Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as “Esther’s Law”.
Esther’s Law
A BILL
To provide that certain water beads products shall be considered banned hazardous products under section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety Act, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Definitions
In this Act:
Art material or art material product— The term art material or art material product has the meaning given such term in section 23(b)(1) of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1277(b)(1)) as applied to a child under 14 years of age.
Commission— The term Commission means the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Educational material— The term educational material means any substance or product, other than a toy, as defined in paragraph (5), that is designed, intended, or marketed by the producer or repackager as suitable to assist with the cognitive development of a child under 14 years of age.
Sensory stimulation material or sensory tool— The term sensory stimulation material or sensory tool means a consumer product, as defined in section 3(a)(5) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052(a)(5)), that stimulates the visual or tactile sense of a child under 14 years of age.
Toy— The term toy has the meaning given such term in section 3.1.92 of ASTM F963–23 (Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety), or any successor to such document.
Water beads product— The term water beads product means a consumer product, whether accessible or not, that—
is composed, in whole or in part, of water-absorbing super absorbent polymers, such as polyacrylamides and polyacrylates; and
at the point of sale to a consumer, contains at least 1 individual bead that can—
fit entirely within the cylinder described in section 1501.4 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations; and
through water absorption, expand—
to a size of at least 3 millimeters (in 1 or more dimensions); or
by 50 percent or more in diameter in any dimension from its as-received state.
Sec. 3 Certain water beads products considered banned hazardous products
In general— On and after the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, a water beads product, without regard to the date of manufacture or importation, shall be considered a banned hazardous product under section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2057).
Water beads product— For purposes of subsection (a), the term water beads product (as defined in section 2) refers to a product that is designed, intended, or marketed as—
a toy;
educational material;
art material or art material product; or
sensory stimulation material or sensory tool.
Sec. 4 Regulation of water bead products not designed, intended, or marketed as toys, educational materials, art materials, or sensory tools
In general— Not later than 24 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, promulgate a final consumer product safety standard for water beads products that are not banned under section 3 that—
may contain requirements on the colors of such water beads products, so as to deter use by children; and
shall contain warning label requirements—
to be included, as practicable, on the packaging of such products;
to be included on any literature distributed with the product, in print or in an online format; and
that shall contain language describing the risk of injury and death if used by children or around children, including—
the hazard of ingestion, orally or otherwise;
the need for the consumer to keep the product out of an environment that contains children; and
instructions for the consumer to seek medical care and advice should the consumer suspect ingestion by a child.
Future rulemaking— At any time after the promulgation of a final consumer product safety standard under subsection (a), the Commission may initiate rulemaking in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to modify the requirements of the standard or any revised standard. Any rule promulgated under this subsection shall be treated as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act ( 15 U.S.C. 2058).
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section shall be construed as applying to water beads that are used commercially in diapers, personal care products, sanitary products, or agricultural supplies, including fertilizers and agricultural soil conditioners.