Bill Text: NY A00564 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Prohibits the sale of infant walkers; restricts the use of such infant walkers in certain settings.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-01-12 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [A00564 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A00564-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 564--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, McDONOUGH, SEAWRIGHT, DINOWITZ, FAHY, GOTTFRIED, WEPRIN, PHEFFER AMATO, SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting the sale of infant walkers and restricting the use of such infant walkers in certain settings The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 2 399-k to read as follows: 3 § 399-k. Prohibit the sale of infant walkers and restrict use of such 4 walkers in certain settings. 1. For the purposes of this section: 5 (a) "Infant walker" shall mean a mobile unit that enables a child to 6 move on a horizontal surface when propelled by such child while such 7 child is sitting or standing within such mobile unit. 8 (b) "Distributor" shall mean any person who delivers to a person other 9 than purchaser, for the purpose of retail sale. 10 (c) "Manufacturer" shall mean any person who makes and places into the 11 stream of commerce an infant walker as defined by this section. 12 (d) "Retailer" shall have the same meaning as set forth in subdivision 13 eleven of section four hundred ninety-a of this chapter. 14 (e) "Secondhand dealer" shall have the same meaning as set forth in 15 subdivision six of section four hundred ninety-a of this chapter. 16 (f) "Child care facility" shall mean any child day care provider as 17 defined in section three hundred ninety of the social services law or 18 child care program as defined in article forty-seven of the New York 19 city health code as authorized by section five hundred fifty-eight of 20 the New York city charter. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01835-03-1A. 564--A 2 1 (g) "Person" shall mean a natural person, firm, corporation, limited 2 liability company, association, or an employee or agent of a natural 3 person or an entity included in this definition. 4 2. No manufacturer, importer, distributor, wholesaler, retailer or 5 secondhand dealer shall sell, lease, offer for sale, or offer for lease 6 in this state any infant walker. 7 3. (a) On or after the effective date of this section, no child care 8 facility shall use or have on the premises any infant walker unless a 9 medical professional has determined that use of an infant walker is 10 medically necessary for a particular child in such child care facility. 11 (b) The office of children and family services, in consultation with 12 the city of New York department of health and mental hygiene, shall 13 notify child care facilities of the provisions of this subdivision in 14 plain, non-technical language. Such notice shall be given to every child 15 care facility upon the effective date of this section or as soon as 16 practicable thereafter, and such notice shall also be given to each 17 applicant for license or registration pursuant to section three hundred 18 ninety of the social services law. 19 (c) The office of children and family services shall promulgate rules 20 and regulations to carry out the provisions of this subdivision, with 21 respect to the ban on infant walkers in child care facilities. 22 4. Whenever there shall be a violation of subdivision two of this 23 section an application may be made by the attorney general in the name 24 of the people of the state of New York to a court or justice having 25 jurisdiction by a special proceeding to issue an injunction, and upon 26 notice to the defendant of not less than five days, to enjoin and 27 restrain the continuance of such violations; and if it shall appear to 28 the satisfaction of the court or justice that the defendant has, in 29 fact, violated this section, an injunction may be issued by the court or 30 justice, enjoining and restraining any further violations, without 31 requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged 32 thereby. In any such proceeding, the court may make allowances to the 33 attorney general as provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of 34 section eighty-three hundred three of the civil practice law and rules, 35 and direct restitution. Whenever the court shall determine that a 36 violation of subdivision two of this section has occurred, the court may 37 impose a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars for each 38 violation. Each sale of an infant walker in violation of this section 39 shall constitute a separate violation. In connection with any such 40 proposed application, the attorney general is authorized to take proof 41 and make a determination of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in 42 accordance with the civil practice law and rules. 43 5. If any provision of this section or the application thereof to any 44 person or circumstance is held unconstitutional, such invalidity shall 45 not affect other provisions or applications of this section which can be 46 given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this 47 end the provisions of this section are severable. 48 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 49 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 50 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 51 this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made 52 and completed on or before such effective date.
