Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013

Summary: .  Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013 - (Sec. 3) Authorizes a rental company that receives a notification (approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA]) from the manufacturer of a covered rental vehicle about any equipment defect, or noncompliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards, to rent or sell the vehicle or equipment only if the defect or noncompliance is remedied. Specifies any rental vehicle: (1) rated at 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less, (2) rented without a driver for an initial term of under 4 months, and (3) that is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 5 or more motor vehicles used for rental purposes by a rental company. Prescribes a special rule to require rental companies to comply with specified limitations on sale, lease, or rental of a motor vehicle as soon as practicable, but within 24 hours after the earliest receipt of the manufacturer's notification of a defect or noncompliance with vehicle safety standards, whether by electronic means or first class mail. Extends the 24-hour deadline for complying with such limitations to 48 hours if the notification covers more than 5,000 motor vehicles in the rental company's fleet. Permits a rental company to rent (but not sell or lease) a motor vehicle subject to recall if the defect or noncompliance remedy is not immediately available and the company takes any actions specified in the notice to alter the vehicle temporarily to eliminate the safety risk posed. Makes these special rules for rental companies inapplicable to junk automobiles. (Sec. 4) Prohibits a rental company from knowingly making inoperable any safety devices or elements of design installed on or in a compliant motor vehicle or vehicle equipment unless the company reasonably believes the vehicle or equipment will not be used when the devices or elements are inoperable. (Sec. 5) Authorizes the Secretary, upon request, to inspect records of a rental company with respect to a safety investigation. Authorizes the Secretary to require a rental company to keep records or make reports for purposes of compliance with federal motor vehicle safety orders or regulations. (Sec. 6) Authorizes the Secretary to study the effectiveness of the amendments made by this Act and of other activities of rental companies. (Sec. 7) Amends the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) to require the mandatory study of the safety of rental trucks during a specified seven-year period to evaluate the completion of safety recall remedies on rental trucks. (Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary to solicit comments regarding the implementation of this Act from members of the public, including rental companies, consumer organizations, automobile manufacturers, and automobile dealers.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe 
Rental Car Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 30102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (10) and (11) as paragraphs 
        (12) and (13), respectively;
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (9) as 
        paragraphs (2) through (10), respectively;
            (3) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redesignated, the 
        following:
            ``(1) `covered rental vehicle' means a motor vehicle that--
                    ``(A) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 
                pounds or less;
                    ``(B) is rented without a driver for an initial 
                term of less than 4 months; and
                    ``(C) is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 5 or more 
                motor vehicles that are used for rental purposes by a 
                rental company.''; and
            (4) by inserting after paragraph (10), as redesignated, the 
        following:
            ``(11) `rental company' means a person who--
                    ``(A) is engaged in the business of renting covered 
                rental vehicles; and
                    ``(B) uses for rental purposes a motor vehicle 
                fleet of 5 or more covered rental vehicles.''.

SEC. 3. REMEDIES FOR DEFECTS AND NONCOMPLIANCE.

