Sponsors
The bill increases consumer transparency and enforcement around vehicle safety-feature pricing—potentially boosting baseline safety and easier price comparison—at the cost of added compliance and legal burdens on automakers and dealers that could raise prices and disrupt the market.
Vehicle buyers and first purchasers will see the cost of optional safety features disclosed separately, making it easier to compare prices and avoid hidden bundled charges.
First purchasers may get higher baseline safety because some safety features could be offered as standard trim rather than optional add‑ons.
State attorneys general (and therefore consumers) gain stronger enforcement tools—injunctions, restitution, and civil penalties—to stop misleading bundling of safety features.
Automakers and dealers will incur compliance costs to change pricing, packaging, and disclosures, costs that may be passed on to buyers as higher vehicle prices.
Manufacturers and dealers face increased litigation risk from FTC enforcement and parallel State AG suits, leading to higher legal and administrative expenses.
The short 180‑day implementation window could be difficult for some manufacturers and dealers to meet, causing market disruption, rushed changes, or limited availability of certain models/options.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires sellers to offer vehicle safety features separately or as standard and to disclose their cost separately from non-safety features.
Introduced February 4, 2026 by Frank Pallone · Last progress February 4, 2026
Prohibits sellers from making safety features available only as part of a package or higher trim that includes non-safety items. Sellers must either offer safety features separately or include them as standard equipment, and must clearly disclose the cost of any optional safety feature apart from non-safety items. Enforcement is delegated primarily to the Federal Trade Commission, with State attorneys general given authority to sue on behalf of residents under specified procedures. The rule takes effect 180 days after enactment.