Overlawyered has a long list of links for people talking and reporting on the impact of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which went into effect this week. Even though some of this may be overreaction, congress and the commission are responsible for the confusion. Here’s part of a press release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, issued last month. I hope this is accurate, not some kind of doublespeak:

The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban. Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.

The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.

More “guidance” from the commission is here.

Sherry blogs about the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, saying she knows of a used bookstore trashing all of it’s children’s books out of fear of this Improvement Act. I thought second-hand stores, thrift, used, and libraries, were exempt from this act, but even if that’s true, some store owners are not comforted by it.

The CPSC has, as of last week, made an exception for “ordinary children’s books printed after 1985.” Supposedly, some inks used before 1985 may have contained some lead. (However, the eight, nine, or ten year old reading a copy of Winnie the Pooh printed before 1985 would have to eat the book to get get any level of lead into their system. My four to twelve year olds don’t eat books. Do yours?) Right now, the bookstore where my daughter works is getting around the law by reclassifying their children’s books printed before 1985 as “vintage books” for adult collectors. Of course, this strategy is just that, a way of circumventing the law. That 1983 copy of Winnie the Pooh isn’t really vintage or collectible; it also isn’t dangerous to children.

Apparently, youth dirt bikes and ATVS are illegal to sell under the same act. Is the government trying to put small companies and many retailers out of business? It sure seems to be. Do we hate congress enough to rally for mandatory six-month vacations now? The less time they spend in Washington, the better we’ll be.