On November 1, 2023, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published a supplemental proposed rule that would establish a safety standard for blade contact injuries in table saws. On January 26, 2024, the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy) filed a comment letter recommending that CPSC publish a second supplemental initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA), Safety Standard Addressing Blade-Contact Injuries on Table Saws (PDF, 225 KB).
Advocacy advised that:
- Advocacy’s concerns, as expressed in a comment letter on CPSC’s 2017 notice of proposed rulemaking, still apply.
- The proposed rule’s updated IRFA is still deficient.
- A second supplemental IRFA should adequately estimate potential impacts to regulated small entities, including the relative impact of costs based on entity size.
- A second supplemental IRFA should include all available information on the costs associated with licensing active injury mitigation technology.
- A second supplemental IRFA must include additional analysis of specific regulatory alternatives that would minimize the impact to small entities, and which accomplish the agency’s objectives.
For more information, please contact Meagan Singer, Assistant Chief Counsel at meagan.singer@sba.gov or (202) 921-4843.