3041-AD11 201210 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 3041 Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC Petition for a Standard for Gas-Vented Fire Places Carol Pollack-Nelson of Independent Safety Consulting submitted a petition to the Commission on May 23, 2011, requesting that the Commission initiate rulemaking to require safeguards for glass fronts of gas-vented fireplaces. The petitioner seeks a mandatory standard for gas-vented fireplaces that requires a protective barrier, guard, or other device for any accessible surface that, if contacted, is hot enough to cause severe burns. The petition was docketed on May 24, 2011, under the Consumer Product Safety Act as Petition CP 11-1. Subsequent to receipt of the petition, the Commission received a submission from Mr. William Lerner, also requesting that the Commission initiate rulemaking regarding glass fronts of gas fireplaces. Mr. Lerner seeks that a "high temperature warning system" be placed on the front of the fireplaces to indicate whether the fireplace glass front is cool enough to be touched safely. On June 1, 2011, the Commission voted unanimously to approve publication of a notice in the Federal Register seeking comments on the petition and on the Lerner submission. The notice was published in the Federal Register on June 8, 2011. The comment period closed on August 8, 2011. CPSC staff completed review of submitted comments, and on March 21, 2012 staff sent a briefing package to the Commission for consideration. On March 27, 2012, the Commission voted unanimously to defer the petition for six months, directing staff to update the Commission at the end of that period on the progress of voluntary standards activities. On September 19, 2012 staff submitted for Commission consideration a briefing package on the status of the standards development process for protective barriers. On September 25, 2012, the Commission voted unanimously (4-0) to defer the petition for 6 months and directed staff to update the Commission at the end of that period on the progress of relevant standards development. Substantive, Nonsignificant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Prerule Stage Undetermined No Not Yet Determined 15 USC 2056 15 USC 2058 No Petition Docketed 05/24/2011 Notice for Comment on Petition Published in Federal Register 06/08/2011 76 FR 33179 Comment Period Closed 08/08/2011 Staff Sends Briefing Package to Commission 03/21/2012 Commission Decision 03/27/2012 Staff Sent Briefing Package to Commission 09/19/2012 Commission Decision 09/25/2012 Staff Sends Status Update to Commission 03/00/2013 Undetermined Undetermined No No Ron Jordan 3041 Consumer Product Safety Commission CPSC 301 987-2219 rjordan@cpsc.gov Directorate for Engineering Sciences, 5 Research Place, Rockville MD 20850