[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2342 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2342

 To amend title 46, United States Code, to treat as a passenger vessel 
 any vessel having berth or stateroom accommodations for more than 399 
  passengers, to require that such a vessel be equipped with a voyage 
data recorder, and to ensure reliable medical testing of vessel pilots, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 12, 2005

 Mr. Fossella introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 46, United States Code, to treat as a passenger vessel 
 any vessel having berth or stateroom accommodations for more than 399 
  passengers, to require that such a vessel be equipped with a voyage 
data recorder, and to ensure reliable medical testing of vessel pilots, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Ferry Safety Enhancement Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF VESSELS CAPABLE OF CARRYING MORE THAN 399 
              PASSENGERS AS PASSENGER VESSELS.

    Section 2101(22) of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 
striking ``or'' after the semicolon at the end of subparagraph (B), by 
striking the period at the end of subparagraph (C) and inserting ``; 
or'', and by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) carrying more than 399 passengers.''.

SEC. 3. VOYAGE DATA RECORDER REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Authority to Prescribe Regulations.--Chapter 35 of title 46, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3507. Voyage data recorders
    ``(a) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations that require that a 
passenger vessel described in section 2101(22)(D) shall be equipped 
with a voyage data recorder approved in accordance with the 
regulations.
    ``(b) Regulations prescribed under subsection (a) shall establish--
            ``(1) standards for voyage data recorders required under 
        the regulations;
            ``(2) methods for approval of models of voyage data 
        recorders under the regulations; and
            ``(3) procedures for annual performance testing of voyage 
        data recorders required under the regulations.
    ``(c) To implement this section and regulations prescribed under 
this section there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
$1,500,000 each fiscal year.''.
    (b) Deadline for Regulations.--The Secretary (as that term is used 
in chapter 35 of title 46, United States Code) shall initiate the 
prescribing of regulations under section 3507(a)(1) of title 46, United 
States Code, as amended by this section, by not later than 6 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
chapter 35 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``3507. Voyage data recorders.''.

SEC. 4. ENSURING RELIABLE MEDICAL TESTING OF VESSEL PILOTS.

    (a) Submission of All Physical Examinations.--The head of the 
department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall revise section 
10.709 of title 46, Code of Federal Regulations, to require that an 
individual to whom that section applies shall submit to the Coast Guard 
the results of all physical examinations of the individual.
    (b) Increase in Penalties for Falsification of Physical Examination 
Report.--In lieu of the penalties provided under section 1001 of title 
18, United States Code, any person that violates that section in 
preparing any report on the findings of a physical examination of an 
individual to whom section 10.709 of title 46, Code of Federal 
Regulations, as revised under subsection (a), applies shall be fined 
under title 18, United States Code, and imprisoned for not more than 5 
years.
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