Protection of Lawful Commerce in Stone Slab Products Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5437 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5437

To prohibit civil actions brought against a manufacturer or seller of a
  stone slab product for harm resulting from the alteration of such a
            product by a fabricator, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 17, 2025

 Mr. McClintock (for himself and Mr. Biggs of Arizona) introduced the
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To prohibit civil actions brought against a manufacturer or seller of a
  stone slab product for harm resulting from the alteration of such a
            product by a fabricator, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protection of Lawful Commerce in
Stone Slab Products Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Civil actions have been commenced against manufacturers
        and sellers of certain stone slab products, including those
        used for kitchen countertops and similar applications. These
        products are not inherently dangerous and upon their
        manufacture and entry into the stream of commerce, they do not
        pose an inherent risk of injury to human beings.
            (2) 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 fabricators. The manufacturers and
        sellers of these products have no control over these
        fabricators.
            (3) The alteration of such products is heavily regulated by
        Federal and State workplace safety laws and regulations,
        including section 1910.1053 of title 29, Code of Federal
        Regulations, and California Labor Code Section 5204, which
        require a variety of safety measures that fabricators must
        employ in order to mitigate the risk of potential injuries
        posed by silica dust. However, 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 prevent.
            (4) Businesses located or conducting business in the United
        States that are engaged in interstate and foreign commerce
        through the lawful design, manufacture, marketing,
        distribution, importation, or sale to third-parties of certain
        stone slab products are not responsible, and should not be held
        liable, for the alleged injuries caused by those who alter the
        product in a way that is unsafe or violates Federal and State
        laws and regulations.
            (5) The possibility of imposing liability on an entire
        industry for alleged injuries that are solely caused by others
        is an abuse of the legal system, erodes public confidence in
        our Nation's laws, invites the disassembly and destabilization
        of other industries and economic sectors lawfully competing in
        the free enterprise system of the United States, and
        constitutes an unreasonable burden on interstate and foreign
        commerce of the United States.
            (6) 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 relief.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are as follows:
            (1) 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-parties.
            (2) To preserve consumers' access to a supply of stone slab
        products, to protect manufacturers and sellers from frivolous
        civil actions alleging liability for such injuries, and to
        preserve a lawful industry that employs tens of thousands of
        Americans in several States.
            (3) To prevent the use of such civil actions to impose
        unreasonable burdens on interstate and foreign commerce.
            (4) To exercise congressional power under article IV,
        section 1 of the Constitution (the Full Faith and Credit
        Clause).

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON BRINGING OF QUALIFIED CIVIL ACTIONS IN FEDERAL
              OR STATE COURT.

    (a) In General.--A qualified civil action may not be brought in any
Federal or State court.
    (b) Dismissal of Pending Actions.--A qualified civil action that is
pending on the date of enactment of this Act shall be dismissed, as
soon as is practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, by the
court in which the action is pending.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Fabrication.--The term ``fabrication'' means the
        process of altering a qualified product by cutting, drilling,
        shaping, polishing, grinding, or other means.
            (2) Qualified civil action.--The term ``qualified civil
        action'' means a civil action brought against a manufacturer or
        seller of a qualified product for injuries arising from or
        related to the fabrication by another party of a qualified
        product, including those caused by exposure to respirable
        silica or other substances.
            (3) Qualified product.--The term ``qualified product''
        means a stone slab product, including such a product made with
        quartz, mineral, crystal, glass, porcelain, or other stone,
        ceramic or similar material, that has been shipped or
        transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
            (4) Seller.--The term ``seller'' means an importer, a
        distributer, a retailer, or a supplier of a qualified product.
            (5) State.--The term ``State'' includes each of the several
        States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands,
        Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
        Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession of the
        United States, and any political subdivision of any such place.
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