[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4167 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4167

     To authorize appropriations for the motor vehicle safety and 
 information and cost savings programs of the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration for fiscal years 2005 through 2007, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2004

   Mr. Stearns (by request) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To authorize appropriations for the motor vehicle safety and 
 information and cost savings programs of the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration for fiscal years 2005 through 2007, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

                     TITLE I--MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY

SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 30104 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read 
as follows:
``Sec. 30104. Authorization of Appropriations
    ``There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Transportation $125,221,000 for the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration to carry out this part for fiscal year 2005, and such 
sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2006 and 2007.''.

SEC. 102. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 301 of title 49, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 30106. International Cooperation
    ``The Secretary of Transportation may participate and cooperate in 
international activities to enhance motor vehicle and traffic safety 
through such means as exchanging information, conducting safety 
research, examining safety needs, best practices, new technology, and 
improvements in motor vehicle safety standards, and participating in 
the implementation of existing international agreements concerning 
motor vehicle safety to which the United States is a contracting 
partner.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter I of 
chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code is amended by adding at the 
end the following new item:

``30106. International cooperation.''.

SEC. 103. CERTIFICATION LABELS.

    Section 30115(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting at the end the following: ``A person shall not affix a 
certification label to a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle 
equipment unless the person has either performed tests or otherwise 
documented the basis for certifying compliance with all applicable 
safety standards prescribed under this chapter, except that, in 
affixing the certification label or tag, a manufacturer that completes 
a vehicle after receiving compliance documentation from the 
manufacturer of the earlier stage of the vehicle may rely on such 
documentation in accordance with the regulations issued by the 
Secretary.''.

SEC. 104. NOTIFICATION OF NONCOMPLIANCE.

    Section 30118 of title 49, United States Code is amended in 
subsections (a), (b), and (c) by striking ``motor vehicle or 
replacement equipment'' each place it appears and inserting ``motor 
vehicle, original equipment, or replacement equipment''.

SEC. 105. NOTIFICATION OF AND REMEDIES FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.

    Section 30120 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(k) Limitation on Sale or Lease of Used Motor Vehicles.--
            ``(1) A dealer may not sell a used motor vehicle for 
        purposes other than resale or lease a used motor vehicle until 
        the dealer informs the purchaser or lessee of any notification 
        of a defect or noncompliance pursuant to section 30118(b) or 
        (c) of this title with respect to a vehicle that has not been 
        remedied, and either--
                    ``(A) offers to have the defects or noncompliances 
                remedied; or
                    ``(B) gives the purchaser or lessee a written 
                description of the defects or noncompliances, including 
                all relevant information from any notification pursuant 
                to section 30118(b) or (c) of this title, and
        reviews a written acknowledgment of the offer or description 
        from the purchaser or lessee.
            ``(2) The requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection 
        shall apply after a period of time following issuance of 
        notifications that the Secretary shall specify. The Secretary 
        may extend this period with respect to particular 
        notifications.
            ``(3) In this subsection, notwithstanding section 
        30102(a)(1) of this title--
                    ``(A) `dealer' means a person who sold at least 10 
                motor vehicles during the prior 12 months to purchasers 
                that in good faith purchased the vehicles other than 
                for resale; and
                    ``(B) `used motor vehicle' means a motor vehicle 
                that has previously been purchased other than for 
                resale.
            ``(4) Subject to regulations issued by the Secretary, a 
        manufacturer of a motor vehicle shall establish and maintain an 
        Internet-accessible record system that dealers of used motor 
        vehicles and members of the public may access, without charge, 
        to determine whether a particular vehicle manufactured by the 
        manufacturer has been subject to any notification of a defect 
        or noncompliance pursuant to section 30118(b) or (c) of this 
        title that has not been remedied. If the Secretary determines 
        that establishing and maintaining such an Internet-accessible 
        record system is not practicable for certain classes of 
        manufacturers, the Secretary may exempt such manufacturers from 
        the requirements of this paragraph.
    ``(l) Limitation on Operation by Owners and Lessors of School Buses 
and Vehicles Used to Transport Passengers for Compensation.--
            ``(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a person who owns 
        or leases a school bus or a motor vehicle used to transport 
        passengers for compensation and who receives a notice of a 
        defect or noncompliance pursuant to section 30118(b) or (c) of 
        this title may not operate the vehicle to which the notice 
        applies as a school bus or for compensation until the defect or 
        noncompliance is remedied as required by this section.
            ``(2) The requirements of paragraph (1) shall apply after a 
        period of time following issuance of such notifications that 
        the Secretary shall specify. The Secretary may extend this 
        period with respect to particular notifications.
            ``(3) This subsection shall not apply to taxicabs, or to 
        motor vehicles owned or operated by State or local 
        governments.''.

