Bill Text: PA SB121 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Providing for flammability and labeling standards for certain upholstered furniture, mattresses, box springs and other bedding products, for duties of the Department of Labor and Industry and for enforcement.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-01-30 - Referred to LABOR AND INDUSTRY [SB121 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SB121-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 94
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 121 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY MUSTO, FONTANA, TARTAGLIONE, RAFFERTY, LOGAN, FERLO, WASHINGTON, WAUGH, BROWNE, O'PAKE AND KITCHEN, JANUARY 30, 2009
REFERRED TO LABOR AND INDUSTRY, JANUARY 30, 2009
AN ACT
Providing for flammability and labeling standards for certain
upholstered furniture, mattresses, box springs and other
bedding products, for duties of the Department of Labor and
Industry and for enforcement.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Fire
Protection Standards Act.
Section 2. Declaration of policy.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) Mattresses are currently subject to Federal
flammability requirements. In the early 1970s, the United
States Consumer Product Safety Commission established the
Federal Mattress Flammability Standard, which requires that
mattresses resist ignition by smoldering cigarettes. In
addition, a standard promulgated by the American Society for
Testing and Materials establishes product performance test
methods for mattresses used in institutional settings.
(2) Beginning in the 1990s, national fire statistics
indicated that the Federal Mattress Flammability Standard did
not materially affect the incidence of residential mattress
fires ignited by small open flames. More recent research
conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the fire
safety community and private industry shows that in many
mattress fires involving open-flame ignitions, the bedding,
which includes the pillow, comforter and bedspread, is the
first product to ignite, as opposed to the mattress itself.
(3) As a result, the mattress industry commissioned the
National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct
scientific research into the interaction between ignited
bedding and a mattress. In 2000, the National Institute of
Standards and Technology published the results of its initial
research, which indicate that bedding and box springs, also
known as the mattress foundation, have a material impact on
the rate at which a mattress ignites and the resulting fire
spreads, as well as the fire's intensity and the risk that it
will spread beyond the bedroom. The National Institute of
Standards and Technology's continuing research uses computer
models to estimate the number of fire-related casualties that
can be avoided if the fire size and spread rate for bedding
and mattress-related fires are reduced to specified levels.
(4) This act authorizes the Department of Labor and
Industry to better protect the public from open-flame ignited
mattress fires by establishing flammability standards for not
only mattresses, but also for box springs and bedding, as the
department considers appropriate.
Section 3. Definitions.
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The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"ASTM." The American Society for Testing and Materials.
"Department." The Department of Labor and Industry of the
Commonwealth.
"Fire retardant." A product that meets the regulations
adopted by the Department of Labor and Industry under this act.
The term does not include furniture used exclusively for the
purpose of physical fitness and exercise.
Section 4. Label.
Any upholstered furniture or mattress that is made from or
contains nonflame-retardant cellular foam shall be labeled in a
manner approved by the department. On and after January 1, 2010,
all bedding that is made from or contains nonflame-retardant
cellular foam shall be labeled in a manner approved by the
department. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, no
label is required for a product that complies with the
applicable Federal flammability regulations.
Section 5. Fire retardant standards.
(a) General rule.--Mattresses and box springs manufactured
for sale in this Commonwealth shall be fire retardant.
(b) Regulations.--The department shall adopt regulations no
later than January 1, 2010, requiring that fire retardant
mattresses and box springs meet a resistance to open-flame test
that uses a pass or fail performance criterion based on a test
method developed by the department or that is based on ASTM E
1590. If the department concludes that other bedding contributes
to mattress fires, the regulations shall require the other
bedding to be flame retardant under the resistance to open-flame
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test. If feasible, the regulations shall permit a manufacturer
to comply with the resistance to open-flame test by testing a
small scale version of its product. In developing these
regulations, the department may contract, cooperate or otherwise
share resources with other government agencies, private
organizations or independent contractors that it considers
appropriate for purposes of reviewing test criteria and methods,
equipment specifications and other relevant subjects. These
regulations shall become inoperative upon the effective date of
any Federal law or regulation establishing an open-flame
resistance standard for these products.
(c) Report.--The department shall submit a report to the
General Assembly on or before January 1, 2010, summarizing its
regulatory findings.
(d) Nonapplicability.--Requirements for flame-resistant
mattresses, box springs or other bedding products shall not
apply to any hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, inn or similar
transient lodging establishment that has an automatic fire
extinguishing system that conforms to the specifications
established by law.
(e) Seating furniture.--All seating furniture sold or
offered for sale by an importer, manufacturer or wholesaler for
use in this Commonwealth, including any seating furniture sold
to or offered for sale for use in a hotel, motel or other place
of public accommodation in this Commonwealth, and reupholstered
furniture to which filling materials are added shall be fire
retardant and shall be labeled in a manner specified by the
department.
Section 6. Violation.
A violation of this act shall be deemed a violation of the
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act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair
Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.
Section 7. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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