Tech Watch: US STURDY Act Passes as Part of 2023 Spending Bill
The Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth Act (“STURDY Act”) has recently passed through the Congress as part of the 2023 omnibus spending bill. The STURDY Act will now supersede the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) final rule on the Safety Standard for Clothing Storage Units (CSUs) that was set to go into effect on 24 May 2023.
The STURDY Act will require the CPSC to adopt a new rule to protect children from tip-over-related death or injury with:
- tests that simulate the weight of children up to 60 pounds;
- objective, repeatable, reproducible, and measurable tests or series of tests that simulate real-world use and account for impacts on clothing storage unit stability that may result from placement on carpeted surfaces, drawers with items in them, multiple open drawers, and dynamic force;
- testing of all clothing storage units, including those 27 inches and above in height; and
- warning requirements based on ASTM 14 F2057–19, or its successor at the time of enactment, provided that the CPSC may strengthen the warning requirements of ASTM F2057–19, or its successor, if reasonably necessary to protect children from tip-over-related death or injury.
ASTM International will have 60 days to publish revisions to the ASTM F2057 standard to meet the requirements of the STURDY Act outlined above. The CPSC will then have 90 days to determine whether to adopt the updated ASTM F2057 standard in whole or in parts and promulgate a final consumer product safety rule that meets the requirements of the STURDY Act.
The new CSU product safety rule will go into effect 120 days after the date of the promulgation or such a later date as the CPSC determines appropriate.
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