[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 16, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 16CFR1031.4]

[Page 121-122]
 
                     TITLE 16--COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
 
             CHAPTER II--CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
 
PART 1031--COMMISSION PARTICIPATION AND COMMISSION EMPLOYEE INVOLVEMENT 
IN VOLUNTARY STANDARDS ACTIVITIES--Table of Contents
 
                       Subpart A--General Policies
 
Sec.  1031.4  Effect of voluntary standards activities on Commission 
activities.

    (a)(1) The Commission, in determining whether to begin proceedings 
to develop mandatory standards under the acts it administers, considers 
whether mandatory regulation is necessary or whether there is an 
existing voluntary standard that adequately addresses the problem and 
the extent to which that voluntary standard is complied with by the 
affected industry.
    (2) The Commission acknowledges that there are situations in which 
adequate voluntary standards, in combination with appropriate 
certification programs, may be appropriate to support a conclusion that 
a mandatory standard is not necessary. The Commission may find that a 
mandatory standard is not necessary where compliance with an existing 
voluntary standard would eliminate or adequately reduce the risk of 
injury associated with the product, contains requirements and test 
methods that have been evaluated and found acceptable by the Commission, 
and it is likely that there will be substantial and timely compliance 
with the voluntary standard. Under such circumstances, the Commission 
may agree to encourage industry compliance with the voluntary standard 
and subsequently evaluate the effectiveness of the standard in terms of 
accident and injury reduction for products produced in compliance with 
the standard.
    (3) In evaluating voluntary standards, the Commission will relate 
the requirements of the standard to the identified risks of injury and 
evaluate the requirements in terms of their effectiveness in eliminating 
or reducing the risks of injury. The evaluation of voluntary standards 
will be conducted by Commission staff members, including representatives 
of legal, economics, engineering, epidemiological, health sciences, 
human factors, other appropriate interests, and the Voluntary Standards 
Coordinator. The staff evaluation will be conducted in a manner similar 
to evaluations of standards being considered for promulgation as 
mandatory standards.
    (4) In the event that the Commission has evaluated an existing 
voluntary standard and found it to be adequate in all but a few areas, 
the Commission may defer the initiation of a mandatory rulemaking 
proceeding and request the voluntary standards organization to revise 
the standard to address the identified inadequacies expeditiously. In 
such cases, the Commission may monitor or participate in the development 
of these revisions.
    (b) In the event the Commission determines that there is no existing 
voluntary standard that will eliminate or adequately reduce a risk of 
injury the Commission may commence a proceeding for the development of a 
consumer product safety rule or a regulation in accordance with section 
9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act, 15 U.S.C. 2058, section 3(f) of 
the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, 15 U.S.C. 1262(f), or section 4(a) 
of the Flammable Fabrics Act, 15 U.S.C. 1193(g), as may be applicable. 
In commencing such a proceeding, the Commission will publish an advance 
notice of proposed rulemaking which shall, among other things, invite 
any person to submit to the Commission an existing standard or portion 
of an existing standard, or to submit a statement of intention to modify 
or develop, within a reasonable period of time, a voluntary standard to 
address the risk of injury.
    (c) The Commission will consider those provisions of a voluntary 
standard that have been reviewed, evaluated,

[[Page 122]]

and deemed to be adequate in addressing the specified risks of injury 
when initiating a mandatory consumer product safety rule or regulation 
under the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Federal Hazardous Substances 
Act, or the Flammable Fabrics Act, as may be applicable. Comments will 
be requested in the advance notice of proposed rulemaking on the 
adequacy of such voluntary standard provisions.