[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1130 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1130

  To amend title 49, United States Code, with respect to liability of 
 motor vehicle rental or leasing companies for the negligent operation 
                  of rented or leased motor vehicles.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 26, 1999

Mr. McCain (for himself. Mr. Ashcroft, Mr. Bond, Mr. Burns, Mr. Gorton, 
and Mr. Inhofe) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 49, United States Code, with respect to liability of 
 motor vehicle rental or leasing companies for the negligent operation 
                  of rented or leased motor 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 cited as the ``Motor Vehicle Rental Fairness Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDING.

    The Congress finds that the vicarious liability laws, the ultimate 
insurer laws, and the common law in a small minority of States--
            (1) impose a disproportionate and undue burden on 
        interstate commerce by increasing rental rates for motor 
        vehicle rental and leasing customers throughout the United 
        States; and
            (2) pose a significant competitive barrier to entry for 
        smaller motor vehicle rental and leasing companies attempting 
        to compete in these markets,
in contravention of a fundamental principle of fairness that there 
should be no liability in the absence of fault.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.

    (a) In General.--Part C of subtitle VI of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

    ``CHAPTER 333. LIABILITY FOR COMPANIES THAT RENT OR LEASE MOTOR 
                               VEHICLES.

``Sec.
``33301. Limitation of liability.
``Sec. 33301. Limitation of liability
    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any State statutory or common 
law, no State or political subdivision of a State may hold any business 
entity engaged in the trade or business of renting or leasing motor 
vehicles liable to others for harm caused by a person to himself or 
herself, to another person, or to property resulting from that person's 
operation of a rented or leased motor vehicle solely because that 
business entity is the owner of the motor vehicle.
    ``(b) Application With Certain Other Laws.--
            ``(1) Negligence.--Subsection (a) does not apply to 
        liability imposed under a State's statutory or common law based 
        on negligence of a motor vehicle owner.
            ``(2) Financial responsibility laws.--Nothing in this 
        section supersedes the law of any State or political 
        subdivision thereof--
                    ``(A) imposing financial responsibility or 
                insurance standards on the owner of a motor vehicle for 
                the privilege of registering and operating a motor 
                vehicle; or
                    ``(B) imposing liability on business entities 
                engaged in the trade or business of renting or leasing 
                motor vehicles for failure of such entity to meet 
                financial responsibility or liability insurance 
                requirements under State law.
    ``(c) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Business entity.--The term `business entity' means a 
        sole proprietorship, corporation, trust, limited liability 
        company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock 
        company, or other legal entity, and includes a department, 
        agency, or instrumentality of the government of the United 
        States, a State, or a political subdivision of a State.
            ``(2) Motor vehicle.--The term `motor vehicle' has the 
        meaning given that term by section 13102(14).
            ``(3) Owner.--In this section, the term ``owner'' means--
                    ``(A) a person who is a record or beneficial owner 
                or long-term lessee of a motor vehicle;
                    ``(B) a person entitled to the use and possession 
                of a motor vehicle subject to a security interest in 
                another person;
                    ``(C) a lessee or bailee of a motor vehicle in the 
                trade or business of renting or leasing motor vehicles, 
                having the use or possession thereof, under a lease, 
                bailment, or otherwise.
            ``(4) Person.--The term `person' has the meaning given to 
        it by section 1 of title 1, but also includes a government 
        entity.
            ``(5) Government entity.--The term `government entity' 
        means an agency, instrumentality, or other entity of Federal, 
        State, or local government (including multijurisdictional 
        agencies, instrumentalities, and entities).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for part C of subtitle VII 
of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to chapter 331, the following:

``333. Liability for companies that rent or lease motor        33301''.
                            vehicles.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    Section 33301 of title 49, United States Code, as added by section 
3 of this Act, applies to any civil action commenced on or after the 
date of enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>