State Rep. Margaret Donnelly, D-Richmond Heights and a candidate for attorney general, was in Jefferson City today to file the Missouri Children’s Product Safety Act.

According to Donnelly, “the bill would enact safeguards to protect children from the growing number of dangerous toys and products.

“This holiday season, parents are being bombarded with recalls of products their children use daily that have been found to be unsafe,” said Donnelly. “My bill would make product recalls mandatory and keep dangerous toys and products away from children.”

She noted that “there have been more than one hundred recalls of children’s products this year alone and the number is growing.”

Her bill is patterned after Illinois’ law and, she said, “drafted with the help of Kids In Danger, a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting children by improving product safety.”

Aside from its prohibition on the sale of unsafe products, and mandatory recalls, “the bill would increase corporate responsibility by requiring companies to remove dangerous products from store shelves in a timely manner or be penalized up to $500 per day.”

The bill would also give power to the Attorney General to investigate and prosecute violations and notify the public of safety recalls. “When corporations abuse their power and influence to defraud consumers, when they produce shoddy products or try to sell contaminated food, the Attorney General must step in to defend and protect consumers from this kind of illegal activity.” said Donnelly. “As your attorney general, I will investigate and prosecute manufacturers and distributors of dangerous products to consumers….”