Federal Trade Commission Act

Federal Trade Commission Act - States that since informed consumers are essential to the fair working of the free enterprise system and to the maintenance of balance between the supply of and the demand for energy, it is hereby declared to be the intent of Congress to assure, through a uniform national system, noncompliance with which shall be an unfair or deceptive act or practice, meaningful disclosure of the annual operating cost of certain products and systems, so that consumers can readily compare them and thereby avoid purchasing those which unnecessarily waste energy. Provides that the Federal Trade Commission, in cooperation with the National Bureau of Standards, within three months after the date of enactment of this Act, shall identify those products which are major energy consuming household products. Directs the Commission, for each major energy consuming household product, in cooperation with the National Bureau of Standards, to define an average-use cycle and devise a procedure for testing or calculations designed to measure the energy used during such cycle. States that the annual operating cost of any major energy consuming household product shall be determined by multiplying the energy utilized per average-use cycle, by the number of average-use cycles per annum multiplied by the average unit cost of energy. Provides that, within eighteen months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission, in cooperation with the National Bureau of Standards, shall establish model calculation procedures for use by suppliers in determining the annual operating costs of climate conditioning systems. States that, beginning six months after the date of adoption of procedures for determining and disclosing annual operating costs in accordance with the provisions of this Act, it shall be unlawful for any supplier to sell or offer for sale in commerce for purposes other than resale any new major energy consuming household product or climate conditioning system for which such procedure has been adopted, unless the annual operating cost of such product or system is disclosed by the supplier prior to any such sale. States that such disclosure shall appear on the same label, tag, shelf, display case, counter, contract, estimate, proposal, direct-mail statement, or any other place on which the purchase price or acquisition cost of such product or system is stated, in accordance with rules established by the Commission. Stipulates that violation of any disclosure provision shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive act or practice and shall be subject to proceedings under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Declares it to be the express intent of Congress to supercede any and all laws of the States or political subdivisions thereof insofar as they may now or hereafter provide for the disclosure of energy consumption, energy efficiency, efficiency ratio, or annual operating cost of any new major energy consuming household product or climate conditioning system if there is in effect and applicable a Federal disclosure requirement with respect to such product or system. Authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, not to exceed $2,000,000, for each of the fiscal years 1974, 1975, and 1976.

Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on April 24, 1974. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.

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