S 1682119th CongressIntroduced

Alex Gate Safety Act of 2025

Introduced: May 8, 2025

Housing & Urban Development

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Alex Gate Safety Act of 2025 would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue a binding federal safety standard for “covered gates” within one year of enactment. The standard must align with specified existing standards (ASTM F900-25, ASTM F1184-23e1, or ASTM F2200-24 for the relevant gate category) and, for gates with operators, ANSI/CAN/UL 325 (or successor versions). The bill also creates a process to adopt revised voluntary standards after notice, allows future rulemaking to further modify the standard if needed to reduce injury risk, and treats the resulting standard as a federally enforceable consumer product safety rule. In addition, the act requires a national education and awareness campaign within two years to inform manufacturers, installers, retailers, consumers, building officials, and local agencies about gate safety, plus a Congress-report within three years. Definitions establish which gates are “covered,” who is a “building official,” and other key terms.

Key Points

1Mandatory federal standard: CPSC must promulgate a final consumer product safety standard for covered gates within 1 year, based on the named ASTM standards (or their successors) and, if applicable, ANSI/CAN/UL 325 for gates with operators.
2Scope and definitions: A “covered gate” includes automatic and manual vehicular gates and any gate wider than 48 inches or at least 84 inches tall; CPSC will determine exactly which gates fall under the standard.
3Adoption of revised voluntary standards: If a voluntary standard the act has adopted is revised, it becomes effectively adopted by the Commission 180 days after notification, unless the Commission disapproves within 90 days; the Commission must publish notices in the Federal Register about such revisions.
4Future modification authority: After the standard is in place, CPSC may initiate rulemaking to modify the standard if a modification would further reduce injury risk.
5Education campaign and congressional reporting: The Commission must launch a national education/awareness campaign within two years, provide materials for manufacturers, consumers, and building officials, and report to Congress within three years on actions taken and campaign results; the standard (and any revisions) is treated as a CPSA safety rule.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected- Gate manufacturers, installers, retailers, and service companies; building developers and homeowners with covered gates; and property managers who oversee gate safety.Secondary group/area affected- Building officials, local and state code authorities, and educational agencies involved in code updates and enforcement; local governments may need to reference or enforce the new standard in building codes.Additional impacts- Potential alignment or tension with local building codes; possible preemption implications as a federal safety standard (federal rules can preempt conflicting local requirements). Increased safety requirements could raise compliance costs for manufacturers and installers but may reduce gate-related injuries or deaths, particularly from gates with operators or those meeting the width/height criteria.Covered gate: automatic or manual vehicular gates, or any gate wider than 48 inches or taller than 84 inches.Positive stops: immovable components that physically prevent gate movement.Building official: official responsible for modifying, adopting, interpreting, or enforcing building codes.The act uses existing national standards (ASTM and UL/ANSI family) as the baseline, with potential updates if standards change.

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