RI S. 2482 Passes Senate
FJATA has introduced bills in the RI legislature that would require all jewelry sold in the state to comply with the recently-approved ASTM F2923-11 Specification for Consumer Product Safety for Children’s Jewelry. These bills, RI S. 2482 (Sheehan) and companion bill, RI H. 7652 (Ehrhardt), both make the voluntary standards presented in the ASTM document into requirements that will help ensure the safety of children’s jewelry products in the state. Passing bills based on the ASTM doc will further assist us in the effort to develop one harmonized national standard for cadmium. CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has spoken in support of the children’s standard; however, she will await state action before making any decisions regarding cadmium and CPSIA.
After several key letters of support were sent from MJSA, Alex and Ani, Avon, and Swarovski, on 5/9/12, S. 2482 passed in the senate. Nonetheless, the house version has not moved out of the Health, Education, and Welfare Committee. To help legislators in the state see how much support H. 7652 has from the industry, letters of support were sent from Ballet Jewels, TSI Accessory Group, LGP Gem Ltd., and K & M Associates. We are hopeful that the house version will be released from committee and held for a vote within the next two weeks, which will make RI the first state to adopt the ASTM F2923-11 Specification.
Read FJATA Memorandum in Support of RI H. 7652/S. 2482.
