[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1691 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1691

  To clarify the application of section 14501(d) of title 49, United 
 States Code, to prevent the imposition of unreasonable transportation 
                             terminal fees.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 3, 2011

Ms. Richardson introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To clarify the application of section 14501(d) of title 49, United 
 States Code, to prevent the imposition of unreasonable transportation 
                             terminal fees.

    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 ``Prevention of Unreasonable Fees 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Several airports and other transportation terminals 
        continue to charge or have imposed fees on all for-hire 
        vehicles, regardless of whether the vehicle is providing 
        interstate or intrastate transportation.
            (2) The imposition of such fees unreasonably burdens direct 
        for-hire vehicles, many of whom are small businesses struggling 
        to survive in these difficult economic times.

SEC. 3. PREVENTION OF UNREASONABLE FEES.

    Section 14501(d) of title 49, United States Code is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``on account of the fact 
        that a motor vehicle'' and inserting ``to be paid with respect 
        to a motor vehicle that'';
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraph 
        (3) and (4), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Transportation terminal fees prohibited.--An operator 
        of a transportation terminal that, at any time after the date 
        of enactment of the Prevention of Unreasonable Fees Act, uses 
        any Federal funds for the construction, expansion, renovation, 
        or other capital improvement of such transportation terminal, 
        or for the purchase or lease of any equipment installed in such 
        transportation terminal or on its property, may not charge any 
        fee to a provider of prearranged ground transportation service 
        described in paragraph (1), except--
                    ``(A) a fee charged to the general public for 
                access to, or use of, any part of the transportation 
                terminal;
                    ``(B) a fee for the availability of ancillary 
                facilities at the transportation terminal that is 
                reasonable in relation to the costs of operating the 
                ancillary facilities; or
                    ``(C) a fee for such access, use, or availability 
                that the Secretary has approved in advance after making 
                a determination that the fee is reasonable, 
                nonburdensome, nondiscriminatory, necessary, and 
                appropriate to the provision of prearranged ground 
                transportation service.'';
            (4) by amending paragraph (3), as redesignated, to read as 
        follows:
            ``(3) Definitions.--In this section:
                    ``(A) Ancillary facilities.--The term `ancillary 
                facilities' includes restrooms, vending machines, 
                monitoring facilities that advise parties accessing the 
                transportation terminal of arrivals or departures of 
                aircraft, buses, trains, ships, or boats, and such 
                other facilities determined by the Secretary to be 
                necessary, appropriate, desirable, or useful to the 
                business of providing prearranged ground transportation 
                service.
                    ``(B) Intermediate stop.--The term `intermediate 
                stop', with respect to transportation by a motor 
                carrier, means a pause in the transportation in order 
                for 1 or more passengers to engage in personal or 
                business activity if the driver providing the 
                transportation to such passengers does not, before 
                resuming the transportation of at least 1 of such 
                passengers, provide transportation to any other person 
                not included among the passengers being transported 
                when the pause began.
                    ``(C) Transportation terminal.--The term 
                `transportation terminal' means any airport, port 
                facility for ships or boats, train station, or bus 
                terminal, including any principal building and all 
                ancillary buildings, roads, runways, and other 
                facilities.''; and
            (5) in paragraph (4), as redesignated--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) by striking ``an airport, train, or 
                        bus'' and inserting ``a transportation''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 
                subparagraph (D);
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 
                following:
                    ``(C) as prohibiting or restricting a 
                transportation terminal operator from requiring 
                vehicles that cannot safely use parking facilities that 
                are otherwise available to the general public to use 
                segregated facilities, if the fee for such facilities 
                is not more than the amount charged to the public for 
                similar facilities;'';
                    (D) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, by 
                striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; 
                and
                    (E) by inserting after subparagraph (D), as 
                redesignated, the following:
                    ``(E) as restricting the right of any State or 
                political subdivision of a State to require a license 
                or fee (other than a fee by a transportation terminal 
                operator prohibited under paragraph (2)) with respect 
                to a vehicle that is providing transportation not 
                described in paragraph (1).''.

SEC. 4. REGULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall promulgate 
regulations to carry out the provisions of section 14501(d) of title 
49, United States Code, as amended by section 3.
    (b) Provisions.--The regulations promulgated pursuant to subsection 
(a) shall include--
            (1) a comprehensive list of the ancillary facilities 
        determined by the Secretary to be necessary, appropriate, 
        desirable, and useful to the business of the provision of 
        prearranged ground transportation service;
            (2) a schedule of suggested fees that--
                    (A) may be charged for such ancillary facilities by 
                any transportation terminal operator to a provider of 
                prearranged ground transportation service for the 
                availability of the ancillary facility; and
                    (B) are determined by the Secretary to be 
                reasonable in relation to the costs of operating the 
                ancillary facility;
            (3) a requirement that any fee proposed by a transportation 
        terminal operator for the availability of an ancillary facility 
        may not be greater than the fee for such ancillary facility 
        provided in the schedule described in paragraph (2), unless the 
        fee is approved in advance by the Secretary after a public 
        hearing and determination that the proposed fee and the amount 
        of the fee for the availability of such ancillary facility at 
        such transportation terminal--
                    (A) is reasonable in relation to the costs of 
                operating the ancillary facility; and
                    (B) otherwise complies with section 14501(d) of 
                title 49, United States Code; and
            (4) such other provisions as the Secretary determines to be 
        necessary or appropriate to carry out such section 14501(d) in 
        a manner that prevents the imposition by a transportation 
        terminal operator of--
                    (A) fees to be paid by or with respect to a motor 
                vehicle that is providing prearranged ground 
                transportation service; or
                    (B) any other discriminatory or punitive action or 
                measure against, or with respect to, a motor vehicle 
                that is providing prearranged ground transportation 
                service.
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