In response to the enactment of the U.S. federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), the state of Maryland has enacted a modification to its existing Children's Products Containing Lead law. Emergency House Bill 119, Chapter 129, approved by Governor Martin O'Malley on April 14, 2009, brings Maryland's law into closer alignment with the federal law. This modification includes the following changes:

• Revises the definition of "child" from "an individual who is under the age of 6" to "an individual who is under the age of 13";
• Specifies that a "children's product" does not include any component part of a children's product that is not accessible to a child through normal and reasonably foreseeable use and abuse of the product, as specified in the federal law;
• Alters the electronic devices, products and materials to which the law applies;
• Excludes products or materials which are excluded under CPSIA;
• Clarifies the manufacturers and importers who are required to perform specified testing;
• Clarifies which children's products are to be tested for lead content;
• Alters the requirements for the testing entity that is to be used by the manufacturer of a children's product; and
• Provides that a certificate of compliance is not required for the sale of used children's products at secondhand points of sale.

010-04-09