H.R. 6430 — Junk Fee Prevention Act

This section establishes requirements for covered entities to (1) display the total price—including mandatory fees and government charges—in advertisements and upon first showing a price to a consumer, with no subsequent changes to advertised mandatory fees; (2) refrain from imposing or advertising excessive or deceptive mandatory fees; (3) disclose, at least 72 hours before the first public sale or presale, the total number of tickets available for specified live events; (4) disclose refund policies before transaction completion and provide refunds of the full ticket cost including mandatory fees; and (5) for speculative ticket sales, notify consumers of lacking possession of the ticket and provide full refunds if undeliverable timely. It authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate rules under 5 U.S.C. §553 on mandatory or deceptive fees and directs consideration of specified factors (e.g., proportionality to costs) in assessing excessiveness. This section treats violations as unfair or deceptive acts under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the FTC Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B))—which authorizes FTC rulemaking to define such acts—for enforcement by the FTC (with full FTC Act powers preserved) and by state attorneys general (with prior notice to FTC, Commission intervention rights, and limits on parallel state actions during federal cases).

This section prohibits providers of covered services—broadband internet access service, voice service, commercial mobile service, commercial mobile data service, and multichannel video programming distributor services—from charging early termination fees or imposing excessive requirements on consumers ending service before the agreement period and requires prorated credits for remaining billing cycle days (with exceptions for unreturned rental equipment or unpaid device costs). The section further requires such providers to display a single aggregate price on consumer bills and in promotional materials (with itemized explanations permitted), disclose end dates and post-promotion rates for introductory pricing at least 60 days (and again 30 days) in advance, and indicate location-dependent pricing and temporary rates where applicable (exempting marketing of legacy plans not available to new customers). Additionally, the section directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to commence a rulemaking proceeding within 180 days of enactment to consider requiring disclosure or prohibiting mandatory fees reasonably assumed included in advertised prices (with authority for subsequent studies or regulations), and deems violations enforceable by the FCC as under the Communications Act of 1934.

This section establishes quarterly reporting requirements for air carriers and foreign air carriers operating in the United States on revenue from ancillary fees (i.e., fees for critical ancillary services such as checked or carry-on baggage, reservation modifications or cancellations, seat selection, or other services determined by the Secretary of Transportation, and any other services not subject to tax under IRC §4261). Quarterly reports must include the total revenue (disaggregated by critical ancillary service and class of service), collection methods (e.g., included in base fare or charged separately), and average charge per critical ancillary service; the Secretary must compile the data—including carrier comparisons—into a single published quarterly report on the Department of Transportation website. This section also requires air carrier records of money receipts and expenditures under 49 U.S.C. §41709(a) to specify whether revenue derives from base fares or ancillary fees.