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Consumer Product Safety Act
15 U.S.C. Section 2053
§ 2053. Consumer Product Safety Commission
(a) Establishment; Chairman
An independent regulatory commission is hereby established, to be
known as the Consumer Product Safety Commission, consisting of five Commissioners who
shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. In
making such appointments, the President shall consider individuals who, by reason of their
background and expertise in areas related to consumer products and protection of the
public from risks to safety, are qualified to serve as members of the Commission. The
Chairman shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, from among the members of the Commission. An individual may be appointed as a
member of the Commission and as Chairman at the same time. Any member of the Commission
may be removed by the President for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office but for no
other cause.
(b) Term; vacancies
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2),
(A) the Commissioners first appointed under this section shall be
appointed for terms ending three, four, five, six, and seven years, respectively, after
October 27, 1972, the term of each to be designated by the President at the time of
nomination; and
(B) each of their successors shall be appointed for a term of seven
years from the date of the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed.
(2) Any Commissioner appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to
the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only
for the remainder of such term. A Commissioner may continue to serve after the expiration
of this term until his successor has taken office, except that he may not so continue to
serve more than one year after the date on which his term would otherwise expire under
this subsection.
(c) Restrictions on Commissioner's outside activities
Not more than three of the Commissioners shall be affiliated with
the same political party. No individual (1) in the employ of, or holding any official
relation to, any person engaged in selling or manufacturing consumer products, or (2)
owning stock or bonds of substantial value in a person so engaged, or (3) who is in any
other manner pecuniarily interested in such a person, or in a substantial supplier of such
a person, shall hold the office of Commissioner. A Commissioner may not engage in any
other business, vocation, or employment.
(d) Quorum; seal; Vice Chairman
No vacancy in the Commission shall impair the right of the remaining
Commissioners to exercise all the powers of the Commission, but three members of the
Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, except that if there
are only three members serving on the Commission because of vacancies in the Commission,
two members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business,
and if there are only two members serving on the Commission because of vacancies in the
Commission, two members shall constitute a quorum for the six month period beginning on
the date of the vacancy which caused the number of Commission members to decline to two.
The Commission shall have an official seal of which judicial notice shall be taken. The
Commission shall annually elect a Vice Chairman to act in the absence or disability of the
Chairman or in case of a vacancy in the office of the Chairman.
(e) Offices
The Commission shall maintain a principal office and such field
offices as it deems necessary and may meet and exercise any of its powers at any other
place.
(f) Functions of Chairman; request for appropriations
(1) The Chairman of the Commission shall be the principal executive
officer of the Commission, and he shall exercise all of the executive and administrative
functions of the Commission, including functions of the Commission with respect to (A) the
appointment and supervision of personnel employed under the Commission (other than
personnel employed regularly and full time in the immediate offices of commissioners other
than the Chairman), (B) the distribution of business among personnel appointed and
supervised by the Chairman and among administrative units of the Commission, and (C) the
use and expenditure of funds.
(2) In carrying out any of his functions under the provisions of
this subsection the Chairman shall be governed by general policies of the Commission and
by such regulatory decisions, findings, and determinations as the Commission may by law be
authorized to make.
(3) Requests or estimates for regular, supplemental, or deficiency
appropriations on behalf of the Commission may not be submitted by the Chairman without
the prior approval of the Commission.
(g) Executive Director; officers and employees
(1)
(A) The Chairman, subject to the approval of the Commission, shall
appoint as officers of the Commission an Executive Director, a General Counsel, an
Associate Executive Director for Engineering Sciences, an Associate Executive Director for
Epidemiology, an Associate Executive Director for Compliance and Administrative
Litigation, an Associate Executive Director for Health Sciences, an Associate Executive
Director for Economic Analysis, an Associate Executive Director for Administration, an
Associate Executive Director for Field Operations, a Director for Office of Program,
Management, and Budget, and a Director for Office of Information and Public Affairs. Any
other individual appointed to a position designated as an Associate Executive Director
shall be appointed by the Chairman, subject to the approval of the Commission. The
Chairman may only appoint an attorney to the position of Associate Executive Director of
Compliance and Administrative Litigation except the position of acting Associate Executive
Director of Compliance and Administrative Litigation.
(B)
(i) No individual may be appointed to such a position on an acting
basis for a period longer than 90 days unless such appointment is approved by the
Commission.
(ii) The Chairman, with the approval of the Commission, may remove
any individual serving in a position appointed under subparagraph (A).
(C) Subparagraph (A) shall not be construed to prohibit appropriate
reorganizations or changes in classification.
(2) The Chairman, subject to subsection (f)(2) of this section, may
employ such other officers and employees (including attorneys) as are necessary in the
execution of the Commission's functions.
(3) In addition to the number of positions authorized by section 5108(a) of title 5, the
Chairman, subject to the approval of the Commission, and subject to the standards and
procedures prescribed by chapter 51 of title 5, may place a total of twelve positions in
grades GS-16, GS-17, and GS-18.
(4) The appointment of any officer (other than a Commissioner) or
employee of the Commission shall not be subject, directly or indirectly, to review or
approval by any officer or entity within the Executive Office of the President.
(h) Omitted
(i) Civil action against United States
Subsections (a) and (h) of section 2680 of title 28 do not
prohibit the bringing of a civil action on a claim against the United States which:
(1) is based upon:
(A) misrepresentation or deceit on the part of the Commission or any
employee thereof, or
(B) any exercise or performance, or failure to exercise or perform,
a discretionary function on the part of the Commission or any employee thereof, which
exercise, performance, or failure was grossly negligent; and
(2) is not made with respect to any agency action (as defined in
section 551(13) of title 5). In the case of a civil action on a claim based upon the
exercise or performance of, or failure to exercise or perform, a discretionary function,
no judgment may be entered against the United States unless the court in which such action
was brought determines (based upon consideration of all the relevant circumstances,
including the statutory responsibility of the Commission and the public interest in
encouraging rather than inhibiting the exercise of discretion) that such exercise,
performance, or failure to exercise or perform was unreasonable.
(j) Agenda and priorities; establishment and comments
At least 30 days before the beginning of each fiscal year, the
Commission shall establish an agenda for Commission action under the Acts under its
jurisdiction and, to the extent feasible, shall establish priorities for such actions.
Before establishing such agenda and priorities, the Commission shall conduct a public
hearing on the agenda and priorities and shall provide reasonable opportunity for the
submission of comments.
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