Matheson bill to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning advances

WASHINGTON — Legislation sponsored by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, to increase the use of lifesaving carbon monoxide alarms received approval from a House subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

The action moves HR1796 — the Residential Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act — closer to passage by the full House.

"Carbon monoxide is the leading cause of accidental poisoning deaths in this country," Matheson said in a news release Wednesday. "There's a simple way to lower that number — installation of carbon monoxide detectors in homes and residences."

Matheson's bill would set up a program administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to provide grants to states that enact a rule or law requiring all new dwelling units and apartment buildings to have carbon monoxide alarms.

— Joseph M. Dougherty