HBA-DMH C.S.H.B. 1251 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1251 By: Menendez Public Health 3/19/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE According to the National Association of State Fire Marshals, more people in the United States die in fires involving upholstered furniture than any other product. California's furniture flammability standards, in effect in for over 20 years, have resulted in a substantial reduction in that state's fire deaths in which upholstered furniture was the first item ignited. C.S.H.B. 1251 prohibits a person from offering for sale upholstered furniture that is not fire resistant. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Board of Health in SECTION 1 (Sections 796.002 and 796.003, Health and Safety Code) and SECTION 2 of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1251 amends the Health and Safety Code to prohibit a person from offering for sale an item of upholstered furniture (item) for use in this state made of material that is not fire resistant or chemically treated to be fire resistant as required by Texas Board of Health (board) rule. The bill requires a person who manufactures an item to be sold in this state to label the item as fire resistant in compliance with board rules. The bill sets forth applicability standards for upholstered furniture and sets forth civil penalties for a violation of these provisions. The bill authorizes the board to adopt rules to exempt items from these provisions if the items do not pose a serious fire hazard. The bill requires the board, in consultation with the state fire marshal, to adopt minimum smolder standards for fire-resistant products. The bill requires the board to adopt rules to administer and enforce the provisions of the bill not later than November 1, 2001. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001, and applies only to a mattress or an item of upholstered furniture offered for sale on or after September 1, 2002. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1251 differs from the original by excluding a mattress from the items regulated for fire resistance by the Texas Board of Health (board). The substitute requires the board to adopt rules to enforce the provisions of the bill. The substitute requires a person who manufactures an item of upholstered furniture (item) for sale, instead of a person who offers an item for sale, to label the item as fire resistant. The substitute specifies that a person may not offer for sale an item that is not made of material that is fire resistant or chemically treated to be fire resistant. The substitute includes an item designed and intended solely for outdoor use as exempt from these provisions and decreases from $1,000 to $500 the minimum civil penalty for each violation. The substitute transfers the authority to request the attorney general to bring suit to recover a civil penalty from the commissioner of health to the board. The substitute clarifies that the minimum standards the board is required to adopt are smolder standards.