CPSIA Update: Time to Act?

The good news is that we finally have congress’ attention. The bad news is that our own attention is dwindling.

There hasn’t been much talk in the industry lately about the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) that had us all up in arms earlier this year. The dreaded “Lead Law” effectively banned the sale of youth OHVs in the spring of 2009 until the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) granted us relief in the form of a stay of enforcement. Of course, this was a good thing, but ever since the two-year stay was announced, it seems that the issue dropped off the top of our list of concerns. But this law is still in place and still needs to be changed. The irony of it all is that while we’re losing interest, we finally seem to have the attention of congress. The cry from the OHV industry has been heard in Washington, and if we keep the noise level high, there’s a good chance we can resolve this problem very soon.

Much like how the proverbial Christmas story goes, three signs have come together on the “Lead Law” front, pointing to the past, present and future of the CPSIA. But unlike the ominous nightmares of Ebenezer Scrooge, you’ll be glad to know that these three signs all shed a very positive light on our current situation, and reveal that an imminent resolution may be on the horizon.

Past
We all owe a big thanks to Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, who squeezed in a very helpful amendment for us this summer. His amendment to the House Financial Services Appropriations Bill – which passed in July 2009 – prevented the CPSC from using its new budget to enforce the Lead Law.

“It’s clear the Consumer Product Safety Commission overstepped the intent of the law,” stated Rehberg, who is also a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “If the Commission is confused about Congressional intent, this legislative directive will clarify the situation for them once and for all.”

In case we lost you there, think of it this way: we’ve smeared plenty of J-B Weld on the allegorical leak. It’s not a permanent solution, but it’s enough to give us some temporary security against the possibility of the stay of enforcement being arbitrarily lifted.

For more information on Rehberg’s amendment, click here.

Present
Last week the final appropriations bill was approved by the Senate and the Conference Report concerning the CPSC contained some encouraging words. It turns out our friends on Capitol Hill have been listening because they made some specific statements about the OHV industry. Namely, they recognize the damaging effects the Lead Law has had on our industry and they go on to encourage the CPSC to work with us.

The text of the CPSC Conference Report reads, “The conferees believe there may be parts of some products subject to the strict lead ban under section 101(a) of the CPSIA that likely were not intended to be included. This includes parts of youth motorized off-road vehicles...

“The conferees urge the CPSC to continue considering exemptions under section 101(b) of the CPSIA for parts of products that, based on the CPSC's determination, present no real risk of lead exposure to children.

“The conferees further encourage the CPSC to continue to work with the off-road vehicle and other industries to reduce lead content in accessible components of all children's products to the greatest extent possible, where complete compliance is deemed not necessary or not feasible by the CPSC.”

Like the aforementioned amendment, it’s not a permanent solution – more of a mere recommendation by Congress to the CPSC to work with our industry in any way possible. There still remains the problem of the frustrating “reverse power struggle” in which the CPSC claims its hands are tied as long as the language of the law remains in tact. But the Senate’s mere mention of our issue is a huge step in the right direction.

“This is the first time I’ve heard anything from congress that said, ‘Yeah, we got a problem here,’” Sean Hilbert of Cobra Motorcycles said today. Hilbert has been on the case from day one, and reported that there hasn’t been much talk on “the Hill” about the Youth Bike Ban... until recently. We finally have the spotlight so it’s time to act.

For more information on the CPSC Conference Report, click here.

Future
The Conference Report set a deadline of January 15, 2010 for the CPSC to send “recommendations for improvement” of the CPSIA to the congress committees involved. This is a potential open door for us to push for an exemption for youth OHVs from the lead restrictions, which brings us to the third hopeful omen on the CPSIA front.

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that Rep. Henry Waxman is working on such a recommendation in the form of an amendment to the House 2010 defense appropriations bill.

If that name rings a bell, it’s because Waxman is one of two California politicians who wrote the original CPSIA (the other is Senator Barbara Boxer). Waxman has previously maintained that the CPSC should resolve the problems left in the wake of the CPSIA on its own – without congressional involvement. But the yesterday’s report indicates that Waxman “apparently has had a change of heart and is now working on a fix for the consumer-product safety law.”

The report goes on to say that “the youth-model all-terrain vehicle industries have been particularly vocal,” and that Waxman’s alleged proposal would “allow the CPSC to exempt a specific product if the agency determines that lead is required for 'functional purpose',” and as long as the product bears a warning label.

The editorial is not based on information directly from Waxman’s office, but cites “several people familiar with his plans.”

To see the full Wall Street Journal story, click here.

The fight is not over yet, so let’s not let this issue slip past our short attention spans. There is hope on the horizon and if we remain vocal about the issue, it’s entirely possible that we can be rid of this damaging “Lead Law” for good. Stay tuned to CycleNews.com for continued updates.

For more information on the fight against the youth bike ban also visit www.MIC.org, www.AmericanMotorcyclist.com, www.SVIA.org and www.CPSC.gov/CPSIA.