IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5139 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 19, 2020 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation 

AN ACT 

To protect transportation personnel and passengers from 

sexual assault and harassment, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Sexual Assault 

3 and Harassment in Transportation Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FORMAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT POLI5 CIES ON AIR CARRIERS AND FOREIGN AIR 

6 CARRIERS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 417 of title 49, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘§ 41727. Formal sexual assault and harassment poli11 cies 

12 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of enactment of this section, each air carrier and 

14 foreign air carrier transporting passengers for compensa15 tion shall issue, in consultation with labor unions rep16 resenting personnel of the air carrier or foreign air carrier, 

17 a formal policy with respect to transportation sexual as18 sault or harassment incidents. 

19 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The policy required under sub20 section (a) shall include— 

21 ‘‘(1) a statement indicating that no transpor22 tation sexual assault or harassment incident is ac23 ceptable under any circumstance; 

24 ‘‘(2) procedures that facilitate the reporting of 

25 a transportation sexual assault or harassment inci26 dent, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) appropriate public outreach activities; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) confidential phone and internet-based 

4 opportunities for reporting; 

5 ‘‘(3) procedures that personnel should follow 

6 upon the reporting of a transportation sexual assault 

7 or harassment incident, including actions to protect 

8 affected individuals from continued sexual assault or 

9 harassment and to notify law enforcement when ap10 propriate; 

11 ‘‘(4) procedures that may limit or prohibit, to 

12 the extent practicable, future travel with the air car13 rier or foreign air carrier by any passenger who 

14 causes a transportation sexual assault or harassment 

15 incident; and 

16 ‘‘(5) training that is required for all appropriate 

17 personnel with respect to the policy required under 

18 subsection (a), including— 

19 ‘‘(A) specific training for personnel who 

20 may receive reports of transportation sexual as21 sault or harassment incidents; and 

22 ‘‘(B) recognizing and responding to poten23 tial human trafficking victims, in the same 

24 manner as required under section 44734(a)(4). 


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1 ‘‘(c) PASSENGER INFORMATION.—An air carrier or 

2 foreign air carrier described in subsection (a) shall promi3 nently display, on the internet website of the air carrier 

4 or foreign air carrier and through the use of appropriate 

5 signage, a written statement that— 

6 ‘‘(1) advises passengers and personnel that the 

7 carrier has adopted a formal policy with respect to 

8 transportation sexual assault or harassment inci9 dents; 

10 ‘‘(2) informs passengers and personnel of the 

11 other major components of the carrier’s formal pol12 icy, including a statement indicating that no trans13 portation sexual assault or harassment incident is 

14 acceptable under any circumstance; and 

15 ‘‘(3) informs passengers and personnel of the 

16 procedure for reporting a transportation sexual as17 sault or harassment incident. 

18 ‘‘(d) STANDARD OF CARE.—Compliance with the re19 quirements of this section, and any policy issued there20 under, shall not determine whether the air carrier or for21 eign air carrier described in subsection (a) has acted with 

22 any requisite standard of care. 

23 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) PERSONNEL.—The term ‘personnel’ means 

2 an employee or contractor of an air carrier or for3 eign air carrier. 

4 ‘‘(2) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as5 sault’ means the occurrence of an act that con6 stitutes any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by 

7 Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the vic8 tim lacks capacity to consent. 

9 ‘‘(3) TRANSPORTATION SEXUAL ASSAULT OR

10 HARASSMENT INCIDENT.—The term ‘transportation 

11 sexual assault or harassment incident’ means the oc12 currence, or reasonably suspected occurrence, of an 

13 act that— 

14 ‘‘(A) constitutes sexual assault or sexual 

15 harassment; and 

16 ‘‘(B) is committed— 

17 ‘‘(i) by a passenger or member of per18 sonnel of an air carrier or foreign air car19 rier against another passenger or member 

20 of personnel of an air carrier or foreign air 

21 carrier; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) within an aircraft or in an area 

23 in which passengers are entering or exiting 

24 an aircraft.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap2 ter 417 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘41727. Formal sexual assault and harassment policies.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. FORMAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT POLI5 CIES FOR CERTAIN MOTOR CARRIERS. 

6 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, each covered motor car8 rier shall issue, in consultation with labor unions rep9 resenting personnel of the covered motor carrier, a formal 

10 policy with respect to transportation sexual assault or har11 assment incidents. 

