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Title II — Enhanced Agency Tools and Accountability

H.R. 5654 · 113th Congress · Sep 18, 2014 · Lineage

II Enhanced Agency Tools and Accountability

Sec. 201 Civil penalties

(a)
In general— Section 30165 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)(1)—
(A)
in the first sentence by striking “$5,000” and inserting “$25,000”; and
(B)
by striking the third sentence; and
(2)
in subsection (a)(3)—
(A)
in the second sentence by striking “$5,000” and inserting “$25,000”; and
(B)
by striking the third sentence.
(b)
Construction— Nothing in the amendments made by this section shall be construed as preventing the imposition of penalties under section 30165 of title 49, United States Code, prior to the issuance of a final rule under section 31203(b) of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (49 U.S.C. 30165 note).

Sec. 202 Early warning reporting requirements

(a)
In general— Section 30166(m) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (3)(A), by striking clause (ii) and inserting the following:

“(ii) customer satisfaction campaigns, customer advisories, recalls, consumer complaints, warranty claims, field reports, or other activity involving the repair or replacement of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment.”

(2)
in paragraph (4), by striking subparagraph (B) and redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively.
(b)
Information on fatal incidents— Section 30166(m)(3)(C) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
by striking “The manufacturer” and inserting the following:

“(i) In general—The manufacturer”

(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(ii) Fatal incidents—If an incident described in clause (i) involves one or more deaths, the manufacturer shall report to the Secretary, in such manner as the Secretary establishes by regulation—

“(I) all initial claims or notice documents that notified the manufacturer of the incident;

“(II) all investigative documents prepared by any local, State, or Federal government agency or personnel related to the incident, including photographs, police reports, cause and origin reports, or other documents describing or reconstructing the incident;

“(III) any amendments or supplements to the documents described in subclause (I), except for—

“(aa) medical documents and bills;

“(bb) property damage invoices or estimates; and

“(cc) documents related to quantification of damages; and

“(IV) the manufacturer’s assessment of the circumstances that led to the incident, including the manufacturer’s analysis of the claims or notices regarding allegations of a defect.

“(iii) Limitation—The regulations promulgated by the Secretary under clause (ii) may not require a manufacturer to submit records respecting information described in subclause (II) of such clause that is not in the possession of the manufacturer.”

(c)
Component categories—
(1)
Commencement— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall commence a rulemaking proceeding to amend the system and component categories required to be used in early warning reports on light vehicles submitted pursuant to section 579.21 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. In issuing rules under this subsection, the Secretary shall, to the extent each may assist in the identification of defects related to motor vehicle safety, maximize—
(A)
interoperability between the early warning reporting database and the publicly available consumer complaint database, by ensuring that the amended set of categories established by rule are the same as those available to vehicle owners or lessees reporting safety issues to the publicly available consumer complaint database;
(B)
precision, including by dividing categories that are imprecise and adding new categories that identify specific vehicle equipment not previously represented; and
(C)
organization and ease of use, including by housing categories pertaining to specific items of equipment within more general vehicle safety categories and operating systems.
(2)
Final rule— Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a final rule pursuant to paragraph (1).
(d)
Standardization of manufacturer reporting practices—
(1)
Review—
(A)
In general— Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a comprehensive review of individual light vehicle manufacturers’ practices for reporting to the Secretary incidents involving death or injury pursuant to section 579.21 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.
(B)
Components— The review conducted under subparagraph (A) shall—
(i)
identify the major differences among such manufacturers’ reporting practices;
(ii)
identify the extent to which such manufacturers report precisely the information required under subsection (b) of section 579.21 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, or, alternatively, report additional information under such subsection;
(iii)
identify the types and sources of additional information, as described in clause (ii), that manufacturers report to the Secretary;
(iv)
assess and explain the extent to which differing reporting practices hinder the ability of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to compare a manufacturer’s data for vehicles or equipment to the data of another manufacturer’s vehicles or equipment, all peer vehicles or equipment, or the entire United States population of vehicles or equipment, or to data on vehicles or equipment submitted to the Secretary by a vehicle owner or lessee; and
(v)
determine, based on findings under clause (iv), whether differences among individual light vehicle manufacturers’ practices for reporting to the Secretary incidents involving death or injury pursuant to section 579.21 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, are detrimental to the identification of defects related to motor vehicle safety in motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment in the United States.
(2)
Guidelines— If the Secretary makes an affirmative determination under clause (v) of paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary may issue guidelines for the standardization of reporting practices described in such clause.
(e)
Report on Manufacturer Compliance with Early Warning Reporting Requirements— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall—
(1)
review the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s policies, procedures, and practices intended to ensure that manufacturers subject to the early warning reporting requirements of section 30166(m) of title 49, United States Code, and subpart C of part 579 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, submit all required information in full and without delay;
(2)
assess the extent to which key agency and manufacturer employees are aware of and understand such policies, procedures, and practices;
(3)
assess the extent to which manufacturers submit all required information in full and without delay; and
(4)
submit a report to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate that contains the Inspector General’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations for formalizing or strengthening agency policies, procedures, and practices in order to ensure timely and complete reporting of early warning data.

