CEA Government Alert

Child Safety: It Makes a Difference Where the TV Stands
While Congress debates legislation to modernize the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and product safety regulations, CEA's Product Safety Working Group has been proactively working to inform the public about the importance of proper installation and placement of televisions.

Television sets placed upon unsuitable furniture or inappropriately mounted to a wall may fall and cause injury. As televisions and flat-panel displays get larger, more care is needed in installation. The PSWG has developed flyers for cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions and flat-panel displays, which outlines the specific dangers associated with each.

These flyers are meant to help consumers safely install televisions and flat-panel displays. CEA urges its members to use the flyers as part of their consumer outreach or safety information in their users' manuals. Copies of the flyers are available at http://www.CE.org/safety.

Congress to Hold a Hearing on State Business Activity Taxes
CEA is advocating legislation that would limit the power of states to tax businesses with no physical presence in the state. This bill, the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act (BATSA) will be the subject of a House Small Business Committee hearing on February 14th. If your company has been unfairly targeted for state business activity taxes and you would like to help in this campaign, please contact us immediately.

DC Circuit to Decide CableCARD Waiver Request
CEA urges the Court to reject Comcast's attempt to get out from under the FCC's CableCARD rules.

FCC to Hold Additional DTV Consumer Education Workshops
Tomorrow, the FCC will hold a DTV consumer education workshop focusing on outreach to rural areas and tribal lands.

NYC Council Holds Hearing on E-Waste
Earlier this month, CEA's Parker Brugge testified before the NYC Council Committee on Sanitation and Solid Waste Management. CEA's testimony encourages shared financial responsibility for electronics recycling and emphasizes the importance of consumer education initiatives like myGreenElectronics.org.

Additional Links: Text of NYC Ordinance (Intro 104-A); Testimony of Parker Brugge 011408

Contact: Parker Brugge

Greener Gadgets Conference - February 1st
On Friday, CEA's Doug Johnson will participate in a panel session on "Electronics and Energy Efficiency." The panel is part of the Greener Gadgets Conference, which will be held in New York City on February 1st.

For more information, please visit: http://www.greenergadgets.com/conferenceschedule.

Contact: Doug Johnson

CEA to Release New Study on Enormous Cost to Industry for EU Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Compliance
CEA has commissioned Technology Forecasters Inc (TFI), a research and consulting firm specializing in global outsourcing for the electronics manufacturing industry, to undertake a comprehensive study on the cost to industry of compliance with the EU Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS). Our hope is that the study will help make the case to the Commission that no changes are necessary to the RoHS directive, particularly given the way in which our industry has already taken on the requirements of compliance, and also the way in which many companies have gone above and beyond RoHS to be environmentally responsible at every stage of the lifecycle. The study is nearly complete and CEA is in the process of evaluating the best way to present our findings to the EU Commission, as well as the U.S. government and other governments around the world. We will be releasing the study within the next few weeks.

Contact: Parker Brugge or Joanne Sonenshine

CEA Urges State to Allow the Use of Refurbished Phones for Warranty Replacement

In a letter opposing Arizona Senate Bill 1010, CEA urges the legislature to reconsider language that would prevent a wireless phone manufacturer from using refurbished phones for purposes of warranty replacement.

Additional Links: CEA Letter 01/30/08

Contact: J. David Grossman

Important: CEA's Legislative Tracking Service for Members
CEA has a new website for state legislative tracking: http://members.ce.org/state. The service, offered exclusively to CEA members tracks the latest state legislation in all of our issue areas. Please take advantage of this service!

Staff Contacts for State Legislative Issues:
Environment/E-waste: Parker Brugge (pbrugge@ce.org) or Joanne Sonenshine (jsonenshine@ce.org)

Energy Efficiency: Doug Johnson (djohnson@ce.org)

In-Vehicle Electronics, Right to Repair, Driver Distraction, Warranties/Lemon Laws, Rebates: J. David Grossman (jgrossman@ce.org)

Visit CEA's Member-Only website for the latest Government Affairs news, contact information and documents.

Interested in Joining CEA's Government Affairs Council (GAC)?
Email publicpolicy@CE.org for more information