 
  5.11  county where a violation of this section occurs, may bring an 
  5.12  action to enforce the provisions of this section. 
  5.13     Subd. 9.  [CUMULATIVE REMEDIES.] Remedies available under 
  5.14  this section are in addition to any other remedies or procedures 
  5.15  under any other provision of law that may be available to an 
  5.16  aggrieved party. 
  5.17     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.18     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.