TRENTON – The Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee today unanimously approved a measure sponsored by Senators Paul A. Sarlo and Loretta Weinberg that would require child care facilities to remove all unsafe or recalled items from their centers.
“As the father of two young sons I know how important it is for parents to monitor their kids’ toys, to help ensure that they are safe and will not pose a threat to their children’s safety or well-being,” said Senator Sarlo, D-Bergen, Essex and Passaic. “Child safety is a serious issue. If a product has been found to pose a threat to our children, daycare centers must make it a priority to make sure that the item is removed so that kids don’t get hurt.”
The Senators’ measure, S-265, would make it illegal for any commercial user to knowingly manufacture, sell or resell a product that has been deemed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to be unsafe. The bill would direct the Division of Consumer Affairs to create and maintain a list of unsafe children’s products and to make the list available to the public at no cost. Child care facilities would be required to review the list and certify that they don’t have such products at their centers, as a condition of their licensure.
“The purpose of the CPSC is to test products that are on the market and make sure that they are safe for consumers,” said Senator Weinberg, D-Bergen. “This measure would require daycare centers and any other facilities that cater to children to ensure that all toys and other products on their premises have been deemed safe. When dealing with the safety of our children, there is no room for error.”
This measure was unanimously approved by the Senate on March 13th. It now heads to the full Assembly for a vote.
