Welcome to the March edition of the Alston & Bird CPSC Recall Snapshot.

This past month, Republican Commissioner Ann Marie Buerkle was named acting chairman of the CPSC. Buerkle was confirmed as a commissioner in June 2013 after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives. She has been an outspoken opponent of the CPSC’s recent civil penalties and has been the lone dissenter on several civil penalty votes. She has also issued statements against the CPSC’s continued rulemaking efforts on magnet sets and recreational off-highway vehicles and has instead advocated for voluntary safety standards for these and many other consumer products. While speaking at a conference last month, Buerkle highlighted her desire to gain insight and contributions from the different stakeholders in the product safety community. Former chairman Elliott Kaye will remain as a commissioner. His term is set to expire in October 2020.

The CPSC, which currently has three Democratic and two Republican commissioners, is expected to remain a Democratic majority until Democratic Commissioner Marietta Robinson’s term expires in October 2017.