Was curious about timing and carve-outs, via Claude:
Yes, the bill has a few carve-outs and softening provisions:
- Small manufacturers get extra time. The rule can't be applied to manufacturers that made 40,000 or fewer passenger motor vehicles for sale in the U.S. in 2022, at least not on the same timeline as everyone else — they get extra compliance time. house
- An "interim" workaround exists. Until the final rule takes effect, automakers can still sell new vehicles without AM radios — they just have to clearly and conspicuously label those vehicles to inform buyers that they lack AM broadcast reception, rather than being barred from selling them outright. senate
- Sunset clause. The mandate isn't permanent — it comes with a sunset provision of eight years (trimmed down from the ten years originally proposed) so Congress has to revisit it as technology evolves. Radio World
- Study requirement, not a full carve-out. For self-driving/autonomous vehicles, there's no outright exemption, but the House Energy and Commerce Committee added a requirement that the Department of Transportation study potential safety and innovation issues around AM reception in new vehicles with autonomous driving systems. Radio World
The Senate version (S. 315) is Markey and Cruz's companion bill and carries essentially the same exceptions as the House bill — they're near-identical texts, which is why they've been advancing in parallel. Specifically:
- Small manufacturer carve-out. Same threshold as the House version: manufacturers that made 40,000 or fewer passenger vehicles for sale in the U.S. in 2022 get more compliance time — most manufacturers would face a 2-to-3-year compliance window, while smaller manufacturers would get at least 4 years. policyrisk
- Interim labeling option. Same as the House bill: until the DOT's rule takes effect, manufacturers could sell vehicles without AM as long as they clearly label that the vehicle lacks it, and they can't charge extra for AM access once it's required. policyrisk
- No-fee requirement. AM access has to be standard equipment, not a paid add-on — same as the House version.
One difference worth noting from committee reporting: the Senate Commerce Committee's report on S. 315 found the mandate would have a "minimal impact" on automakers, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating the cost at a few million dollars annually industry-wide, and the law bars automakers from passing that cost on to consumers.
As of now, S. 315 has cleared the Senate Commerce Committee but hasn't had a full Senate floor vote yet — after the House passed its version on September 15, 2026, the Senate received the House-passed bill, read it twice, and placed it on the legislative calendar, where it's awaiting further action. So the two chambers still need to reconcile which version (or a merged one) actually goes to the President.
yourNEWS
Nothing takes effect yet — the bill still needs to pass the full Senate and get signed into law. But once it's enacted, here's the timeline baked into the bill:
- Rulemaking deadline: The Secretary of Transportation has to issue the actual rule within 1 year of the bill being signed into law.
- Rule's effective date: The rule itself then takes effect 2 to 3 years after it's issued.
- So in practice: For most manufacturers, that's roughly 3 to 4 years after enactment before AM radio is actually required as standard equipment.
- Small manufacturers (40,000 or fewer vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2022) get extra runway — at least 4 years from enactment.
- In the meantime: Any new vehicle sold without AM radio during that gap just has to carry clear, conspicuous labeling saying it lacks AM reception — it's not banned outright until the rule kicks in.
- Sunset clause: Once in force, the mandate itself expires after 8 years, unless Congress acts again to renew it.
So best case, if the Senate passed it quickly and it were signed into law soon, you'd be looking at somewhere around 2029-2030 before the requirement is actually binding on most automakers — and that's assuming no further delays in the legislative process, which given this bill's multi-year history is not a given.
wabcradio.com
