|
Consumer Product Safety Act
15 U.S.C. Section 2076
§ 2076. Additional functions of Consumer Product Safety Commission
(a) Authority to conduct hearings or other inquiries
The Commission may, by one or more of its members or by such agents
or agency as it may designate, conduct any hearing or other inquiry necessary or
appropriate to its functions anywhere in the United States. A Commissioner who
participates in such a hearing or other inquiry shall not be disqualified solely by reason
of such participation from subsequently participating in a decision of the Commission in
the same manner. The Commission shall publish notice of any proposed hearing in the
Federal Register and shall afford a reasonable opportunity for interested persons to
present relevant testimony and data.
(b) Commission powers; orders
The Commission shall also have the power:
(1) to require, by special or general orders, any person to submit
in writing such reports and answers to questions as the Commission may prescribe to carry
out a specific regulatory or enforcement function of the Commission; and such submission
shall be made within such reasonable period and under oath or otherwise as the Commission
may determine;
(2) to administer oaths;
(3) to require by subpena the attendance and testimony of witnesses
and the production of all documentary evidence relating to the execution of its duties;
(4) in any proceeding or investigation to order testimony to be
taken by deposition before any person who is designated by the Commission and has the
power to administer oaths and, in such instances, to compel testimony and the production
of evidence in the same manner as authorized under paragraph (3) of this subsection;
(5) to pay witnesses the same fees and mileage as are paid in like
circumstances in the courts of the United States;
(6) to accept gifts and voluntary and uncompensated services,
notwithstanding the provisions of section 1342 of title 31;
(7) to:
(A) initiate, prosecute, defend, or appeal (other than to the
Supreme Court of the United States), through its own legal representative and in the name
of the Commission, any civil action if the Commission makes a written request to the
Attorney General for representation in such civil action and the Attorney General does not
within the 45-day period beginning on the date such request was made notify the Commission
in writing that the Attorney General will represent the Commission in such civil action,
and
(B) initiate, prosecute, or appeal, through its own legal
representative, with the concurrence of the Attorney General or through the Attorney
General, any criminal action, for the purpose of enforcing the laws subject to its
jurisdiction;
(8) to lease buildings or parts of buildings in the District of
Columbia, without regard to the Act of March 3, 1877 (40 U.S.C. 34), for the use of the
Commission; and
(9) to delegate any of its functions or powers, other than the power
to issue subpenas under paragraph (3), to any officer or employee of the Commission. An
order issued under paragraph (1) shall contain a complete statement of the reason the
Commission requires the report or answers specified in the order to carry out a specific
regulatory or enforcement function of the Commission. Such an order shall be designed to
place the least burden on the person subject to the order as is practicable taking into
account the purpose for which the order was issued.
(c) Noncompliance with subpena or Commission order; contempt
Any United States district court within the jurisdiction of which
any inquiry is carried on, may, upon petition by the Commission (subject to subsection
(b)(7) of this section) or by the Attorney General, in case of refusal to obey a subpena
or order of the Commission issued under subsection (b) of this section, issue an order
requiring compliance therewith; and any failure to obey the order of the court may be
punished by the court as a contempt thereof.
(d) Disclosure of information
No person shall be subject to civil liability to any person (other
than the Commission or the United States) for disclosing information at the request of the
Commission.
(e) Performance and technical data
The Commission may by rule require any manufacturer of consumer
products to provide to the Commission such performance and technical data related to
performance and safety as may be required to carry out the purposes of this chapter, and
to give such notification of such performance and technical data at the time of original
purchase to prospective purchasers and to the first purchaser of such product for purposes
other than resale, as it determines necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(f) Purchase of consumer products by Commission
For purposes of carrying out this chapter, the Commission may
purchase any consumer product and it may require any manufacturer, distributor, or
retailer of a consumer product to sell the product to the Commission at manufacturer's,
distributor's, or retailer's cost.
(g) Contract authority
The Commission is authorized to enter into contracts with
governmental entities, private organizations, or individuals for the conduct of activities
authorized by this chapter.
(h) Research, development, and testing facilities
The Commission may plan, construct, and operate a facility or
facilities suitable for research, development, and testing of consumer products in order
to carry out this chapter.
(i) Recordkeeping; audit
(1) Each recipient of assistance under this chapter pursuant to
grants or contracts entered into under other than competitive bidding procedures shall
keep such records as the Commission by rule shall prescribe, including records which fully
disclose the amount and disposition by such recipient of the proceeds of such assistance,
the total cost of the project undertaken in connection with which such assistance is given
or used, and the amount of that portion of the cost of the project or undertaking supplied
by other sources, and such other records as will facilitate an effective audit.
(2) The Commission and the Comptroller General of the United States,
or their duly authorized representatives, shall have access for the purpose of audit and
examination to any books, documents, papers, and records of the recipients that are
pertinent to the grants or contracts entered into under this chapter under other than
competitive bidding procedures.
(j) Report to President and Congress
The Commission shall prepare and submit to the President and the
Congress at the beginning of each regular session of Congress a comprehensive report on
the administration of this chapter for the preceding fiscal year. Such report shall
include:
(1) a thorough appraisal, including statistical analyses, estimates,
and long-term projections, of the incidence of injury and effects to the population
resulting from consumer products, with a breakdown, insofar as practicable, among the
various sources of such injury;
(2) a list of consumer product safety rules prescribed or in effect
during such year;
(3) an evaluation of the degree of observance of consumer product
safety rules, including a list of enforcement actions, court decisions, and compromises of
alleged violations, by location and company name;
(4) a summary of outstanding problems confronting the administration
of this chapter in order of priority;
(5) an analysis and evaluation of public and private consumer
product safety research activities;
(6) a list, with a brief statement of the issues, of completed or
pending judicial actions under this chapter;
(7) the extent to which technical information was disseminated to
the scientific and commercial communities and consumer information was made available to
the public;
(8) the extent of cooperation between Commission officials and
representatives of industry and other interested parties in the implementation of this
chapter, including a log or summary of meetings held between Commission officials and
representatives of industry and other interested parties;
(9) an appraisal of significant actions of State and local
governments relating to the responsibilities of the Commission;
(10) with respect to voluntary consumer product safety standards for
which the Commission has participated in the development through monitoring or offering of
assistance and with respect to voluntary consumer product safety standards relating to
risks of injury that are the subject or regulatory action by the Commission, a description
of:
(A) the number of such standards adopted;
(B) the nature and number of the products which are the subject of
such standards;
(C) the effectiveness of such standards in reducing potential harm
from consumer products;
(D) the degree to which staff members of the Commission participate
in the development of such standards;
(E) the amount of resources of the Commission devoted to encouraging
development of such standards; and
(F) such other information as the Commission determines appropriate
or necessary to inform the Congress on the current status of the voluntary consumer
product safety standard program; and
(11) such recommendations for additional legislation as the
Commission deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
(k) Budget estimates and requests; legislative recommendations;
testimony; comments on legislation
(1) Whenever the Commission submits any budget estimate or request
to the President or the Office of Management and Budget, it shall concurrently transmit a
copy of that estimate or request to the Congress.
(2) Whenever the Commission submits any legislative recommendations,
or testimony, or comments on legislation to the President or the Office of Management and
Budget, it shall concurrently transmit a copy thereof to the Congress. No officer or
agency of the United States shall have any authority to require the Commission to submit
its legislative recommendations, or testimony, or comments on legislation, to any officer
or agency of the United States for approval, comments, or review, prior to the submission
of such recommendations, testimony, or comments to the Congress.
|
