Bill Text: NY S04899 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires a warning instruction by a person, firm, corporation, or other legal entities which manufacture and assemble roller skates and skate boards; requires the warning to be contained on a label, hangtag, shield or plate or on the outside of the box which such pair of roller skates or skate boards are sold and in each instruction manual; sets forth penalties for violations; makes an exception for the sale of roller skates or skate boards sold or offered for sale by consumers for consumer use.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-03 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [S04899 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S04899-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4899
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      March 3, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens.  DIAZ, HAMILTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when  printed  to  be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Consumer
          Protection
        AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to notice require-
          ments  in  the  manufacture,  assembling and sale of roller skates and
          skate boards
          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  391-u to read as follows:
     3    §  391-u.  Sale of roller skates and skate boards; notification. 1. As
     4  used in this section, the following terms shall have the following mean-
     5  ings:
     6    (a) "Roller skate" shall have the same meaning as such term is defined
     7  by section one hundred forty-b of the vehicle and traffic law.
     8    (b) "Skate board" shall have the same meaning as such term is  defined
     9  by section one hundred forty-c of the vehicle and traffic law.
    10    (c)  "Warning  instruction"  shall  mean a notice in substantially the
    11  following form printed in clear and conspicuous type:  "WARNING!  REDUCE
    12  THE  RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY AND ONLY USE (insert 'THESE SKATES' or 'THIS
    13  SKATE BOARD', as appropriate)  WHILE  WEARING  FULL  PROTECTIVE  GEAR  -
    14  HELMET, WRIST GUARDS, ELBOW PADS AND KNEE PADS."
    15    2.  (a)  No  person,  firm,  corporation,  or other legal entity which
    16  offers to sell, or distribute in this state such roller skates shall  do
    17  so  unless:  (i)  a  warning  instruction contained on a label, hangtag,
    18  shield or plate clearly visible to the consumer is placed on the outside
    19  of the box in which such pair of roller skates is sold  or  offered  for
    20  sale  at retail; and (ii) each such pair of roller skates which contains
    21  a user's guide or buyer's instruction manual  also  contains  a  warning
    22  instruction within or on such guide or manual.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07334-01-7
        S. 4899                             2
     1    (b)  No  person,  firm, corporation, or other legal entity shall sell,
     2  offer to sell, or distribute in this state such skate boards unless: (i)
     3  a warning instruction contained on a label,  hangtag,  shield  or  plate
     4  clearly  visible  to the consumer is placed on the outside of the box in
     5  which  such  skate board is sold or offered for sale at retail; and (ii)
     6  each skate board which contains a user's guide  or  buyer's  instruction
     7  manual  also  contains  a warning instruction within or on such guide or
     8  manual.
     9    (c) No person, firm, corporation or other legal entity which is  regu-
    10  larly engaged in the business of selling, offering for sale, or distrib-
    11  uting  roller  skates  at  retail  for consumer use shall sell, offer to
    12  sell, or distribute in this state such roller skates unless such  roller
    13  skates  conform to the manufacturing requirements set forth in paragraph
    14  (a) of this subdivision.
    15    (d) No person, firm, corporation or other legal entity which is  regu-
    16  larly engaged in the business of selling, offering for sale, or distrib-
    17  uting skate boards at retail for consumer use shall sell, offer to sell,
    18  or  distribute  in this state such skate boards unless such skate boards
    19  conform to the manufacturing requirements set forth in paragraph (b)  of
    20  this subdivision.
    21    3.  Whenever  it  shall appear that there has been a violation of this
    22  section, an application may be made by the attorney general in the  name
    23  of  the  people  of  the  state of New York to a court or justice having
    24  jurisdiction by a special proceeding to issue an  injunction,  and  upon
    25  notice  to  the  defendant  of  not  less  than five days, to enjoin and
    26  restrain the continuance of such violation; and if it  shall  appear  to
    27  the  satisfaction  of  the  court  or justice that the defendant has, in
    28  fact, violated this article, an injunction may be issued by  such  court
    29  or  justice,  enjoining  and  restraining any further violation, without
    30  requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been  injured  or  damaged
    31  thereby.  In  any  such proceeding, the court may make allowances to the
    32  attorney general as provided in paragraph  six  of  subdivision  (a)  of
    33  section  eighty-three hundred three of the civil practice law and rules,
    34  and direct restitution.  Whenever  the  court  shall  determine  that  a
    35  violation  of  this  article  has occurred, the court may impose a civil
    36  penalty of not more than five hundred dollars  for  such  violation.  In
    37  connection  with  any such proposed application, the attorney general is
    38  authorized to take proof and make a determination of the relevant  facts
    39  and  to  issue  subpoenas  in accordance with the civil practice law and
    40  rules.
    41    4. No person, firm, corporation or other legal entity which  is  regu-
    42  larly  engaged  in  the business of selling, or offering for sale roller
    43  skates or skate boards shall be deemed to have violated  the  provisions
    44  of  this  subdivision,  if such person, firm, corporation or other legal
    45  entity shows by a preponderance of evidence that the violation  was  not
    46  intentional and resulted from a bona fide error made notwithstanding the
    47  maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid any such error.
    48    5.  This section shall not apply to the sale of roller skates or skate
    49  boards sold or offered for sale by consumers for consumer use.
    50    § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become  a
    51  law.