Sponsors (318)
Introduced February 5, 2025 by Gus Bilirakis · Last progress February 5, 2025
The bill improves statutory clarity and expands in-vehicle AM access—helping people in low-coverage areas receive emergency alerts—while imposing costs and compliance burdens on manufacturers, potentially raising vehicle prices, limiting state regulatory flexibility, and leaving unresolved technical and long-term oversight risks.
Drivers and passengers in rural and low-coverage areas will be more likely to receive emergency alerts because new vehicles must provide AM radio access, improving public safety where cellular service is unreliable.
Consumers are protected from interim surcharges for AM capability because manufacturers cannot charge extra fees beyond the vehicle's base price during the interim period.
The bill provides clear, consistent statutory definitions (for entities like IPAWS, terms like 'device' and 'digital audio AM broadcast station'), reducing regulatory ambiguity for emergency managers, broadcasters, and vehicle manufacturers and aiding implementation.
Vehicle manufacturers will face added equipment, certification, and compliance costs that are likely to increase new-vehicle prices for buyers.
Even where AM is present, reception limitations (nighttime interference, variable signal quality) mean the mandate may not deliver uniformly reliable alerts everywhere, leaving some communities still at risk.
The bill preempts state regulations on in-vehicle emergency communications, removing states' ability to adopt stricter or alternative standards tailored to local needs.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. to include factory‑installed AM radio reception (including certain digital AM) as standard equipment, with the Department of Transportation, FEMA, and the FCC issuing a binding rule to implement the requirement. The law sets timelines for rulemaking and compliance, an interim labeling requirement for vehicles without AM capability, federal preemption of state rules, enforcement penalties, a GAO study on emergency alerting and vehicle role in IPAWS, periodic impact reports, and a 10‑year sunset for the rule and enforcement authority.