,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dgib  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #af1     
#bjbf,mrs4 ,moody introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on the      
,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to prohibit     
civil liability actions from being      
brought or continued against            
manufacturers and sellers of stone slab 
products for damages1 injunctive1 or    
other relief resulting from the misuse  
of their products by others4  #a4 ,short
 title ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,protection of ,lawful ,commerce in     
,stone ,slab ,products ,act of #bjbf4   
#b4 ,findings2 purposes  7a7 ,findings  
,congress finds the following3 7#a7     
,civil actions have been commenced      
against manufacturers and sellers of    
certain stone slab products1 including  
those used for kitchen countertops and  
similar applications4 ,these products   
are not inherently dangerous and upon   
their manufacture and entry into the    

stream of commerce1 they do not pose an 
inherent risk of injury to human beings4
  7#b7 ,these civil actions seek money  
damages from manufacturers and sellers  
by persons who claim personal injuries  
as a result of exposure to silica dust  
produced during the alteration of such  
products in the course of their         
employment by third-party fabricators4  
,the manufacturers and sellers of these 
products have no control over these     
fabricators4  7#c7 ,the alteration of   
such products is heavily regulated by   
,federal and ,state workplace safety    
laws and regulations1 including section 
#aiaj4ajec of title #bi1 ,code of       
,federal ,regulations1 and ,california  
,labor ,code ,section #ebjd1 which      
require a variety of safety measures    
that fabricators must employ in order to
 mitigate the risk of potential injuries
 posed by silica dust4 ,however1 some   
fabricators fail to comply with these   
requirements and thereby expose their   
employees and others to the potential   

harms that these laws and regulations   
are intended to prevent4  7#d7          
,businesses located or conducting       
business in the ,united ,states that are
 engaged in interstate and foreign      
commerce through the lawful design1     
manufacture1 marketing1 distribution1   
importation1 or sale to third-parties of
 certain stone slab products are not    
responsible1 and should not be held     
liable1 for the alleged injuries caused 
by those who alter the product in a way 
that is unsafe or violates ,federal and 
,state laws and regulations4  7#e7 ,the 
possibility of imposing liability on an 
entire industry for alleged injuries    
that are solely caused by others is an  
abuse of the legal system1 erodes public
 confidence in the laws of the ,united  
,states1 invites the disassembly and    
destabilization of other industries and 
economic sectors lawfully competing in  
the free enterprise system of the       
,united ,states1 and constitutes an     
unreasonable burden on interstate and   

foreign commerce of the ,united ,states4
  7#f7 ,a proliferation of frivolous    
lawsuits against manufacturers and      
sellers of stone slab products for      
alleged workplace injuries caused by the
 actions of third-parties unrelated to  
and beyond the control of these         
manufacturers and sellers may further   
limit access to courts by straining the 
resources of the legal system and       
depriving deserving parties of their    
legitimate rights to relief4  7b7       
,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act are
 as follows3 7#a7 ,to prohibit civil    
actions against manufacturers and       
sellers of stone slab products for      
injuries caused by exposure to          
respirable silica or other substances   
arising from or relating to the         
fabrication of such products by         
third-parties4  7#b7 ,to preserve the   
access of consumers to a supply of stone
 slab products1 to protect manufacturers
 and sellers from frivolous civil       
actions alleging liability for such     

injuries1 and to preserve a lawful      
industry that employs tens of thousands 
of people of the ,united ,states in     
several ,states4  7#c7 ,to prevent the  
use of such civil actions to impose     
unreasonable burdens on interstate and  
foreign commerce4  7#d7 ,to exercise    
congressional power under the ,full     
,faith and ,credit ,clause of section #a
 of article ,,iv of the ,constitution of
 the ,united ,states4  #c4 ,prohibition 
on bringing of qualified civil actions  
in ,federal or ,state court  7a7 ,in    
general ,a qualified civil action may   
not be brought in any ,federal or ,state
 court4  7b7 ,dismissal of pending      
actions ,a qualified civil action that  
is pending on the date of enactment of  
this ,act shall be dismissed1 as soon as
 is practicable after the date of       
enactment of this ,act1 by the court in 
which the action is pending4  #d4       
,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7        
,fabrication ,the term fabrication means
 the process of altering a qualified    

product by cutting1 drilling1 shaping1  
polishing1 grinding1 or other similar   
means4  7#b7 ,qualified civil action    
,the term qualified civil action-- 7,a7 
means a civil action brought against a  
manufacturer or seller of a qualified   
product for harm suffered from silicosis
 or another condition relating to or    
associated with silicosis resulting or  
arising from the occupational exposure  
to crystalline silica or other          
substances generated during fabrication 
of a qualified product2 and  7,b7 does  
not include an action in which a        
manufacturer or seller of a qualified   
product was an employer of the injured  
party4  7#c7 ,qualified product ,the    
term qualified product means a stone    
slab product1 including such a product  
made with or containing quartz1 mineral1
 crystal1 glass1 porcelain1 or other    
stone1 ceramic or similar material1 that
 has been shipped or transported in     
interstate or foreign commerce1 the     
fabrication of which is subject to      

,federal or ,state occupational health  
and safety statutes and regulations1    
including those pertaining to respirable
 crystalline silica4  7#d7 ,seller ,the 
term seller means an importer1 a        
distributer1 a retailer1 or a supplier  
of a qualified product4  7#e7 ,state    
,the term ,state includes each of the   
several ,states of the ,united ,states1 
the ,district of ,columbia1 the         
,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 the     
,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 ,guam1
 ,american ,samoa1 and the ,commonwealth
 of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands1 and
 any other territory or possession of   
the ,united ,states1 and any political  
subdivision of any such place4