HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4393        FILED ON: 8/2/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Kimberly N. Ferguson and Meghan Kilcoyne

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to prevent furniture tip-over (Meggie's Law).

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4393        FILED ON: 8/2/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act to prevent furniture tip-over (Meggie's Law).

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 94 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following new section:-

Section 330. (a) As used in the section, the following word shall, unless otherwise specified,  have the following meanings:-

“Clothing storage unit (CSU)”, any free-standing furniture item regardless of it’s height, including, but not limited to, dressers, chests of drawers, armoires, bureaus, or other units containing drawers where clothing could be stored.

“Furniture”, clothing storage units as well as storage furniture such as shelving units, entertainment centers, nightstands, china cabinets, cabinets with doors and or shelves, sideboards, curio cabinets, and other furniture that can be used to support or hold objects.

“Manufacturer”, a person, either by himself or through employees or agents, makes new clothing storage units.

“Retailer”, a person who sells or offers for sale new or used clothing storage units at a retail store location or online

“Tip-restrain device”, a mechanism that is designed to reduce the risk of furniture tipping over by attaching the furniture to a wall.

(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, no manufacturer, retailer, limited liability company, corporation or any other entity shall offer for sale a clothing storage unit which is not compliant with the current consumer product safety standard for clothing storage units, as established by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission. If no such standard exists at the time of passage of this act, manufacturers and retailers must comply with the current standard safety specification for clothing storage units (F2057), established by the ATSM.

(c) (I). All retailers who are in the business of selling furniture, including but not limited to clothing storage units must offer for sale tip-restraint devices which can be attached to said units. (III). Upon the sale of a clothing storage unit, the retailer must provide the consumer with information on properly anchoring furniture and the benefits thereof. For the purposes of this section, properly anchored furniture shall mean that attachments to both the furniture and the wall must be into solid wood. If wood studs are not available, information should be given to the consumer by the manufacturer regarding the proper anchoring devices for the wall type.

(d). All retailers who offer clothing storage units for sale must: (i) post a notice in a conspicuous manner that states “Furniture may become unstable and tip-over, leading to possible injury or death.  Tip-restraint devices may prevent tipping of furniture when properly installed”; (ii) display a clothing storage unit with properly a installed tip-resistant device; (iii) require all employees to educate consumers on the dangers of furniture tip-overs and the benefits of tip-restrain devices.

(e) A manufacturer, retailer, limited liability company, corporation or any other entity may offer to sell new furniture if the furniture is outside the scope of the standard prescribed in subsection (c) and contains a compatible tip-restraint device and carries a warning label; or if  the furniture is outside the scope of the standard prescribed in subsection (c) and the retailer maintains in stock and displays within the store tip-restraint devices available for sale that are compatible with such furniture.

(f) Any manufacturer, retailer, limited liability company, corporation or any other entity that sells or offers to sell new furniture to a consumer at retail in violation of the provisions of this section shall be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars for each violation.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after its passage.