Minnesota Session Laws - 1990, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1990 

                        CHAPTER 465-H.F.No. 1730 
           An act relating to commerce; requiring seating 
          furniture in public occupancies to meet flammability 
          and labeling standards; proposing coding for new law 
          in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 299F. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 

              FLAMMABILITY STANDARDS FOR SEATING FURNITURE 
    Section 1.  [299F.840] [CITATION.] 
    Sections 1 to 9 may be cited as the "furniture fire safety 
act." 
    Sec. 2.  [299F.841] [DEFINITIONS.] 
    Subdivision 1.  [SCOPE.] The terms used in sections 1 to 9, 
have the meanings given them in this section. 
    Subd. 2.  [SELL.] "Sell" includes sell, offer or expose for 
sale, barter, trade, deliver, give away, rent, consign, lease, 
or possess with an intent to sell or dispose of in any other 
commercial manner. 
    Subd. 3.  [SEATING FURNITURE.] "Seating furniture" means 
movable or stationery furniture, manufactured on or after 
January 1, 1992, including children's furniture, that is made of 
or with loose or attached cushions or pillows or is itself 
stuffed or filled in whole or in part with filling material; is 
or can be stuffed or filled in whole or in part with any 
substance or material, hidden or concealed by fabric or other 
covering, including cushions or pillows belonging to or forming 
a part of the furniture; together with the structural units, the 
filling material, and its container and its covering that can be 
used as a support for the body of a human being or a person's 
limbs and feet when sitting or resting in an upright or 
reclining position. 
    Subd. 4.  [FILLING MATERIAL.] "Filling material" includes 
cotton, wool, kapok, feathers, down, hair, liquid, or other 
natural or man-made material, substance, or prefabricated form, 
concealed or not concealed, to be used or that could be used in 
seating furniture. 
    Subd. 5.  [MANUFACTURER.] "Manufacturer" means a person or 
the person's employee or agent who makes an article of seating 
furniture in whole or in part. 
    Subd. 6.  [PUBLIC OCCUPANCIES.] "Public occupancies" means: 
    (1) jails, prisons, and penal institutions; 
    (2) hospitals, mental health facilities, and similar health 
care facilities; 
    (3) nursing care and convalescent homes; 
    (4) child day-care centers; 
    (5) public auditoriums and stadiums; and 
    (6) public assembly areas of hotels and motels containing 
more than ten articles of seating furniture. 
    Sec. 3.  [299F.842] [EXEMPT ARTICLES.] 
     Articles of upholstered furniture, other than juvenile 
furniture and furniture used for and in facilities designed for 
the care or treatment of humans, that meet any of the following 
criteria are exempt from compliance with sections 1 to 9:  
    (1) cushions and pads intended solely for outdoor use; 
    (2) articles that are smooth-surfaced and contain no more 
than one-half inch of filling material, provided that the 
article does not have a horizontal surface meeting a vertical 
surface; and 
    (3) articles manufactured solely for recreational use or 
physical fitness purposes, such as weightlifting benches, 
gymnasium mats or pads, sidehorses, and similar articles. 
    Sec. 4.  [299F.843] [ENFORCEMENT.] 
    The state fire marshal shall enforce sections 1 to 9 in 
accordance with the laws of this state.  
    Sec. 5.  [299F.844] [RULES.] 
    The state fire marshal shall adopt rules necessary for the 
enforcement of sections 1 to 9 within six months of the 
effective date of sections 1 to 9.  The fire marshal, in 
adopting rules, shall consider the testing and labeling 
procedures and requirements set forth in Technical Bulletin 133 
of the state of California, "Flammability Testing and Labeling 
Procedures for Use in Public Occupancies," published in April 
1988 by the California Bureau of Home Furnishings and Thermal 
Insulation and periodically the deletions, revisions, and 
updates of California Technical Bulletin 133.  An amendment to a 
rule does not apply to seating furniture manufactured before the 
effective date of the amendment.  New seating furniture sold for 
use in a public occupancy that meets the test criteria under 
rules adopted by the fire marshal must conform to the labeling 
requirements specified under the adopted rules.  
    Sec. 6.  [299F.845] [SCOPE.] 
    Sections 1 to 9 apply to seating furniture manufactured on 
or after the effective date of sections 1 to 9 that is sold or 
intended for use in public occupancies in this state regardless 
of its point of origin.  New seating furniture sold or intended 
for use in public occupancies after the effective date of 
sections 1 to 9 that fails to conform to the applicable 
flammability standard and labeling requirement provided under 
sections 1 to 9, or rule of the state fire marshal adopted under 
section 5, is prohibited from being sold or used for public 
occupancies.  
    Sec. 7.  [299F.846] [PERFORMANCE STANDARDS; TESTING.] 
    The applicable flammability requirements of sections 1 to 9 
or rules adopted under section 5 are to be considered as 
performance standards.  Testing under these standards is at the 
discretion of the manufacturer.  However, new seating furniture 
offered for sale in this state on or after the effective date of 
sections 1 to 9 must meet applicable flammability requirements 
as set out by rule adopted under section 5. 
    Sec. 8.  [299F.847] [TEST INSPECTIONS, AUDITS.] 
    The state fire marshal may inspect or audit the testing of 
seating furniture as may be considered necessary under rules 
adopted under section 5.  
    Sec. 9.  [299F.848] [CIVIL ACTION.] 
    The state fire marshal may institute a civil action or 
proceeding to enjoin a person from selling seating furniture on 
or after the effective date of sections 1 to 9, that does not 
meet the requirements of sections 1 to 8, and that is sold or 
intended for use in public occupancies. 
     Sec. 10.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    This act is effective January 1, 1992. 
    Presented to the governor April 19, 1990 
    Signed by the governor April 20, 1990, 10:12 a.m.