Performance Life Disclosure Act of 2024

This Act may be cited as the Performance Life Disclosure Act of 2024.

In accordance with the regulations promulgated under paragraph (2), a manufacturer of a household appliance that is on the list published under paragraph (3) shall disclose on a conspicuous label or tag affixed to each such appliance sold or offered for sale at retail to a consumer the following:

(i) The estimated performance life of such appliance (as determined by the manufacturer), under normal operating conditions specified under paragraph (3)(A)(ii), with routine maintenance recommended by the manufacturer.

(ii) The estimated performance life of such appliance (as determined by the manufacturer), under normal operating conditions specified under paragraph (3)(A)(ii), without routine maintenance recommended by the manufacturer.

(iii) The estimated annual cost of routine maintenance of such appliance recommended by the manufacturer.

(iv) The process by which a consumer may, using the mechanism established under subsection (c), report that such appliance has reached the end of the performance life of such appliance.

Subparagraph (A) does not apply to any sale or offer for sale of a household appliance after such appliance is sold to the first person who purchases such appliance other than for purposes of resale.

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall promulgate regulations to carry out this subsection.

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall—

(i) determine the household appliances for which, in the discretion of the Director, the labeling requirement of paragraph (1) is appropriate;

(ii) for each household appliance for which the Director has made a determination under clause (i), specify the normal operating conditions, reflecting typical consumer behavior, that the manufacturer of such appliance shall use for purposes of determining estimated performance life under clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (1)(A); and

(iii) publish in the Federal Register a list of the household appliances for which the Director has made a determination under clause (i), including the normal operating conditions specified under clause (ii) for each such appliance.

The Director shall update the determinations and specifications made and list published under subparagraph (A), as the Director considers appropriate.

Paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to a household appliance that is sold or offered for sale at retail to a consumer after the date that is 5 years after the date on which such appliance is placed on the list published under paragraph (3).

A violation of subsection (a) or a regulation promulgated under such subsection shall be treated as a violation of a regulation under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices.

The Commission shall enforce subsection (a) and the regulations promulgated under such subsection in the same manner, by the same means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this section. Any person who violates subsection (a) or a regulation promulgated under such subsection shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Commission Act.

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish a mechanism by which a consumer may easily report to the Director when a household appliance has reached the end of the performance life of such appliance.

The Director shall publish the information reported under paragraph (1), disaggregated by manufacturer and model, on the website of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

In this section:

The term Commission means the Federal Trade Commission.

The term Director means the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The term household appliance includes a separate major component of a household appliance, but only to the extent that such component is sold separately from such appliance at retail to a consumer.