Sec. 203 Administrative accountability

(a)
Petitions for Standards and Enforcement—
(1)
Missed deadlines— Section 30162(d) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following: “If the Secretary fails to grant or deny a petition within the 120-day period, the Secretary shall promptly publish in the Federal Register an explanation for missing the deadline and a projected date by which the Secretary will decide whether to grant the petition. On February 1 and August 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a letter listing each deadline the Secretary missed under this subsection during the 6-month period ending on such date, explaining why the Secretary missed the deadline, and describing any investigations, proceedings, or actions related to the relevant petition that the Secretary has conducted or taken since the petition was filed.”.
(2)
Appeal of defect petition rejection— Section 30162 of title 49, United States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following:

“(e) Judicial Review—A decision of the Secretary to deny a petition filed under subsection (a)(2) is agency action subject to judicial review under chapter 7 of title 5, and such action shall not be considered committed to agency discretion within the meaning of section 701(a)(2) of such title. A person aggrieved by the denial of a petition may obtain judicial review by filing an action in the court of appeals of the United States for the circuit in which the person resides or has its principal place of business or the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit not more than 180 days after notice of the denial of the petition is published in the Federal Register.”

(b)
Information Provided by Whistleblowers—
(1)
In general— Subchapter IV of chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“30172. Review of information provided by employees

“(a) Definition of Covered Person—In this section, the term covered person means an employee of a manufacturer, distributor, part supplier, or dealer (or any person acting pursuant to a request of the employee or to the extent such person is engaged in collecting and analyzing information provided by one or more such employees) who, in good faith, provides information to the Secretary indicating—

“(1) the existence of a possible safety-related defect or noncompliance with a motor vehicle safety standard; or

“(2) a violation of this chapter or a regulation prescribed or order issued under this chapter.

“(b) Review and Evaluation—Upon receipt of motor vehicle safety information from a covered person, the Secretary shall review and evaluate the information promptly to determine whether a safety-related defect or noncompliance, or a violation of this chapter or a regulation prescribed or order issued under this chapter, exists.

“(c) Prohibition—The Secretary shall not transmit or otherwise disclose any information received from a covered person to a manufacturer, distributor, part supplier, or dealer, except pursuant to a written request by, or with the prior written consent of, the covered person.”

