HR979-119

What This Bill Does

The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act requires the Transportation Secretary, consulting FEMA and the FCC, to issue a rule within one year requiring passenger vehicles manufactured for the U.S. market, imported, or shipped in interstate commerce to include devices that receive and play AM broadcast stations as standard equipment. Drivers must have easy access to AM stations, and manufacturers may comply through digital audio AM reception. Most manufacturers get a two- to three-year implementation window, while manufacturers that sold 40,000 or fewer passenger vehicles in the United States in 2022 get at least four years.

Before the rule takes effect, vehicles without AM reception must carry clear purchaser labels and manufacturers may not charge extra fees for AM access. The bill preempts state and local vehicle AM-radio requirements, applies civil-penalty and injunction enforcement under vehicle-safety statutes, and requires GAO to study emergency alerts, IPAWS, AM radio resilience, alternative technologies, and whether the President can reach at least 90 percent of the U.S. population during a crisis. DOT must report at least every five years on public-safety impacts and alerting technology changes. The reported version also requires DOT to evaluate automated-driving-system safety and innovation impacts before issuing the rule.

Who Benefits and How

Drivers and passengers benefit from standard AM access for emergency alerts without extra fees. AM broadcasters benefit because automakers must preserve access to AM stations in new vehicles. FEMA IPAWS staff benefit from a required GAO study of vehicle-based emergency-alert resilience. FCC broadcast staff benefit from consultation authority on AM reception. Small-volume vehicle manufacturers benefit from a longer compliance window. Emergency managers benefit if AM remains available as a resilient alert channel during disasters.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Vehicle manufacturers must design, install, label, and certify AM reception equipment or digital AM equivalents. Automated driving system manufacturers may need to address interference or safety issues in the reported version. DOT rulemaking staff must write and enforce the rule, evaluate safety impacts, and report every five years. GAO auditors must conduct the emergency-alert study and brief Congress. State vehicle regulators lose authority to maintain separate AM-radio access rules.

Key Provisions

• Requires AM broadcast reception as standard equipment in new passenger vehicles.
• Allows compliance through devices that receive digital audio AM broadcast stations.
• Requires interim purchaser labels and bars extra AM-access fees before the rule takes effect.
• Preempts state and local vehicle AM-radio requirements.
• Authorizes civil penalties and Attorney General injunctions for violations.
• Directs GAO emergency-alert studies and DOT recurring public-safety reports.
• Requires automated-driving-system impact evaluation in the reported version.