SACRAMENTO — California's Table Saw Safety Act was approved by the State Assembly in May, then was sent to the Senate via a 3-2 vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee. But the bill never got called for a vote, languishin until the Senate's legislative session came to an end the final week of August. according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Table Saw Safety Act, AB 2218, sponsored by Assemblyman Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara), would have required "all new table saws manufactured for sale in California after January 1, 2015, to be equipped with a safety device that substantially mitigates injury when human skin comes close to, or in contact with the blade."
The most recent study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) indicated that 66,900 people receive emergency room treatment each year for table saw and bench-top related injuries at a cost of $2.3 billion. The annual injury total includes about 3,500 amputations.
The CPSC is continuing to plod along its course to create a national table saw safety standard. Like California's proposed bill, it would likely mandate flesh-sensing brake technology that is the hallmark of SawStop.Gass holds about 90 patents relating to his invention.
Related Reading
Blog: Table Saw Operators: What Not to Wear 7-20-12
Blog: Table Saw Safety Rule COntroversy Coming to a Head 7-13-12
Table Saw Safety Bill Heads for California Senate Vote 7-9-12
CPSC Votes 2-1 to Accept More Comments on Table Saw Safety 2-25-12
Blog: SawStop Inventor Weighs in on Table Saw Safety Rule 1-25-12
Blog: Table Saw Users - Time to Make Your Voices Heard 1-16-12
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