Director of the Ohio Department of Commerce Donna Owens has announced that over the past year, more than 15 million Ty Beanie Babies have hit Ohio shelves. As a result, the Department of Commerce has collected more than $600,000 in registration fees.

"Last year, Ohio was the destination for more than 15 million Beanie Baby 'Immigrants'," said Owens, who admits to having adopted more than two dozen for her own grandson. "While this has been a boon for collectors, it has also benefited--to the tune of $600,000--the state program that ensures that stuffed toys are safe for Ohioans!"

The Department's Bedding and Upholstered Furniture Section requires all items with hidden filler material, including stuffed toys, to meet certain standards. Manufacturers send a representative sample of the item to be sold to the Department's lab in Cambridge for testing. A small incision is made, and a portion of filler tested to see if it meets requirements and matches the label. To help pay for the program, manufacturers must pay a fee of four cents for each item delivered for sale in the State of Ohio. From April 1997 through March 1998, a total of 15,075,797 Beanie Babies were sent to Ohio for sale. This is reflected in the two semiannual report fees submitted by Ty Inc., a toy manufacturing company out of Oak Brook, Illinois. The revenue collected totaled $603,031.88.

"Commerce's Bedding and Upholstered Furniture program helps provide Ohioans peace of mind by ensuring that stuffed items that hit Ohio shelves are properly filled and labeled," said Owens. She also noted that the more than 1000 items tested each year are repaired by Commerce volunteers and donated to children in need.

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