    Section 30120(i) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in the subsection heading, by adding ``, or Rental'' at 
        the end;
            (2) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``(1) If notification'' and 
                inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--If notification'';
                    (B) by indenting subparagraphs (A) and (B) four ems 
                from the left margin;
                    (C) by inserting ``or the manufacturer has provided 
                to a rental company notification about a covered rental 
                vehicle in the company's possession at the time of 
                notification'' after ``time of notification'';
                    (D) by striking ``the dealer may sell or lease,'' 
                and inserting ``the dealer or rental company may sell, 
                lease, or rent''; and
                    (E) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``sale or 
                lease'' and inserting ``sale, lease, or rental 
                agreement'';
            (3) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection may 
        be construed to prohibit a dealer or rental company from 
        offering the vehicle or equipment for sale, lease, or rent.''; 
        and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Specific rules for rental companies.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided 
                under this paragraph, a rental company shall comply 
                with the limitations on sale, lease, or rental set 
                forth in subparagraph (C) and paragraph (1) as soon as 
                practicable, but not later than 24 hours after the 
                earliest receipt of the notice to owner under 
                subsection (b) or (c) of section 30118 (including the 
                vehicle identification number for the covered vehicle) 
                by the rental company, whether by electronic means or 
                first class mail.
                    ``(B) Special rule for large vehicle fleets.--
                Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if a rental company 
                receives a notice to owner covering more than 5,000 
                motor vehicles in its fleet, the rental company shall 
                comply with the limitations on sale, lease, or rental 
                set forth in subparagraph (C) and paragraph (1) as soon 
                as practicable, but not later than 48 hours after the 
                earliest receipt of the notice to owner under 
                subsection (b) or (c) of section 30018 (including the 
                vehicle identification number for the covered vehicle) 
                by the rental company, whether by electronic means or 
                first class mail.
                    ``(C) Special rule for when remedies not 
                immediately available.--If a notification required 
                under subsection (b) or (c) of section 30118 indicates 
                that the remedy for the defect or noncompliance is not 
                immediately available and specifies actions to 
                temporarily alter the vehicle that eliminate the safety 
                risk posed by the defect or noncompliance, the rental 
                company, after causing the specified actions to be 
                performed, may rent (but may not sell or lease) the 
                motor vehicle. Once the remedy for the rental vehicle 
                becomes available to the rental company, the rental 
                company may not rent the vehicle until the vehicle has 
                been remedied, as provided in subsection (a).
                    ``(D) Inapplicability to junk automobiles.--
                Notwithstanding paragraph (1), this subsection does not 
                prohibit a rental company from selling a covered rental 
                vehicle if such vehicle--
                            ``(i) meets the definition of a junk 
                        automobile under section 201 of the Anti-Car 
                        Theft Act of 1992 (49 U.S.C. 30501);
                            ``(ii) is retitled as a junk automobile 
                        pursuant to applicable State law; and
                            ``(iii) is reported to the National Motor 
                        Vehicle Information System, if required under 
                        section 204 of such Act (49 U.S.C. 30504).''.

SEC. 4. MAKING SAFETY DEVICES AND ELEMENTS INOPERATIVE.

    Section 30122(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting ``rental company,'' after ``dealer,'' each place such term 
appears.

SEC. 5. INSPECTIONS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND RECORDS.

    Section 30166 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ``or dealer'' each 
        place such term appears and inserting ``dealer, or rental 
        company'';
            (2) in subsection (e), by striking ``or dealer'' each place 
        such term appears and inserting ``dealer, or rental company''; 
        and
            (3) in subsection (f), by striking ``or to owners'' and 
        inserting ``, rental companies, or other owners''.

SEC. 6. RESEARCH AUTHORITY.

    The Secretary of Transportation may conduct a study of--
            (1) the effectiveness of the amendments made by this Act; 
        and
            (2) other activities of rental companies (as defined in 
        section 30102(a)(11) of title 49, United States Code) related 
        to their use and disposition of motor vehicles that are the 
        subject of a notification required under section 30118 of title 
        49, United States Code.

SEC. 7. STUDY.

    (a) Additional Requirement.--Subsection (b)(2) of section 32206 of 
the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (Public Law 112-
141; 126 Stat. 785) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G); 
        and
            (3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
                    ``(F) evaluate the completion of safety recall 
                remedies on rental trucks; and''.
    (b) Report.--Subsection (c) of such section is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting such 
        subparagraphs, as so redesignated, an additional two ems from 
        the left margin;
            (2) by striking ``Report.--Not later'' and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(c) Reports.--
            ``(1) Initial report.--Not later'';
            (3) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subsection (b)'' and 
        inserting ``subparagraphs (A) through (E) and (G) of subsection 
        (b)(2)''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Safety recall remedy report.--Not later than 1 year 
        after the date of the enactment of the `Raechel and Jacqueline 
        Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013', the Secretary shall submit 
        a report to the congressional committees set forth in paragraph 
        (1) that contains--
                    ``(A) the findings of the study conducted pursuant 
                to subsection (b)(2)(F); and
                    ``(B) any recommendations for legislation that the 
                Secretary determines to be appropriate.''.

SEC. 8. PUBLIC COMMENTS.

    The Secretary of Transportation shall solicit comments regarding 
the implementation of this Act from members of the public, including 
rental companies, consumer organizations, automobile manufacturers, and 
automobile dealers.

SEC. 9. RULEMAKING.

    The Secretary of Transportation may promulgate rules, as 
appropriate, to implement this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date that 
is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.