[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1232 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1232

To amend the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to require 
the establishment of Federal requirements regarding the disclosure and 
    reporting of salvage vehicles and manufacturer buyback vehicles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 15 (legislative day, June 30), 1993

  Mr. Gorton introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act to require 
the establishment of Federal requirements regarding the disclosure and 
    reporting of salvage vehicles and manufacturer buyback vehicles.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be referred to as the ``Used Car Consumer Notification 
and Reporting Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Many States do not have specific requirements regarding 
        the disclosure of a motor vehicle's history and even fewer 
        States require that the motor vehicle's title be stamped or 
        branded to indicate that it is a salvage vehicle or a 
        manufacturer buyback vehicle.
            (2) The State disclosure requirements that do exist 
        regarding a motor vehicle's history are inconsistent with one 
        another in scope and language, require the use of various and 
        different forms and administrative procedures, and are 
        duplicative, burdensome on interstate commerce, and confusing 
        to consumers.
            (3) The fact that a motor vehicle is a salvage vehicle or a 
        manufacturer buyback vehicle is material to any subsequent sale 
        of the vehicle.
            (4) Many salvage vehicles and manufacturer buyback vehicles 
        are subsequently resold at auction or by used motor vehicle 
        dealers and thus recycled back into the marketplace, back onto 
        the streets, and back into repair shops.
            (5) Rebuilt motor vehicles may not have passed a rigorous 
        safety inspection and may pose a safety risk, according to the 
        National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and consumers 
        who unknowingly buy these motor vehicles face an increased risk 
        of death or serious injury in motor vehicle accidents.

SEC. 3. MOTOR VEHICLE DAMAGE DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

    The Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act (15 U.S.C. 1901 
et seq.) is amended by inserting at the end the following new title:

       ``TITLE VII--MOTOR VEHICLE DAMAGE DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

``SEC. 701. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For the purposes of this title, the following definitions shall 
apply:
            ``(1) Certificate of title.--The term `certificate of 
        title' means a document issued by a State evidencing ownership 
        of a motor vehicle.
            ``(2) Motor vehicle.--The term `motor vehicle' has the same 
        meaning as the term `passenger motor vehicle' in section 2 of 
        the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act.
            ``(3) Manufacturer buyback vehicle.--The term `manufacturer 
        buyback vehicle' means a motor vehicle that has been 
        repurchased, replaced, or reacquired by a motor vehicle 
        manufacturer, distributor, or dealer due to a nonconformity in 
        the motor vehicle pursuant to a State lemon law by--
                    ``(A) an order or judgment by a court of law; or an 
                agreement between the parties to settle before trial; 
                or
                    ``(B) a decision by a formal, informal, or 
                mandatory arbitration procedure;
            ``(4) Salvage vehicle.--The term `salvage vehicle' means a 
        motor vehicle that has been issued a title in any State bearing 
        any word or symbol signifying that the motor vehicle is a 
        `salvage', `junk', `reconstructed', or `rebuilt' motor vehicle, 
        or that the motor vehicle has been severely damaged by flood.
            ``(5) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.
            ``(6) State.--The term `State' means each of the several 
        States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

``SEC. 702. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate regulations, 
which shall become effective not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this title, that establish uniform Federal 
requirements, as provided in subsection (b), regarding the disclosure 
to consumers that a motor vehicle is a salvage vehicle or a 
manufacturer buyback vehicle.
    ``(b) Specific Requirements.--In carrying out the provisions of 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
            ``(1) prescribe the form and content of a national uniform 
        certificate of title that discloses that a motor vehicle sold 
        on or after the effective date of such regulations is a salvage 
        vehicle or a manufacturer buyback vehicle;
            ``(2) prescribe the form and content of a national uniform 
        sticker, to be affixed, prior to the sale of the motor vehicle, 
        to the windshield of a salvage vehicle or a manufacturer 
        buyback vehicle sold on or after the effective date of such 
        regulations, which discloses that the motor vehicle is a 
        salvage vehicle or a manufacturer buyback vehicle;
            ``(3) prescribe the form and content of a national uniform 
        consumer disclosure statement that--
                    ``(A) includes the motor vehicle make, model, year, 
                vehicle identification number, and any prior title 
                numbers and prior States of title; and
                    ``(B) discloses that a motor vehicle sold on or 
                after the effective date of the regulations promulgated 
                pursuant to this section is (according to records 
                available to the State issuing the certificate of 
                title, including records from any State in which a 
                certificate of title has previously been issued for 
                such motor vehicle) a salvage vehicle or a manufacturer 
                buyback vehicle and the reason for such designation;
            ``(4) provide that a motor vehicle, the ownership of which 
        is transferred on or after the effective date of the 
        regulation, may not be licensed for use in any State unless the 
        State discloses in writing on the certificate of title whether 
        records readily accessible to the State indicate whether the 
        vehicle is a salvage vehicle or a manufacturer buyback vehicle; 
        and
            ``(5) provide for a civil penalty, not to exceed $10,000, 
        which shall be assessed by the Secretary for each violation of 
        a regulation promulgated by the Secretary pursuant to this 
        section.

``SEC. 703. UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICE.

    ``A violation of any regulation promulgated by the Secretary 
pursuant to section 4 shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive act or 
practice for purposes of section 5(a)(1) of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act.

``SEC. 704. EFFECT ON STATE LAW.

    ``Effective on the date the regulations promulgated pursuant to 
section 4 become effective, the provisions of this title shall 
supersede any provision of the law of any State relating to the 
disclosure of whether a motor vehicle is a salvage vehicle or 
manufacturer buyback vehicle to the extent that the provision of State 
law is inconsistent with the provisions of this title or a regulation 
promulgated pursuant to this title.''.

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