Assemblymembers Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Gary Schaer

VAINIERI HUTTLE/SCHAER: NEW TOY SAFETY REPORT
UNDERSCORES NEED TO ENACT CHILD SAFETY LAW
Legislators' Bill Would Require Division of Consumer Affairs to Keep Public List
Of Children's Products Found to Pose Health or Safety Lists

(TRENTON) -- Assemblymembers Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Gary Schaer said today's toy safety report issued by the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group (NJPIRG) underscores the need for enacting legislation they have sponsored to crack down on the sale of unsafe or recalled toys and children's products.NJPIRG released its 21st annual toy safety report at two news conferences today, with participants raising awareness of several types of hazardous toys and warning consumers not to buy them.

The NJPIRG report comes just two weeks after an Assembly panel released legislation (A-2554) Vainieri Huttle and Schaer sponsored to prohibit the sale of toys that have been declared to be unsafe. The bill would require the Division of Consumer Affairs to create and maintain a public list of children's products found to pose health or safety risks.

"Each year, hundreds of thousands of children's products are recalled," said Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen). "Keeping families and child-care providers informed of the potential dangers of products they use each day is the first step in keeping children safe."

Under the bill, child-care facilities would be prohibited from using or having any hazardous products on their premises. Additionally, DYFS would inspect each child-care facility for compliance prior to applying for a license and for license renewals.

"It is critical that we get a better handle on this situation and ensure that our children are not exposed to unsafe products that pose serious safety risks," said Schaer (D-Bergen/Essex/Passaic). "Creating a public statewide list and inspecting child-care facilities are proactive ways to keep consumers and child-care facilities informed of dangerous child products."

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today that Mattel Inc. is recalling 4.4 million Polly Pocket magnetic play sets after three children were hospitalized with serious injuries from swallowing tiny magnets that fell off the popular toys.

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