It seems like a day doesn't go by that we don't hear about another recalled toy -- lead paint, dangerous chemicals, magnets -- but that will, hopefully, become less common, due to legislation making its way through congress. It's been hailed as the "most aggressive overhaul in decades of America's consumer safety system" and comes after months of haggling where, in almost every aspect, safety came out on top.

The bill calls for stricter limits on lead in toys, beginning with 600 parts per million after six months and decreasing to 100 ppm after three years. There will be new safety standards for all-terrain vehicles and a half-dozen compounds will be banned from use in plastics. In order to make sure that companies comply with the new rules, the Consumer Product Safety Commission's budget will get a boost, state attorneys general will have the power to pull products off store shelves, and violators will face fines as high as fifteen million dollars.

Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky called the legislation "a really strong, strong bill" and said of the plans for the CPSC that "it really, in many ways, is the birth of a new agency that will have much broader authority, particularly to keep our children safe." It's a shame that this is at all necessary, but I'm glad it's in the works.