Senate Unanimously Passes Tillis & Heinrich Bill to Help American Consumers by Modifying Product Regulations | Eastern NC Now

Press Release:

    WASHINGTON, D.C.     This week, the Senate unanimously passed the Ceiling Fan Energy Conservation Harmonization Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) that modifies the implementation of two upcoming regulations that would have passed on new costs to millions of American consumers if left unchanged.

    There are currently two efficiency requirement regulations on ceiling fans that will begin enforcement one year apart from each other: light bulbs in January 2019 and motors in January 2020. These misaligned dates could create a significant problem for the industry when multiplied over thousands of stores, supply chain lead times, redundant employee work hours, and the transition of inventory.

    The separate timing of the regulations could result in wasted time and cost tens of millions of dollars in total resources, including duplicative labor, labeling, testing, and reversing and replacing product models. This would ultimately harm affordability and availability for American consumers. The Tillis-Heinrich legislation makes a simple change to streamline the enforcement of both regulations to the 2020 date, avoiding wasteful costs that could have been passed onto Americans families.

    The residential ceiling fan market is roughly $1.8 billion, with 15 million units moved annually.

    The House companion version of the Ceiling Fan Energy Conservation Harmonization Act was introduced by Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC-8) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC-1). The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power included the bill in a hearing last month.

    "I'm pleased that the Senate came together to pass our legislation that makes one simple change to upcoming regulations that will help save millions of American consumers from a price increase on a product they need and depend on," said Senator Tillis. "This represents a commonsense, bipartisan approach to addressing regulations, and I look forward to working with Senator Heinrich and Representatives Hudson and Butterfield to get the bill on the President's desk."

    "Energy efficiency standards for ceiling fans and other appliances are a proven way to help consumers save money on their utility bills, while also lowering emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants," said Senator Heinrich. "I'm glad this bipartisan legislation passed the Senate. This is a smart approach to streamline compliance with the standards and avoid passing along unnecessary costs associated with implementation to American families."

• Contact: Daniel Keylin
•     daniel_keylin@tillis.senate.gov