AN ACT Relating to
infant crib safety; adding a new chapter to Title 70 RCW; and prescribing
penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec.
1. (1) The legislature finds
all of the following:
(a) The disability and
death of infants resulting from injuries sustained in crib accidents are a
serious threat to the public health, welfare, and safety of the people of this
state.
(b) Infants are an
especially vulnerable class of people.
(c) The design and
construction of a baby crib must ensure that it is safe to leave an infant
unattended for extended periods of time. A parent or caregiver has a right to
believe that the crib in use is a safe place to leave an infant.
(d) Over thirteen
thousand infants are injured in unsafe cribs every year.
(e) In the past decade,
six hundred twenty-two infants died (a rate of sixty-two infants each year)
from injuries sustained in unsafe cribs.
(f) The United States
consumer product safety commission estimates that the cost to society resulting
from injuries and death due to unsafe cribs is two hundred thirty-five million
dollars per year.
(g) Secondhand,
hand-me-down, and heirloom cribs pose a special problem. There were four
million infants born in this country last year, but only one million new cribs
sold. As many as three out of four infants are placed in secondhand,
hand-me-down, or heirloom cribs.
(h) Most injuries and
deaths occur in secondhand, hand-me-down, or heirloom cribs.
(i) Existing state and
federal legislation is inadequate to deal with this hazard.
(j) Prohibiting the
remanufacture, retrofit, sale, contracting to sell or resell, leasing, or
subletting of unsafe cribs, particularly unsafe secondhand, hand-me-down, or
heirloom cribs, will prevent injuries and deaths caused by cribs.
(2) The purpose of this
chapter is to prevent the occurrence of injuries and deaths to infants as a
result of unsafe cribs by making it illegal to remanufacture, retrofit, sell,
contract to sell or resell, lease, sublet, or otherwise place in the stream of
commerce, after the effective date of this act, any full-size or nonfull-size
crib that is unsafe for any infant using the crib.
(3) It is the intent of
the legislature to encourage public and private collaboration in disseminating
materials relative to the safety of baby cribs to parents, child care
providers, and those who would be likely to place unsafe cribs in the stream of
commerce. The legislature also intends that informational materials regarding
baby crib safety be available to consumers through the department of health.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
2. This chapter may be known
and cited as the infant crib safety act.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
3. Unless the context
clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout
this chapter.
(1) "Infant"
means any person less than thirty-five inches tall and less than three years of
age.
(2) "Crib"
means a bed or containment designed to accommodate an infant.
(3) "Full-size
crib" means a full-size crib as defined in Section 1508.3 of Title 16 of
the Code of Federal Regulations regarding the requirements for full-size cribs.
(4) "Nonfull-size crib"
means a nonfull-size crib as defined in Section 1509.2(b) of Title 16 of the
Code of the Federal Regulations regarding the requirements for nonfull-size
cribs.
(5) "Person"
means any natural person, firm, corporation, association, or agent or employee
thereof.
(6) "Commercial
user" means any person who deals in full-size or nonfull-size cribs of the
kind governed by this chapter or who otherwise by one's occupation holds
oneself out as having knowledge or skill peculiar to the full-size or nonfull-size
cribs governed by this chapter, including child care facilities and family
child care homes licensed by the department of social and health services under
chapter 74.15 RCW, or any person who is in the business of remanufacturing,
retrofitting, selling, leasing, subletting, or otherwise placing in the stream
of commerce full-size or nonfull-size cribs.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
4. (1) No commercial user
may remanufacture, retrofit, sell, contract to sell or resell, lease, sublet,
or otherwise place in the stream of commerce, on or after the effective date of
this act, a full-size or nonfull-size crib that is unsafe for any infant using
the crib.
(2) A crib is presumed
to be unsafe pursuant to this chapter if it does not conform to all of the
following:
(a) Part 1508
(commencing with Section 1508.1) of Title 16 of the Code of Federal
Regulations;
(b) Part 1509
(commencing with Section 1509.1) of Title 16 of the Code of Federal
Regulations;
(c) Part 1303
(commencing with Section 1303.1) of Title 16 of the Code of Federal
Regulations;
(d) American Society
for Testing Materials Voluntary Standards F966-90;
(e) American Society
for Testing Materials Voluntary Standards F1169.88;
(f) Any regulations
that are adopted in order to amend or supplement the regulations described in
(a) through (e) of this subsection.
(3) Cribs that are
unsafe or fail to perform as expected pursuant to subsection (2) of this
section include, but are not limited to, cribs that have any of the following
dangerous features or characteristics:
(a) Corner posts that
extend more than one-sixteenth of an inch;
(b) Spaces between side
slats more than two and three-eighths inches;
(c) Mattress support
than can be easily dislodged from any point of the crib. A mattress segment
can be easily dislodged if it cannot withstand at least a twenty-five pound
upward force from underneath the crib;
(d) Cutout designs on
the end panels;
(e) Rail height
dimensions that do not conform to the following:
(i) The height of the
rail and end panel as measured from the top of the rail or panel in its lowest
position to the top of the mattress support in its highest position is at least
nine inches;
(ii) The height of the
rail and end panel as measured from the top of the rail or panel in its
highest position to the top of the mattress support in its lowest position is
at least twenty-six inches;
(f) Any screws, bolts,
or hardware that are loose and not secured;
(g) Sharp edges,
points, or rough surfaces, or any wood surfaces that are not smooth and free
from splinters, splits, or cracks;
(h) Nonfull-size cribs
with tears in mesh or fabric sides.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
5. Any crib that is clearly
not intended for use by an infant is exempt from the provisions of this
chapter, provided that it is accompanied at the time of remanufacturing,
retrofitting, selling, leasing, subletting, or otherwise placing in the stream
of commerce, by a notice to be furnished by the commercial user declaring that
it is not intended to be used for an infant and is dangerous to use for an
infant. The commercial user is further exempt from claims for liability
resulting from use of a crib contrary to the notice required in this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
6. On or after January 1,
1997, any commercial user who willfully and knowingly violates section 4 of
this act is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars. Hotels, motels, and similar transient lodging, child care
facilities, and family child care homes are not subject to this section until
January 1, 1999.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
7. Any person may maintain
an action against any commercial user who violates section 4 of this act to
enjoin the remanufacture, retrofit, sale, contract to sell, contract to resell,
lease, or subletting of a full-size or nonfull-size crib that is unsafe for any
infant using the crib, and for reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. This
section does not apply to hotels, motels, and similar transient lodging, child
care facilities, and family child care homes until January 1, 1999.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
8. Remedies available under
this chapter are in addition to any other remedies or procedures under any
other provision of law that may be available to an aggrieved party.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
9. If any provision of this
act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or
circumstances is not affected.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
10. Sections 1 through 8 of
this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW.
