CPSC Withdraws Lithium-Ion Battery Rulemaking
Less than two weeks after the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) voted 3-2 to move ahead with a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) for a new safety standard for lithium-ion batteries used in e-mobility devices, in a not unexpected move, the Commission, now consisting of two Republicans, voted to withdraw the NPR.
As we previously discussed, CPSC’s April 30, 2025, vote to advance the NPR passed along party lines, with former Democratic Commissioners Alexander Hoehn-Saric, Mary Boyle, and Richard Trumka supporting publication of the NPR over the objections of Republican Acting Chair Peter Feldman and Commissioner Douglas Dziak. Acting Chair Feldman had proposed, unsuccessfully, that the draft safety standard be referred to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which reviews and coordinates executive regulations and federal information policy. On May 8, 2025, all three Democratic Commissioners were terminated. In the wake of their departure, on May 13, 2025, Feldman and Dziak voted, on an emergency basis, to direct CPSC staff to withdraw the NPR prior to its publication in the Federal Register.
Meanwhile, proposed legislation on lithium-ion batteries in e-mobility devices is moving through Congress. On April 28, 2025, the House passed, with broad bipartisan support, H.R. 973, the Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act (the Act). If passed in the Senate as drafted, the Act would require CPSC to make three voluntary standards mandatory: ANSI/CAN/UL 2271–Standard for Batteries for Use in Light Electric Vehicle Applications; ANSI/CAN/UL 2849–Standard for Electrical Systems for eBikes; and ANSI/CA/UL 2272–Standard for Electrical Systems for Personal E-Mobility Devices. Unlike the withdrawn NPR, in which CPSC proposed adopting the three standards with modifications, the Act would require CPSC to promulgate the standards unchanged from the versions in effect on the date of enactment of the Act.
Deference to voluntary standards is required under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), but this is not the first time CPSC sought to promulgate rules that go beyond existing voluntary standards. For example, in 2023, after CPSC issued a mandatory rule in October 2022 that replaced the existing voluntary standards addressing furniture tip-over risks, Congress acted to mandate adherence to a voluntary standard under the Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth Act (STURDY Act). Congressional action came after industry participants and trade associations challenged CPSC’s tip-over rule, which was widely regarded as an overreach by an independent agency.
The recent removal of the Democratic commissioners by the President, followed by a withdrawal of the NPR, raises again the question of the future of independent agencies such as CPSC and their relationship with the Executive branch. At the same time, many stakeholders are skeptical that folding CPSC into the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as the Administration is reportedly planning to do, will enhance CPSC’s ability to carry out its product safety mission. But the drama will continue to unfold with possible structural changes to the agency and anticipated legal challenges to the termination of the three Democratic Commissioners. Consumer product companies are carefully watching developments play out under this Administration, in Congress and in the courts.