12 (b) CONTENTS.—The policy required under sub13 section (a) shall include— 

14 (1) a statement indicating that no transpor15 tation sexual assault or harassment incident is ac16 ceptable under any circumstance; 

17 (2) procedures that facilitate the reporting of a 

18 transportation sexual assault or harassment inci19 dent, including— 

20 (A) appropriate public outreach activities; 

21 and 

22 (B) confidential phone and internet-based 

23 opportunities for reporting; 

24 (3) procedures that personnel should follow 

25 upon the reporting of a transportation sexual assault 


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1 or harassment incident, including actions to protect 

2 affected individuals from continued sexual assault or 

3 harassment and to notify law enforcement when ap4 propriate; 

5 (4) procedures that may limit, to the extent 

6 practicable, future travel with the covered motor car7 rier by any passenger who causes a transportation 

8 sexual assault or harassment incident; and 

9 (5) training that is required for all appropriate 

10 personnel with respect to the policy required under 

11 subsection (a), including— 

12 (A) specific training for personnel who 

13 may receive reports of transportation sexual as14 sault or harassment incidents; and 

15 (B) recognizing and responding to poten16 tial human trafficking victims. 

17 (c) PASSENGER INFORMATION.—A covered motor 

18 carrier shall prominently display, on the internet website 

19 of the covered motor carrier and through the use of appro20 priate signage, a written statement that— 

21 (1) advises passengers that the covered motor 

22 carrier has adopted a formal policy with respect to 

23 transportation sexual assault or harassment inci24 dents; 


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1 (2) informs passengers and personnel of the 

2 other major components of the covered motor car3 rier’s formal policy, including a statement indicating 

4 that no transportation sexual assault or harassment 

5 incident is acceptable under any circumstance; and 

6 (3) informs passengers of the procedure for re7 porting a transportation sexual assault or harass8 ment incident. 

9 (d) STANDARD OF CARE.—Compliance with the re10 quirements of this section, and any policy issued there11 under, shall not determine whether the covered motor car12 rier has acted with any requisite standard of care. 

13 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘personnel’’ means 

15 an employee or contractor of a covered motor car16 rier. 

17 (2) COVERED MOTOR CARRIER.—The term 

18 ‘‘covered motor carrier’’ means a motor carrier of 

19 passengers that— 

20 (A) conducts regularly scheduled intercity 

21 service; and 

22 (B) is a Class I carrier (as that term is 

23 used in section 369.3(a) of title 49, Code of 

24 Federal Regulations). 


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1 (3) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘‘sexual as2 sault’’ means the occurrence of an act that con3 stitutes any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by 

4 Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the vic5 tim lacks capacity to consent. 

6 (4) TRANSPORTATION SEXUAL ASSAULT OR

7 HARASSMENT INCIDENT.—The term ‘‘transportation 

8 sexual assault or harassment incident’’ means the 

9 occurrence, or reasonably suspected occurrence, of 

10 an act that— 

11 (A) constitutes sexual assault or sexual 

12 harassment; and 

13 (B) is committed— 

14 (i) by a passenger or member of per15 sonnel of covered motor carrier against an16 other passenger or member of personnel of 

17 the covered motor carrier; and 

18 (ii) within a vehicle of the motor car19 rier or in an area in which passengers are 

20 entering or exiting such a vehicle. 


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1 SEC. 4. FORMAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT POLI2 CIES ON PASSENGER COMMUTER AND INTER3 CITY RAIL. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 241 of title 49, United 

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘§ 24104. Formal sexual assault and harassment poli8 cies 

9 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this section, each covered rail 

11 entity shall issue, in consultation with labor unions rep12 resenting personnel with respect to the covered rail entity, 

13 a formal policy with respect to transportation sexual as14 sault or harassment incidents. 

15 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The policy required under sub16 section (a) shall include— 

17 ‘‘(1) a statement indicating that no transpor18 tation sexual assault or harassment incident is ac19 ceptable under any circumstance; 

20 ‘‘(2) procedures that facilitate the reporting of 

21 a transportation sexual assault or harassment inci22 dent, including— 

23 ‘‘(A) appropriate public outreach activities; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(B) confidential phone and internet-based 

26 opportunities for reporting; 


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1 ‘‘(3) procedures that personnel should follow 

2 upon the reporting of a transportation sexual assault 

3 or harassment incident, including actions to protect 

4 affected individuals from continued sexual assault or 

5 harassment and to notify law enforcement when ap6 propriate; 

7 ‘‘(4) procedures that may limit or prohibit, to 

8 the extent practicable, future travel with the covered 

9 rail entity by any passenger who causes a transpor10 tation sexual assault or harassment incident; and 

11 ‘‘(5) training that is required for all appropriate 

12 personnel with respect to the policy required under 

13 subsection (a), including— 

14 ‘‘(A) specific training for personnel who 

15 may receive reports of transportation sexual as16 sault or harassment incidents; and 

17 ‘‘(B) recognizing and responding to poten18 tial human trafficking victims. 

