HR973-119

What This Bill Does

The Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to turn three voluntary UL standards into federal consumer product safety standards within 180 days. The standards are ANSI/CAN/UL 2271 for batteries used in light electric vehicle applications, ANSI/CAN/UL 2849 for e-bike electrical systems, and ANSI/CAN/UL 2272 for personal e-mobility device electrical systems. CPSC must limit the standards to consumer products under the Consumer Product Safety Act. If a standards organization later revises one of the UL standards, the revised voluntary standard becomes the federal safety standard 180 days after CPSC is notified unless CPSC decides within 90 days that the revision does not improve safety and retains the existing standard. CPSC must also report to Congress within five years on fires, explosions, and other lithium-ion battery hazards in micromobility products, including known make, model, compliance status, manufacturer, and country of manufacture.

Who Benefits and How

E-bike riders, e-scooter users, and other personal mobility consumers benefit because batteries and electrical systems would have mandatory safety baselines intended to reduce fires and explosions. First responders and fire departments benefit if safer products reduce lithium-ion battery incidents in homes, apartments, and public spaces. Retailers of compliant micromobility products benefit from clearer federal standards. CPSC investigators and congressional oversight committees benefit from a required hazard report containing product, manufacturer, and country-of-manufacture information.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries for light electric vehicles must comply with UL 2271 as a mandatory federal rule. E-bike manufacturers must meet UL 2849 for covered consumer products. Personal e-mobility device manufacturers must meet UL 2272. The Consumer Product Safety Commission must promulgate the standards within 180 days, evaluate later revisions within 90 days, enforce the rules as consumer product safety rules, and prepare the five-year hazard report. Standards organizations must notify CPSC after final approval of revisions.

Key Provisions

• Requires CPSC to adopt UL 2271 for light electric vehicle batteries as a final consumer product safety standard.
• Requires CPSC to adopt UL 2849 for e-bike electrical systems as a final consumer product safety standard.
• Requires CPSC to adopt UL 2272 for personal e-mobility electrical systems as a final consumer product safety standard.
• Limits the standards to consumer products covered by the Consumer Product Safety Act.
• Establishes automatic adoption of later safety-improving standards revisions unless CPSC rejects them within 90 days.
• Requires a five-year congressional report on micromobility battery fires, explosions, hazards, manufacturers, and compliance status.