Bill Text: NJ A3783 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits sale of infant walkers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-05-02 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee [A3783 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A3783-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman JAY WEBBER
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits sale of infant walkers.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act prohibiting the sale of infant walkers and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A person shall not sell or offer for sale in this State an infant walker.
b. For the purposes of this section, "infant walker" means a device used to assist a baby with mobility before the baby is walking and refers to a mobile unit with wheels or casters on the bottom that enables a baby to move on a horizontal surface when propelled by the baby sitting or standing within the walker, but shall not include a stroller, carriage, crib, high chair, or bassinet.
c. A law enforcement officer may confiscate an infant walker that is sold or offered for sale in violation of this section.
2. a. A person violating the provisions of section 1 of P.L , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be liable, in addition to the liability for any civil damages for any injury to a plaintiff resulting from the sale or offering for sale of an infant walker, for a civil penalty of:
(1) not more than $10,000 for the first offense; and
(2) not more than $20,000 for the second and each subsequent offense.
b. The penalty prescribed by this section shall be collected and enforced by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety by summary proceedings under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
c. Nothing in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be construed to impose liability on any news media that accept or publish advertising that may otherwise be subject to the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits the sale of infant walkers, also referred to as baby walkers, in this State.
Infant walkers have long been recognized as a danger to babies, and continue to pose a risk to them today. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Injury, from 1990 to 2014 more than 230,000 children under 15 months old were treated in United States hospital emergency departments for skull fractures, concussions, broken bones, and other injuries related to infant walkers, and the American Academy of Pediatrics has called for a ban on the sale and use of infant walkers.
Publicity about the dangers of infant walkers caused a reduction in their use and voluntary implementation of increased safety standards by manufacturers. As a result, there was a substantial decrease in injuries to babies, from approximately 20,650 injuries in 1990 to 3,201 injuries in 2003. In 2010, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission strengthened safety requirements on the manufacturing and testing of infant walkers. Following implementation of these requirements, injuries dropped an additional 23 percent. A recent study, however, found there are still approximately 2,000 children being treated for infant walker-related injuries each year.
This bill prohibits a person from selling or offering for sale an infant walker in this State. The term "infant walker" is defined under the bill to mean a device used to assist a baby with mobility before the baby is walking and refers to a mobile unit with wheels or casters on the bottom that enables a baby to move on a horizontal surface when propelled by the baby sitting or standing within the walker, but does not include a stroller, carriage, crib, high chair, or bassinet.
A person who violates the provisions of the bill is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for the first offense, and not more than $20,000 for the second and each subsequent offense. The liability for this civil penalty would be in addition to any liability for civil damages for an injury to a plaintiff in a civil action resulting from the sale or offering for sale of an infant walker. The civil penalty prescribed by the bill is to be collected and enforced by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety by summary proceedings under the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
Additionally, a law enforcement officer may confiscate an infant walker that is sold or offered for sale in violation of the bill.
Finally, the bill provides that nothing in the bill is to be construed to impose liability on any news media that accept or publish advertising that may otherwise be subject to the provisions of the bill.
