Don't Say We Didn't Warn You

My husband's Post on NRO - The Corner

Regulate First, Think Later . . . or Never
Quin Hilyer has a good column in the Examiner today on the subject of the ludicrously over-reaching Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This little-noticed piece of legislation could have significant effects on a wide variety of small businesses:

Antiques dealers, toymakers, electronics retailers, even book manufacturers and diaper makers all are agitated, and in many cases confused, about the new law that is scheduled to take effect Feb. 10. As usual, only the plaintiffs’ attorneys are rubbing their hands in glee.

Last August, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which mandates that all products for children ages 12 and under be tested for lead and phthalates (a chemical in many plastics), and that no such products be sold with lead contents higher than 600 parts per million. (Ingested lead, of course, can cause serious health problems, including learning disabilities in children.)

The sales ban applies retroactively, too: Even if the items in question were made 100 years ago, The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has advised that a second-hand store could be subject to lawsuits or even “criminal penalties” for selling them.

Even antique lead soldiers sold as collectibles for display, rather than as play toys, could conceivably trigger punishment.

The CPSC has reacted to criticism by announcing a stay in testing requirements for a year, but Quin explains why that actually offers no relief.

I wrote about this a while back on OpenMarket (as did Hans Bader here), while Walter Olson has been all over the subject on Overlawyered. I can't think of a more accessible example of the unintended consequences of regulation.