12 GOP AGs Press Congress on Passage of AM Radio Vehicle Mandate Bill, Citing Helene Damage
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and 11 other Republican states’ attorneys general urged congressional leadership Thursday to “prioritize” the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (HR-8449) before year’s end given that “many of our States continue to suffer devastating effects…
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from Hurricane Helene” (see 2410030051). The measure would mandate that automakers include receiver technology in future electric automobiles. House Commerce approved HR-8449 in September (see 2409180047), while the Senate Commerce Committee cleared a different version (S-1669) last year. “Each of our States experience natural disasters and other public safety emergencies” and “AM radio is the constant support network that provides life-saving information to our citizens,” the AGs said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and their minority leaders. “AM radio signals travel greater distances as compared to FM, and citizens can receive information via AM radio even when phone lines, electricity, and cell phones are inoperable. In fact, during Hurricane Helene, local radio became a ‘lifeline for hard-hit North Carolina communities’ after ‘communications across the region [were] severed.’” Moody announced the legislative push during a Thursday news conference that included HR-8449 lead sponsor House Innovation Subcommittee Chairman Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla.