1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013”.
Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013
A BILL
To amend chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, to prohibit the rental of motor vehicles that contain a defect related to motor vehicle safety, and for other purposes.
2. Definitions
Section 30102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
by redesignating paragraphs (10) and (11) as paragraphs (12) and (13), respectively;
by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (9) as paragraphs (2) through (10), respectively;
by inserting before paragraph (2), as redesignated, the following:
“(1) covered rental vehicle means a motor vehicle that—
“(A) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less;
“(B) is rented without a driver for an initial term of less than 4 months; and
“(C) is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 5 or more motor vehicles that are used for rental purposes by a rental company.”
by inserting after paragraph (10), as redesignated, the following:
“(11) rental company means a person who—
“(A) is engaged in the business of renting covered rental vehicles; and
“(B) uses for rental purposes a motor vehicle fleet of 5 or more covered rental vehicles.”
3. Remedies for defects and noncompliance
Section 30120(i) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
in the subsection heading, by adding “, or rental” at the end;
in paragraph (1)—
by striking “(1) If notification” and inserting the following:
“(1) In general—If notification”
by indenting subparagraphs (A) and (B) four ems from the left margin;
by inserting “or the manufacturer has provided to a rental company notification about a covered rental vehicle in the company’s possession at the time of notification” after “time of notification”;
by striking “the dealer may sell or lease,” and inserting “the dealer or rental company may sell, lease, or rent”; and
in subparagraph (A), by striking “sale or lease” and inserting “sale, lease, or rental agreement”;
by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
“(2) Rule of construction—Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prohibit a dealer or rental company from offering the vehicle or equipment for sale, lease, or rent.”
by adding at the end the following:
“(3) Specific rules for rental companies
“(A) In general—Except as otherwise provided under this paragraph, a rental company shall comply with the limitations on sale, lease, or rental set forth in subparagraph (C) and paragraph (1) as soon as practicable, but not later than 24 hours after the earliest receipt of the notice to owner under subsection (b) or (c) of section 30118 (including the vehicle identification number for the covered vehicle) by the rental company, whether by electronic means or first class mail.
“(B) Special rule for large vehicle fleets—Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if a rental company receives a notice to owner covering more than 5,000 motor vehicles in its fleet, the rental company shall comply with the limitations on sale, lease, or rental set forth in subparagraph (C) and paragraph (1) as soon as practicable, but not later than 48 hours after the earliest receipt of the notice to owner under subsection (b) or (c) of section 30018 (including the vehicle identification number for the covered vehicle) by the rental company, whether by electronic means or first class mail.
“(C) Special rule for when remedies not immediately available—If a notification required under subsection (b) or (c) of section 30118 indicates that the remedy for the defect or noncompliance is not immediately available and specifies actions to temporarily alter the vehicle that eliminate the safety risk posed by the defect or noncompliance, the rental company, after causing the specified actions to be performed, may rent (but may not sell or lease) the motor vehicle. Once the remedy for the rental vehicle becomes available to the rental company, the rental company may not rent the vehicle until the vehicle has been remedied, as provided in subsection (a).
“(D) Inapplicability to junk automobiles—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), this subsection does not prohibit a rental company from selling a covered rental vehicle if such vehicle—
“(i) meets the definition of a junk automobile under section 201 of the Anti-Car Theft Act of 1992 (49 U.S.C. 30501);
“(ii) is retitled as a junk automobile pursuant to applicable State law; and
“(iii) is reported to the National Motor Vehicle Information System, if required under section 204 of such Act (49 U.S.C. 30504).”
4. Making safety devices and elements inoperative
Section 30122(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting “rental company,” after “dealer,” each place such term appears.
5. Inspections, investigations, and records
Section 30166 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
in subsection (c)(2), by striking “or dealer” each place such term appears and inserting “dealer, or rental company”;
in subsection (e), by striking “or dealer” each place such term appears and inserting “dealer, or rental company”; and
in subsection (f), by striking “or to owners” and inserting “, rental companies, or other owners”.
6. Research authority
The Secretary of Transportation may conduct a study of—
the effectiveness of the amendments made by this Act; and
other activities of rental companies (as defined in section 30102(a)(11) of title 49, United States Code) related to their use and disposition of motor vehicles that are the subject of a notification required under section 30118 of title 49, United States Code.
7. Study
Additional requirement— Subsection (b)(2) of section 32206 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (Public Law 112–141; 126 Stat. 785) is amended—
in subparagraph (E), by striking “and” at the end;
by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G); and
by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
“(F) evaluate the completion of safety recall remedies on rental trucks; and”
Report— Subsection (c) of such section is amended—
by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting such subparagraphs, as so redesignated, an additional two ems from the left margin;
by striking “Report.—Not later” and inserting the following:
“(c) Reports
“(1) Initial report—Not later”
in paragraph (1), by striking “subsection (b)” and inserting “subparagraphs (A) through (E) and (G) of subsection (b)(2)”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(2) Safety recall remedy report—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the “Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013”, the Secretary shall submit a report to the congressional committees set forth in paragraph (1) that contains—
“(A) the findings of the study conducted pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(F); and
“(B) any recommendations for legislation that the Secretary determines to be appropriate.”
8. Public comments
The Secretary of Transportation shall solicit comments regarding the implementation of this Act from members of the public, including rental companies, consumer organizations, automobile manufacturers, and automobile dealers.
9. Rulemaking
The Secretary of Transportation may promulgate rules, as appropriate, to implement this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
10. Effective date
The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.