BILL NUMBER: S8075
SPONSOR: COONEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the vehicle and traffic law, in relation to disclosing
tariff cost estimates on automobile sales
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this act is to ensure that New York consumers are
informed about the real impact of federal tariffs on the purchase prices
of automobiles.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 titles the bill the "Tariff Transparency Act".
Section 2 describes the purpose of this bill, which is to ensure that
New York consumers are informed about the impact of federal tariffs on
the prices of automobiles.
Section 3 amends section 471 of the vehicle and traffic law to require
automobile manufacturers to display, on a label affixed to the window of
any new car, an estimate of the price increase attributable to Federal
tariffs, termed in the bill the "tariff cost estimate." This requirement
may be fulfilled by including the tariff cost estimate on the "Monroney
label," which is the label already required by Federal law to be affixed
to the window of any new car with pricing information.
Section 4 provides the effective date of the act, which is ninety days
after it becomes a law.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In the months since he took office, President Trump has moved to levy
high tariffs on some of the United States' most significant trading
partners, with unpredictable and economy-jarring retreats and restarts
along the way. Trump's tariffs amount to a broad, significant, and
damaging sales tax on goods, paid for by consumers. Some of the most
significant price impacts are expected to fall on the automobile sector.
The purchase of a car is likely to be the biggest or second-biggest
(after a homebuying) purchase made by most households. In fact, the cost
of non-domestically-manufactured automobiles has already risen thousands
of dollars in just the last few months. This is hurting U.S. consumers,
and New Yorkers deserve to understand the full economic impact that
Trump's tariffs have on their households. Requiring automobile manufac-
turers to provide an estimate for any new car of the price impact of the
tariffs is a simple way to achieve this transparency, particularly when
this information can be included as part of a disclosure mechanism (the
"Monroney Label") already required by Federal law.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take ninety days after becoming law.

Statutes affected:
S8075: 471 vehicle and traffic law