Assembly Approves Three-Way Legislation To Improve Safety Recall Systems On Toys And Other Children's Products

Assembly, Senate and Governor Support Measure To Improve Toy Recall System

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Consumer Affairs and Protection Committee Chair Audrey Pheffer announced the passage of legislation earlier this week, as part of an agreement with the Governor and the Senate, to protect children by outlawing the sale of recalled toys and other products while mandating that retailers take steps to inform consumers of recalls.

The legislation (A.11316-A/Pheffer) also requires firms that manufacture children's products such as car seats, high chairs, cribs and playpens to provide a product safety card to the purchaser at the time of sale. These children's products would also be mandated to include labels detailing the manufacturers' and importers' names, contact information and batch numbers. The bill would also require secondhand dealers of children's products to provide notification to consumers emphasizing the need to check recall notices before purchasing a product.

"The Assembly Majority has long been dedicated to protecting children, and this measure will boost child safety by increasing product recall notifications and preventing harmful products from falling into the hands of consumers," said Silver (D-Manhattan) "Manufacturers and importers of children's products will be required to notify consumers, distributors, retailers and the State Attorney General of any recalls or warnings. I thank Governor Paterson for taking this step to build consumer confidence and protect children and families from unsafe products."

"Our children are the future of New York and we must take whatever steps are necessary to protect them from dangerous toys," said Pheffer (D-Queens). "With this measure, parents will get more information about the toys they purchase right on the label, including the manufacturer's or importer's name and contact information. That will make it easier to get additional information about products and to avoid children using recalled or defective toys."

"This added level of protection will require manufacturers and importers of children's toys to take responsibility when their products are deemed harmful," said Assemblywoman Ginny Fields (D-Sayville), chair of the Assembly Children's Protection Subcommittee. "Many products designed for infants or young children are handed down to other users in the same family or sold to another family at a garage sale. This legislation will increase notifications on recalled products to make sure dangerous and harmful toys do no make it into the hands of our little ones."