19 ‘‘(c) PASSENGER INFORMATION.—A covered rail enti20 ty shall prominently display, on the internet website of the 

21 entity and through the use of appropriate signage, a writ22 ten statement that— 

23 ‘‘(1) advises passengers and personnel that the 

24 covered rail entity has adopted a formal policy with 


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1 respect to transportation sexual assault or harass2 ment incidents; 

3 ‘‘(2) informs passengers and personnel of the 

4 other major components of the covered rail entity’s 

5 formal policy, including a statement indicating that 

6 no transportation sexual assault or harassment inci7 dent is acceptable under any circumstance; and 

8 ‘‘(3) informs passengers and personnel of the 

9 procedure for reporting a transportation sexual as10 sault or harassment incident. 

11 ‘‘(d) STANDARD OF CARE.—Compliance with the re12 quirements of this section, and any policy issued there13 under, shall not determine whether the covered rail entity 

14 has acted with any requisite standard of care. 

15 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) COVERED RAIL ENTITY.—The term ‘cov17 ered rail entity’ means an entity providing commuter 

18 rail passenger transportation or intercity rail pas19 senger transportation. 

20 ‘‘(2) PERSONNEL.—The term ‘personnel’ means 

21 an employee or contractor of a covered rail entity. 

22 ‘‘(3) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as23 sault’ means the occurrence of an act that con24 stitutes any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by 


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1 Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the vic2 tim lacks capacity to consent. 

3 ‘‘(4) TRANSPORTATION SEXUAL ASSAULT OR

4 HARASSMENT INCIDENT.—The term ‘transportation 

5 sexual assault or harassment incident’ means the oc6 currence, or reasonably suspected occurrence, of an 

7 act that— 

8 ‘‘(A) constitutes sexual assault or sexual 

9 harassment; and 

10 ‘‘(B) is committed— 

11 ‘‘(i) by a passenger or member of per12 sonnel of covered rail entity against an13 other passenger or member of personnel of 

14 the covered rail entity; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) within a vehicle of the covered 

16 rail entity or in an area in which pas17 sengers are entering or exiting such a vehi18 cle.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap20 ter 241 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

21 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘24104. Formal sexual assault and harassment policies.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. FORMAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT POLI2 CIES ON TRANSIT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 49, United 

4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘§ 5341. Formal sexual assault and harassment poli7 cies 

8 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

9 the date of enactment of this section, each covered transit 

10 entity shall issue, in consultation with labor unions rep11 resenting personnel with respect to the covered transit en12 tity, a formal policy with respect to transportation sexual 

13 assault or harassment incidents. 

14 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The policy required under sub15 section (a) shall include— 

16 ‘‘(1) a statement indicating that no transpor17 tation sexual assault or harassment incident is ac18 ceptable under any circumstance; 

19 ‘‘(2) procedures that facilitate the reporting of 

20 a transportation sexual assault or harassment inci21 dent, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) appropriate public outreach activities; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) confidential phone and internet-based 

25 opportunities for reporting; 


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1 ‘‘(3) procedures that personnel should follow 

2 upon the reporting of a transportation sexual assault 

3 or harassment incident, including actions to protect 

4 affected individuals from continued sexual assault or 

5 harassment and to notify law enforcement when ap6 propriate; 

7 ‘‘(4) procedures that may limit, to the extent 

8 practicable, future travel with the covered transit en9 tity by any passenger who causes a transportation 

10 sexual assault or harassment incident; and 

11 ‘‘(5) training that is required for all appropriate 

12 personnel with respect to the policy required under 

13 subsection (a), including— 

14 ‘‘(A) specific training for personnel who 

15 may receive reports of transportation sexual as16 sault or harassment incidents; and 

17 ‘‘(B) recognizing and responding to poten18 tial human trafficking victims. 

