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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1684

To amend the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act to provide consumers

with additional information concerning octane ratings and requirements,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 2, 1993

Mr. SCHUMER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

To amend the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act to provide

consumers with additional information concerning octane

ratings and requirements, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION. 1. WARNING STATEMENT.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(c) of the Petroleum

5 Marketing Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 2822(c)) is amend6 ed—

7 (1) by striking out ‘‘(c) Each’’ and inserting in

8 lieu thereof ‘‘(c)(1) Each’’;
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1 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and

2 (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively;

3 and

4 (3) by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(2) Each automotive fuel retailer shall also display

6 in a clear and conspicuous manner, at the point of sale

7 to the ultimate purchaser of automotive gasoline, the fol8 lowing warning statement:

9 ‘‘WARNING! Most cars are designed to operate

10 on low-octane gasoline. Check your owner’s manual

11 to see what grade of gasoline is best for your car.

12 ‘‘(3) The warning statement required by paragraph

13 (2) shall appear on each automotive gasoline dispenser

14 with the word ‘Warning’ in capital letters and all the letters in the statement at least 3 15 ⁄8 of an inch in height and

16 of a thickness and type face which assures that they will

17 be legible, prominent, and conspicuous.’’.

18 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 201 of such Act is amend19 ed by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(19) The term ‘automotive gasoline’ means

21 gasoline of a type distributed for use as a fuel in any

22 motor vehicle.’’.

23 (c) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 203(b)(1) of such Act

24 is amended—
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1 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting the fol2 lowing before the semicolon: ‘‘and making findings

3 with respect to the warning statement required by

4 section 202(c)(2)’’; and

5 (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting after

6 ‘‘rating’’ the following: ‘‘or the warning statement

7 required by section 202(c)(2)’’.

8 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

9 203(c)(2)(B) of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act

10 (15 U.S.C. 2823(c)(2)(B)) is amended by striking

11 ‘‘202(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘202(c)(1)’’.

12 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—(1) The Federal Trade Com13 mission shall, within 60 days after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, prescribe rules for the purpose of carry15 ing out the amendment made by subsection (a).

16 (2) The amendments made by this section shall be17 come effective 120 days after the date of the enactment

18 of this Act.

19 SEC. 2. CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO ENERGY POLICY

20 ACT OF 1992.

21 Section 1503(b)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992

22 (Public Law 102–486) is amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘(2) In carrying out the study to determine the na24 ture of a uniform national label under subsection

25 (a)(2)(B), the Federal Trade Commission shall weigh the
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1 consumer, environmental, and energy saving benefits of

2 any element of such label against the necessity for a con3 cise, practical, and cost-efficient label.’’.

4 SEC. 3. DISPLAY OF AUTOMOTIVE FUEL REQUIREMENT ON

5 MOTOR VEHICLES.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(d) of the Petroleum

7 Marketing Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 2822(d)) is amend8 ed—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ and inserting ‘‘and’’; and

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such

11 rules shall require that the display on each such

12 motor vehicle be located near the fuel tank fill inlet

13 of the motor vehicle.’’.

14 (b) DEADLINE FOR PRESCRIBING RULES.—Not later

15 than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act,

16 the Federal Trade Commission shall prescribe the rules

17 required by section 202(d) of the Petroleum Marketing

18 Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 2822(d)), as amended by this

19 Act.

20 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Rules prescribed under sec21 tion 202(d) of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (15

22 U.S.C. 2822(d)), as amended by this Act, shall take effect

23 beginning on the first day of the first model year which

24 begins more than 12 months after the date of the enact25 ment of this Act.
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