State Implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Act

Authors

Robert A. Faller

Abstract

Despite the recognition of insufficient state product safety regulation, both the NCPS and Congress were aware that the states can provide invaluable assistance to the federal government in the establishment of product safety standards. The "local eyes and ears" of the state can aid in the gathering of product injury information, and the proper state agencies can commit manpower to oversee local manufacturers, distributors and retailers and to determine whether the standards established by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are receiving compliance. The embodiment of these ideas is found in Section 29 of the CPSA, which provides for the establishment of a "program to promote Federal-State cooperation for the purposes of carrying out [the] Act."

To what degree should the CPSC commit itself to the implementation of a Section 29 program? What are the most effective means of carrying out such a plan? To what extent should the individual states coordinate their product safety programs with the CPSC, and to what extent may the states act apart from the federal agency? It shall be the purpose of this article to examine these and other related questions, and to provide alternative solutions to the federalism question. These problems must be viewed with continual regard for the ultimate purpose of the entire product safety program: to protect the consumer from the unreasonable risk of harm associated with defective and dangerous household products.

Recommended Citation

Faller, Robert A. (1974) "State Implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Act," Hofstra Law Review: Vol. 2: Iss. 2, Article 14.
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/hlr/vol2/iss2/14