.The Safer Occupancy Furniture Flammability Act (SOFFA) passed the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of 2019 and made it into the 2020 year-end omnibus bill approved by Congress last night. It was renamed as the “COVID-19 Regulatory Relief and Work From Home Safety Act” and instructs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish conformance to California TB-117-2013 (a smolder test) as a national standard in the United States.
BIFMA joined a broad coalition led by the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) in support of this legislation. For many years, members of BIFMA have worked to repeal California TB133 (open flame) and promote California TB117-2013. We have achieved three major successes with: modifications in 2013 to TB117, with the TB133 repeal in January 2019, and now with TB117-2013 to become a national standard. BIFMA was pleased to work with many other organizations to promote a national smolder test standard for upholstered furniture.
Contact Dave Panning, Director of Technical Services at BIFMA (dpanning@bifma.org) with any questions. A copy of the language in the bill is below.
TITLE XXI—COVID–19 REGU-
LATORY RELIEF AND WORK
FROM HOME SAFETY ACT
SEC. 2101. COVID–19 REGULATORY RELIEF AND WORK
FROM HOME SAFETY ACT.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the
‘‘COVID–19 Regulatory Relief and Work From Home
Safety Act’’.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘bedding product’’ means—
(A) an item that is used for sleeping or
sleep-related purposes; or
(B) any component or accessory with re-
spect to an item described in subparagraph (A),
without regard to whether the component or ac-
cessory, as applicable, is used—
(i) alone; or
(ii) along with, or contained within,
that item;
(2) the term ‘‘California standard’’ means the
standard set forth by the Bureau of Electronic and
Appliance Repair, Home Furnishings and Thermal
Insulation of the Department of Consumer Affairs of
the State of California in Technical Bulletin 117–
2013, entitled ‘‘Requirements, Test Procedure and
Apparatus for Testing the Smolder Resistance of
Materials Used in Upholstered Furniture’’, originally
published June 2013, as in effect on the date of en-
actment of this Act;
(3) the terms ‘‘foundation’’ and ‘‘mattress’’
have the meanings given those terms in section
1633.2 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations, as
in effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and
(4) the term ‘‘upholstered furniture’’—
(A) means an article of seating furniture
that—
(i) is intended for indoor use;
(ii) is movable or stationary;
(iii) is constructed with an uphol-
stered seat, back, or arm;
(iv) is—
(I) made or sold with a cushion
or pillow, without regard to whether
that cushion or pillow, as applicable,
is attached or detached with respect
to the article of furniture; or
(II) stuffed or filled, or able to be
stuffed or filled, in whole or in part,
with any material, including a sub-
stance or material that is hidden or
concealed by fabric or another cov-
ering, including a cushion or pillow
belonging to, or forming a part of, the
article of furniture; and
(v) together with the structural units
of the article of furniture, any filling mate-
rial, and the container and covering with
respect to those structural units and that
filling material, can be used as a support
for the body of an individual, or the limbs
and feet of an individual, when the indi-
vidual sits in an upright or reclining posi-
tion;
(B) includes an article of furniture that is
intended for use by a child; and
(C) does not include—
(i) a mattress;
(ii) a foundation;
(iii) any bedding product; or
(iv) furniture that is used exclusively
for the purpose of physical fitness and ex-
ercise.
(c) ADOPTION OF STANDARD.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that
is 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
and except as provided in paragraph (2), the Cali-
fornia standard shall be considered to be a flamma-
bility standard promulgated by the Consumer Prod-
uct Safety Commission under section 4 of the Flam-
mable Fabrics Act (15 U.S.C. 1193).
(2) TESTING AND CERTIFICATION.—A fabric,
related material, or product to which the California
standard applies as a result of paragraph (1) shall
not be subject to section 14(a) of the Consumer
Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2063(a)) with re-
spect to that standard.
(3) CERTIFICATION LABEL.—Each manufac-
turer of a product that is subject to the California
standard as a result of paragraph (1) shall include
the statement ‘‘Complies with U.S. CPSC require-
ments for upholstered furniture flammability’’ on a
permanent label located on the product, which shall
be considered to be a certification that the product
complies with that standard.
(d) PREEMPTION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 16
of the Flammable Fabrics Act (15 U.S.C. 1203) and
section 231 of the Consumer Product Safety Im-
provement Act of 2008 (15 U.S.C. 2051 note), and
except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of
paragraph (2), no State or any political subdivision
of a State may establish or continue in effect any
provision of a flammability law, regulation, code,
standard, or requirement that is designed to protect
against the risk of occurrence of fire, or to slow or
prevent the spread of fire, with respect to uphol-
stered furniture.
(2) PRESERVATION OF CERTAIN STATE LAW.—
Nothing in this Act or the Flammable Fabrics Act
(15 U.S.C. 1191 et seq.) may be construed to pre-
empt or otherwise affect—
(A) any State or local law, regulation,
code, standard, or requirement that—
(i) concerns health risks associated
with upholstered furniture; and
(ii) is not designed to protect against
the risk of occurrence of fire, or to slow or
prevent the spread of fire, with respect to
upholstered furniture;
(B) sections 1374 through 1374.3 of title
4, California Code of Regulations (except for
subsections (b) and (c) of section 1374 of that
title), as in effect on the date of enactment of
this Act; or
(C) the California standard.