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Does this additive significantly add to the cost of making the antifreeze or significantly change it's effectiveness?
Don't have numbers, but doubt it. Already sold that way in NM and some other states.

I have a hard time believing that there are a significant number of deaths of people or animals from accidentally consuming antifreeze. It's hardly the only common item that's poisonous.
The main issue is that when anti-freeze is changed at home and discharged onto the driveway or in the street, a dog will drink it because it's sweet. Out here, not withstanding laws to the contrary, dogs are frequently loose and drink the stuff. They shouldn't be made to pay with their life for both their owner's and the auto owner's irresponsibility.

There may be people who have used it to poison other people's pets, but making antifreeze taste bad simply removes antifreeze as one of many, many common things they could poison them with.
Hadn't thought of it being used for that. But besides dogs, cats and other wildlife are at risk, though I don't know whether birds have a sense of taste.

Is there really a significant need for this law, or is it just another of the many mostly useless laws our government debates and often passes just to act like they do something?
Very good question. Whatever the answer, it has been caught up in election year politics.

Sorry, but I just have a hard time passing a law (especially at the federal level) to in any way effect a change in the way we flavor our anti-freeze. Dead dogs, and birds notwithstanding, the federal code needs to be stripped of thousands of such laws as it is, not more added.

R.I.P Scooby

The main issue is that when anti-freeze is changed at home and discharged onto the driveway or in the street, a dog will drink it because it's sweet. Out here, not withstanding laws to the contrary, dogs are frequently loose and drink the stuff. They shouldn't be made to pay with their life for both their owner's and the auto owner's irresponsibility.

One of the rules of changing your own antifreeze is to spray the runoff with a hose so there aren't any puddles with any significant concentrations of antifreeze.

I learned that from my father likely before I was out of elementary school, as did most kids where I grew up.

I don't know much antifreeze it takes to make an animal seriously sick, but while I was taught to be careful with the runoff, I never heard of an actual incident where accidental poisoning of a pet was suspected.

Antifreeze has been used for many decades, and I doubt that owners changing their own antifreeze has increased, and the stories of problems have been pretty rare.

I'm sure it is a strong emotional issue, because it always hurts to lose a pet, but I'm skeptical that this is an issue where government regulation can improve things significantly, rather than just being burdensome.