The CPSC voted a stay of enforcement into place that effectively lifts the ban of youth-model motorcycles and ATVs on Friday, May 1, with the document being made public on Monday, May 4. The stay extends through May 1, 2011, following a unanimous vote by acting chairwoman Nancy Nord and commissioner Thomas Moore.

While this provides relief to the industry, it’s not the permanent solution. Simply put, the fight isn’t over – it’s just a two-year timeout.

“While we applaud the CPSC commissioners’ vote to stay enforcement of the law, this doesn’t solve the real issue, which is the law itself,” said AMA vice president for government relations Ed Moreland. “Youth-model motorcycles and ATVs should be exempt from the law, and Congress needs to act to make that happen. Hopefully, this stay will give Congress the time it needs to fix this law, and we will continue to work with both legislators and our partners in the industry to make certain that it does.”

The CPSC voted on the Stay of Enforcement on May 1. The AMA, MIC and others at the forefront of this political issue on behalf of the OHV industry had yet to fully examine the 25-page document that was made public on May 4, but so far, it seems to be the relief they were hoping for.

“If it is what we thought it was, and that was a two-year extension or a two-year stay of enforcement, that gives us a window of time to get the law fixed,” commented Sean Hilbert of Cobra Motorcycles.

There are still some potential land mines on the field, however, which raise potential concerns among manufacturers.

“[The original CPSIA] went pretty far reaching in that it deputized all the state’s attorneys general in affecting the law,” Hilbert explained. “What that means is that the Federal government is not going to enforce the law, but even though the stay of enforcement says, ‘Hey guys, please don’t enforce this law because we’re not enforcing it,’ [that] doesn’t mean that some rogue state attorney general can’t come along and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to make a name for myself’ and try to prosecute a dealer here. I think it would be ridiculous. It wouldn’t be politically expedient for anybody to do that, but it’s still possible. And I know that’s what the other manufacturers are concerned about. Everybody’s a little on edge.”

Nancy Nord herself commented that she hopes “the state attorneys general will follow the lead of the agency on this matter.” She went on to say: “...ATVs and motorized bikes appropriately sized for children 12 and younger can again be available, and the commission will not seek penalties for violation of Section 101 and related provisions of the [law] against those who sell them.”
Early in dealing with this issue, while seeking an exemption from the CPSC that was not granted by the Commission, many were pointing fingers at Nord, accusing her of being unwilling to grant relief to our industry. Hilbert says that’s not the case.

“She has done everything she can possibly do within her political power to make things right,” Hilbert said. “I think chairman Nord exactly knew what the issue was. I met with her personally a few weeks ago and she was very clear in that she felt that the law was misguided in this area and that it needed to be fixed and not only for motorcycles but [for] everything from musical instruments to medical devices to bicycles and a horde of other industries that really pose no lead-poisoning risk at all but got caught up in the language of the law. She realized that.”

While the Stay of Enforcement is a temporary fix, a legislative fix is still the focus of a permanent solution.

“It would be a mistake to let our guard down and say, ‘Aw, we got a two-year stay – now let’s worry about other things,’” Hilbert said. “My biggest concern right now is that we use those two years to get the law fixed. Now is the time to resurrect any energy that was there around those two bills and make sure that they’re brought to the floor as quickly as possible.”

Click Here to read the AMA Press Release regarding the Stay of Enforcement.