(2)
Report—
(A)
In general— Not later than 30 months after the date of enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter for 6 years, the Secretary shall complete a report on the activities of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under section 30172 of title 49, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), and, upon completion, shall—
(i)
submit the report to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and
(ii)
publish the report in an easily accessible and downloadable electronic format.
(B)
Contents— Such report shall include—
(i)
a summary of submissions by covered persons (as defined in such section) to the Secretary in the 24 months preceding the submission of the report, consisting of—
(I)
the total number of such submissions and the number within this total which were submitted directly by an employee described in subsection (a) of such section; and
(II)
the number of submissions pertaining to a possible safety-related defect or noncompliance and the number of submissions pertaining to a violation of chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, or a regulation prescribed or order issued under such chapter; and
(ii)
a summary of actions taken and proceedings, investigations, or research conducted by the Secretary in the 24 months preceding the submission of the report resulting from submissions by covered persons (as defined in such section).
(3)
Conforming amendment— The table of sections for chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 30171 the following:

Sec. 204 Imminent hazard authority

Section 30118 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in subsection (b)—
(A)
in paragraph (1), by striking “(1) The Secretary may” and inserting “(1) In general.—Except as provided under paragraph (3), the Secretary may”.
(B)
in paragraph (2), by inserting “Orders.—” before “If the Secretary”; and
(C)
by adding after paragraph (2) the following:

“(3) Imminent hazards

“(A) Decisions and orders—If the Secretary decides that a defect or noncompliance, or combination of both, under subsection (a) presents an imminent hazard, the Secretary—

“(i) shall notify the manufacturer of the motor vehicle or replacement equipment immediately under subsection (a);

“(ii) shall order the manufacturer of the motor vehicle or replacement equipment to immediately—

“(I) give notification under section 30119 of this title to the owners, purchasers, and dealers of the vehicle or equipment of the imminent hazard; and

“(II) remedy the defect or noncompliance under section 30120 of this title;

“(iii) notwithstanding section 30119 or 30120, may order the time for notification, means of providing notification, earliest remedy date, and time the owner or purchaser has to present the motor vehicle or equipment, including a tire, for remedy; and

“(iv) may include in an order under this subparagraph any other terms or conditions that the Secretary determines necessary to abate the imminent hazard.

“(B) Opportunity for administrative review—Subsequent to the issuance of an order under subparagraph (A), opportunity for administrative review shall be provided in accordance with section 554 of title 5, except that such review shall occur not later than 10 days after issuance of such order.

“(C) Definition of imminent hazard—In this paragraph, the term imminent hazard means any condition which substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death if not remedied immediately.”

(2)
in subsection (c), by inserting “or electronic mail” after “certified mail”.

Sec. 205 Cooperation with foreign governments

Section 30182(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:

“(6) enter into cooperative agreements (in coordination with the Department of State) and collaborative research and development agreements with foreign governments.”

Sec. 206 Pedestrian safety improvement

(a)
Rule— Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a final rule that—
(1)
establishes standards for passenger motor vehicles in order to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities suffered by pedestrians and other non-occupants who are struck by such vehicles; and
(2)
considers means for protecting especially vulnerable pedestrian and non-occupant populations, including children, older adults, and individuals with disabilities.
(b)
Definition of passenger motor vehicle— In this section, the term passenger motor vehicle means a motor vehicle (as defined in section 30102(a)(6) of title 49, United States Code) that is rated at less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicular weight. Such term does not include—
(1)
a motorcycle;
(2)
a trailer; or
(3)
a low-speed vehicle (as defined in section 571.3 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations).

Sec. 207 Regional recalls limitation

Section 30118 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:

“(f) Long-Term Exposure to Environmental Conditions—If a manufacturer of a motor vehicle or replacement equipment learns the vehicle or equipment contains a safety problem caused by long-term exposure to environmental conditions, the manufacturer shall give notice under subsection (c) as if the manufacturer learned the vehicle or equipment contains a defect and decides in good faith that the defect is related to motor vehicle safety.

“(g) National Orders and Notifications—All orders under subsection (b)(2) and notifications under subsection (c) shall be carried out on a national basis and shall not be limited to vehicles or equipment in certain States or territories or other geographic regions of the United States.”