NEW YORK -- Gov. David Paterson Sunday joined state legislators to announce an agreement on legislation to keep dangerous toys and other products out of children’s hands.

The “Children’s Product Safety and Recall Effectiveness Act of 2008” will protect New York children from unsafe toys and durable juvenile products such as cribs, car seats, high chairs, playpens or other similar items that may be available to consumers even after they have been recalled.

“My colleagues in the legislature joined in my shock as we learned how readily available dangerous and recalled toys are in stores in our state,” said Paterson.

“This agreement addresses this problem by prohibiting manufacturers, distributors and retailers from continuing to sell recalled children’s products in New York," Paterson said. "We cannot be complacent about protecting our children, especially when it comes to toys and products people count on and use every day. New Yorkers should be able to have confidence in the products they buy for their children, and we are determined to build that confidence, starting with this new law.”

During the summer of 2007, the Consumer Protection Board (CPB), along with other State agencies, conducted toy recall sweeps to investigate compliance with U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalls. The inspectors visited and contacted approximately 2,800 retail establishments and thrift shops throughout New York, and identified roughly 400 stores that carried one or more of the recalled items.

While most retailers stated that they received some form of recall notice and took the proper measures to remove the recalled items from their store and return them to the manufacturer, some reported that they did not receive notice or direction from their supplier or from the manufacturer.

Additionally, although most retail stores posted signs to inform consumers of the recall, the posting of the recall notices were not conspicuous or uniform from store to store, making it difficult for consumers to be aware of important safety recall information.

There currently is no prohibition against the sale or distribution of children’s products or durable juvenile products that have been the subject of a recall by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), nor is there an effective system for notifying individuals of such recalls. This law addresses these problems in several ways.

In particular, the law:

Requires that manufacturers of “durable juvenile products” (which as defined include cribs, car seats, high chairs, playpens and other similar durable products for children under five years old) must include a “product safety owner card” with the product at the time of original purchase by consumers

Requires manufacturers and importers of children’s products and durable juvenile products to notify consumers, distributors, retailers, the State Attorney General and the CPB of any recalls or warnings

Provides that commercial dealers (i.e., manufacturers, importers, distributors and wholesalers), after receiving notice of a recall or warning, must: (1) remove the recalled product from their shelves and websites; (2) contact the initial purchaser of the product if possible; and (3) post recall notices and warnings in a conspicuous manner

Requires appropriate children’s products and durable juvenile products to have labels indicating the manufacturer’s and importer’s name and contact information, as well as lot/batch information if applicable, either on the product or on its packaging

Authorizes the CPB and the Attorney General to enforce these requirements

Taken together, authorities said these provisions will reduce the likelihood of New York children getting hurt by recalled and defective toys and other products by having an enforceable law that prevents these products from being on store shelves, providing information about recalls, safety warnings, and limiting the sources of potential harm.