I did some searching and found this

"the federal government has passed legislation that mandates TPMS on every vehicle under 10,000 lbs GVWR starting September 2007. TPMS is the law and if the laws are not followed, the penalties could be severe. Those points alone should be enough to justify the shift in approach, yet there will still be some that refuse to recognize the opportunity and responsibility that TPMS creates."

So I guess it is federal law to have tpms and should not be disabled. I dont think it's breaking the law if the sensor malfunctions or have problems like the battery dieing. If the govnt want to mandate the sensors they should pay for it every 5-7 years when the battery dies or at least make it so the battery is replaceable.

With the method posted above you could always switch it back on when you want to sell the car.