SPONSOR: Unsicker
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Children and Families by a vote of 7 to 0, with 1 voting Present. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules- Administrative Oversight by a vote of 8 to 2.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 1271.
This bill prohibits commercial dealers, manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, or retailers from selling, leasing, offering for sale, or offering for lease in Missouri, in any physical location or through any online marketplace, any crib bumper pad as an accessory to a crib or as a separate item.
Any violations of the provisions of this bill will result in a penalty of at least $100 and no more than $500 for each offense.
This bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2021.
This bill is the same as HB 60 (2019).
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that too many infants die in sleep accidents every year and this is an important way to protect them.
Testifying for the bill were Representative Unsicker; Breathable Baby LLC; Children's Trust Fund; and Maya Moody, Missouri Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics.
OPPONENTS: Those who oppose the bill say that the retailers association supports no bans that are not national, though they are sympathetic to the cause.
Testifying against the bill was the Missouri Retailers Association.
OTHERS: Others testifying on the bill say that we lose the equivalent to three kindergarten classes of children every year to unsafe sleep practices. It is not known how many are due to crib bumpers because there are many issues in death scene investigations, but removing any possible contributors will only improve the situation. Testifying on the bill was the Office Of Child Advocate.
This bill is similar to HB 60 (2019).
Statutes affected: