The bill prohibits offering or leasing to a first purchaser certain optional vehicle safety features only as part of packages that include non-safety features. Manufacturers must either make those safety functions standard on a trim or offer them separately, and they must disclose the price of the safety option apart from non-safety equipment.
The prohibition takes effect 180 days after enactment.
Enforcement is assigned to the Federal Trade Commission, which will treat violations as unfair or deceptive practices under the FTC Act and use its full enforcement powers. State attorneys general may sue on behalf of residents (parens patriae), subject to notice rules and a limitation that prevents duplicate state cases while a federal action against the same defendant is pending.
The bill also defines key terms — including what counts as an “optional safety feature” — and authorizes the FTC, in consultation with DOT, to expand that list of functions if appropriate.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill forbids selling or leasing certain optional safety features only as part of bundled non-safety packages; instead manufacturers must offer them for sale independently or include them as standard trim equipment, and must disclose the separate cost. Violations are treated as unfair or deceptive acts under the Federal Trade Commission Act.
Who It Affects
New-vehicle manufacturers and their dealers, suppliers of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and other safety technologies, and first purchasers of motor vehicles as defined in 49 U.S.C. 30102. The FTC and state attorneys general gain enforcement roles.
Why It Matters
This rewrites how automakers can market and price safety technology: it removes a common sales practice that ties life-saving features to higher-priced convenience or luxury packages, potentially increasing consumer access but shifting how manufacturers price and bundle options.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The core rule is straightforward: when a manufacturer offers an optional safety feature to a first purchaser, it must either (A) offer that safety feature separately from any non-safety equipment or (B) make it standard on a trim. The bill targets the common practice of placing things like driver-assist functions inside optional packages that also include luxury or convenience items, which can force buyers to pay for non-safety equipment to obtain safety tech.
The bill sets out a detailed definition of what counts as an “optional safety feature.” That includes systems that carry out lateral or longitudinal vehicle motion control tasks while expecting the driver to monitor the system (single-axis ADAS), driver alerts for collision risk, lane maintenance, or impaired driving, features that improve roadway illumination or driver visibility, automatic crash notification (eCall-like services), and any other safety functions the FTC — after consulting the Secretary of Transportation — designates. The statute distinguishes standard model equipment (installed across a model regardless of trim) from standard trim equipment (installed across a trim) and defines motor vehicle model and trim by high degrees of commonality in design and construction.Enforcement is handled principally by the Federal Trade Commission.
The bill makes violations equivalent to prohibited unfair or deceptive acts under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the FTC Act, giving the FTC the same remedies and procedural tools it already uses. States retain the ability to sue as parens patriae: an attorney general who believes residents have been harmed can bring a civil action seeking injunctions, penalties, damages, restitution, and other relief, but generally must notify the FTC 60 days before filing and may be limited from bringing suit while an existing federal action against the same defendant is pending.
If a State prevails in such a suit it can recover reasonable costs and attorney fees.Practical compliance will require manufacturers (and likely dealers) to unbundle option packages or reconfigure trim lines so that covered safety functions are available independently or standard. They must also change sales disclosures to show the separate cost of a safety feature apart from non-safety items.
The effective date is 180 days after enactment, which compresses the time manufacturers have to redesign portfolios, price schedules, and point-of-sale disclosures.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The prohibition goes into effect 180 days after the bill becomes law.
Manufacturers must either offer covered optional safety features for sale separately or include them as standard equipment on a trim—bundling them exclusively with non-safety packages is banned.
An “optional safety feature” explicitly covers single-axis lateral or longitudinal motion-control systems that presume driver monitoring, driver-alert systems (collision, lane, impairment), illumination and visibility enhancements, and crash-notification services, with the FTC allowed to add functions after consulting DOT.
Violations are treated as unfair or deceptive acts under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the FTC Act, granting the FTC its full enforcement powers and remedies.
State attorneys general may sue on behalf of residents (parens patriae) but generally must notify the FTC 60 days before filing and cannot proceed against defendants named in a pending federal action.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
Short title
Gives the Act the official name “Safety is Not For Sale Act.” This is purely stylistic but establishes the bill’s frame: prioritizing safety access in subsequent provisions.
Ban on certain sales and leasing practices; disclosure requirement
Creates the central commercial rule: a person may not offer for sale or lease to a first purchaser an optional safety feature unless it is either (1) offered separately from any non‑safety feature or (2) included as standard trim equipment. Separately, sellers must clearly and conspicuously disclose the cost of the optional safety feature apart from non-safety features. Practically, this targets package tying and requires marketing and point-of-sale adjustments to show separate pricing and availability.
Effective date
Specifies that the prohibition in subsection (a) takes effect 180 days after enactment. That compressed timeline forces manufacturers and dealers to change product architectures, option catalogs, and sales materials quickly, and likely requires coordination across legal, compliance, sales, and supply-chain teams.
FTC enforcement and statutory incorporation of FTC Act remedies
Directs that violations are to be treated as violations of the FTC Act’s prohibition on unfair or deceptive acts (section 18(a)(1)(B)), and gives the FTC the same powers, means, and jurisdiction it uses under that Act. In short, the FTC can investigate, bring administrative or civil actions, seek injunctions, penalties, and other remedies, and use its existing procedures to enforce compliance. The section also clarifies that nothing here limits other FTC authority.
State parens patriae actions and coordination with the FTC
Permits state attorneys general to sue on behalf of residents for violations — to enjoin practices, enforce compliance, obtain penalties, restitution, or other relief. The attorney general must generally notify the FTC 60 days before filing and include the complaint, though there is an exception if notice isn’t feasible. The FTC can intervene in state suits and, importantly, if the FTC or the U.S. Attorney General has already sued a defendant under this Act, states cannot bring parallel actions against the same defendant while that federal action is pending. The statute also allows prevailing states to recover costs and fees.
Key definitions (optional safety feature, standard equipment, model/trim)
Defines the statutory terms that determine coverage and compliance obligations. “Optional safety feature” is narrowly described with concrete categories (single-axis motion control expecting driver supervision, alerting systems, illumination/visibility improvements, crash notification, and additional functions the FTC and DOT agree on). The bill borrows the definitions of “first purchaser,” “manufacturer,” and “motor vehicle” from 49 U.S.C. 30102 and defines motor vehicle model and trim by a high degree of design and construction commonality. These definitions will govern which technologies and which product lines are covered and are likely to be the focus of early compliance questions and enforcement actions.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Transportation across all five countries.
Explore Transportation in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- First purchasers of new vehicles — guarantees access to certain life‑saving features without being forced to buy unrelated luxury or convenience items, and improves upfront price transparency for safety tech.
- Safety-technology suppliers and ADAS vendors — broader consumer access could expand markets for certain safety options if manufacturers must offer them separately or make them standard.
- Consumer safety advocates and regulators — the bill gives a concrete statutory tool to force unbundling and creates clearer evidence for enforcement actions.
- Drivers in lower-income or price-sensitive segments — unbundling reduces the barrier of having to buy expensive packages to obtain specific safety functions, potentially increasing adoption among price-sensitive buyers.
Who Bears the Cost
- Motor vehicle manufacturers and dealerships — must redesign option packages and trim structures, change point-of-sale disclosures, and potentially alter pricing strategies and supply-chain configurations.
- Consumers as a group — if manufacturers make safety features standard rather than optional, manufacturers may raise base prices to cover costs, spreading the cost to buyers who might not value the feature.
- Federal and state enforcement agencies — the FTC will absorb investigative and enforcement workload, and states may incur litigation expenses (although prevailing states can recover fees).
- Finance and leasing managers — the bill applies to leases to first purchasers, so leasing contracts, residual value calculations, and bundled finance products may need reworking to reflect separate pricing of safety options.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between maximizing consumer access to life‑saving vehicle technology (by removing paywalls and improving transparency) and preserving manufacturers’ flexibility to bundle, price, and cross-subsidize features in ways that can lower overall costs or finance continued innovation; the bill solves an access problem but raises trade-offs in pricing, product rollout, and regulatory complexity.
The bill’s impact turns on definitional boundaries that are not self‑resolving. Phrases such as “improves illumination” or “enhances the view of the driver” are open to interpretation: does adaptive LED headlamps count?
Night-vision assist? Aftermarket camera systems?
The FTC’s consultation with the Secretary of Transportation provides a pathway for clarification but also creates interagency dependency that can delay rulemaking or produce inconsistent guidance across enforcement forums.
The law alters commercial incentives and could produce unintended pricing effects. Requiring manufacturers to offer safety features separately or as standard removes one tool (bundling) they use to recoup R&D or subsidize low-margin options with high-margin packages.
Manufacturers might respond by raising base MSRPs, limiting the global availability of certain features, or delaying rollout of incremental safety features that previously were monetized through packages. Enforcement will raise practical proof questions: demonstrating that a safety feature was not truly offered separately (for example, if separate ordering codes exist but practical sale channels push packages) may require granular sales, billing, and dealer training records.
Finally, the act applies to first purchasers and new vehicles — it does not address aftermarket conversions, used-car transfers, or international distribution schemes, leaving gaps in lifecycle safety access and enforcement complexity around imports and multinational product lines.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.