SEC. 106. NONUSE OF SAFETY BELT INTERLOCKS.

    (a) In General.--Section 30124 of title 49 United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 30124. Nonuse of safety belt interlocks
    ``A motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under this chapter may 
not require or allow a manufacturer to comply with the standard by 
using a safety belt interlock designed to prevent starting or operating 
a motor vehicle if an occupant is not using a safety belt.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter II of 
chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code is amended by amending the 
item related to section 30124 to read as follows:

``30124. Nonuse of safety belt interlocks.''.

SEC. 107. RESEARCH, TESTING, DEVELOPMENT, AND TRAINING.

    Section 30168 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(f) Safety Initiative for Alternate Fuel Vehicles.--In addition 
to the authority provided under this section, the Secretary is 
authorized to expend $5,000,000 per year to conduct a safety research 
initiative for alternate fuel vehicles that includes risk assessment 
studies of hydrogen-fueled and other alternative-fuel vehicles, the 
development of test and evaluation procedures and performance criteria 
to assess the likelihood of potential failures that could indicate 
unsafe conditions, and the development of suitable countermeasures. In 
particular, such research initiative shall investigate the safety of 
the power train, the vehicle fuel container and delivery system, the 
onboard refueling system, and the full vehicle system performance of 
alternate fuel vehicles.
    ``(g) Safety Initiative for Driver Assistance Technologies.--In 
addition to the authority provided under this section, the Secretary is 
authorized to expend $10,000,000 per year to conduct research into 
vehicle-based driver assistance technologies, and to develop 
appropriate performance standards and consumer education programs, to 
ensure that appropriate safety benefits are derived from these 
technologies. Such research shall include evaluations of crash 
avoidance technologies, such as electronic stability control, 
telematics, radar braking and other similar vehicle advances.''.

          TITLE II--MOTOR VEHICLE INFORMATION AND COST SAVINGS

SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 32102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read 
as follows:
``Sec. 32102. Authorization of appropriations
    ``There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Transportation $14,080,000 for the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration to carry out this part in fiscal year 2005, and such 
sums as may be necessary in fiscal years 2006 and 2007.''.

SEC. 202. PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT.

    Section 32709(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``$2,000'' and inserting ``$5,000''; and
            (2) by striking ``$100,000'' and inserting ``$1,000,000''.

SEC. 203. CIVIL ACTIONS BY PRIVATE PERSON.

    Section 32710(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``$1,500'' and inserting ``$10,000''.

SEC. 204. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Crash Avoidance.--Section 32301 of title 49, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) `crash avoidance' means preventing a motor vehicle 
        accident.''.
    (b) Passenger Motor Vehicle Information.--Section 32302 of title 
49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``and crash 
                avoidance'' after ``crashworthiness''; and
                    (B) by striking paragraph (4); and
            (2) by striking subsection (c).

SEC. 205. REPEALS.

    (a) In General.--Sections 32303 and 33112 of title 49, United 
States Code, are repealed.
    (b) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) The table of sections for chapter 323 of title 49, 
        United States Code is amended by striking the item related to 
        section 32303.
            (2) The table of sections for chapter 331 of title 49, 
        United States Code is amended by striking the item related to 
        section 33112.
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