19 ‘‘(c) PASSENGER INFORMATION.—A covered transit 

20 entity shall prominently display, on the internet website 

21 of the entity and through the use of appropriate signage, 

22 a written statement that— 

23 ‘‘(1) advises passengers and personnel that the 

24 covered transit entity has adopted a formal policy 


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1 with respect to transportation sexual assault or har2 assment incidents; 

3 ‘‘(2) informs passengers and personnel of the 

4 other major components of the covered transit enti5 ty’s formal policy, including a statement indicating 

6 that no transportation sexual assault or harassment 

7 incident is acceptable under any circumstance; and 

8 ‘‘(3) informs passengers and personnel of the 

9 procedure for reporting a transportation sexual as10 sault or harassment incident. 

11 ‘‘(d) STANDARD OF CARE.—Compliance with the re12 quirements of this section, and any policy issued there13 under, shall not determine whether the covered transit en14 tity has acted with any requisite standard of care. 

15 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) COVERED TRANSIT ENTITY.—The term 

17 ‘covered transit entity’ means a State or local gov18 ernmental entity, private nonprofit organization, or 

19 Tribe that— 

20 ‘‘(A) operates a public transportation serv21 ice; and 

22 ‘‘(B) is a recipient or subrecipient of funds 

23 under this chapter. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PERSONNEL.—The term ‘personnel’ means 

2 an employee or contractor of a covered transit enti3 ty. 

4 ‘‘(3) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as5 sault’ means the occurrence of an act that con6 stitutes any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by 

7 Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the vic8 tim lacks capacity to consent. 

9 ‘‘(4) TRANSPORTATION SEXUAL ASSAULT OR

10 HARASSMENT INCIDENT.—The term ‘transportation 

11 sexual assault or harassment incident’ means the oc12 currence, or reasonably suspected occurrence, of an 

13 act that— 

14 ‘‘(A) constitutes sexual assault or sexual 

15 harassment; and 

16 ‘‘(B) is committed— 

17 ‘‘(i) by a passenger or member of per18 sonnel of covered transit entity against an19 other passenger or member of personnel of 

20 the covered transit entity; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) within a vehicle of the covered 

22 transit entity or in an area in which pas23 sengers are entering or exiting such a vehi24 cle.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap2 ter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by add3 ing at the end the following: 

‘‘5341. Formal sexual assault and harassment policies.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. FORMAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT POLI5 CIES FOR PASSENGER VESSELS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3507(d) of title 46, 

7 United States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

9 the semicolon at the end; 

10 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

11 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(6)(A) issue a formal policy with respect to 

14 sexual assault or harassment incidents that in15 cludes— 

16 ‘‘(i) a statement indicating that no sexual 

17 assault or harassment incident is acceptable 

18 under any circumstance; 

19 ‘‘(ii) procedures that facilitate the report20 ing of a sexual assault or harassment incident, 

21 including— 

22 ‘‘(I) appropriate public outreach ac23 tivities; and 

24 ‘‘(II) confidential phone and internet25 based opportunities for reporting; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) procedures that personnel should fol2 low upon the reporting of a sexual assault or 

3 harassment incident, including actions to pro4 tect affected individuals from continued sexual 

5 assault or harassment and how to provide the 

6 information and access required under para7 graph (5); 

8 ‘‘(iv) procedures that may limit or prohibit, 

9 to the extent practicable, future travel on the 

10 vessel by any passenger who causes a transpor11 tation sexual assault or harassment incident; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(v) training that is required for all appro14 priate personnel with respect to the policy re15 quired under this paragraph, including— 

16 ‘‘(I) specific training for personnel 

17 who may receive reports of sexual assault 

18 or harassment incidents; and 

19 ‘‘(II) recognizing and responding to 

20 potential human trafficking victims; and 

21 ‘‘(B) prominently display on the internet 

22 website of the vessel owner and, through the use of 

23 appropriate signage on each vessel, a written state24 ment that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) advises passengers and crew members 

2 that the vessel owner has adopted a formal pol3 icy with respect to sexual assault or harassment 

4 incidents; 

5 ‘‘(ii) informs passengers and personnel of 

6 the other major components of the vessel own7 er’s formal policy, including a statement indi8 cating that no transportation sexual assault or 

9 harassment incident is acceptable under any 

10 circumstance; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) informs passengers and crew mem12 bers of the procedure for reporting a sexual as13 sault or harassment incident; and 

14 ‘‘(7) have a formal policy in effect with respect 

15 to sexual assault or harassment incidents.’’. 

16 (b) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Section 

17 3507(g)(3)(A)(i) of title 46, United States Code, is 

18 amended by inserting ‘‘any sexual assault or harassment 

19 incident (as that term is defined in subsection (l) of this 

20 section) that constitutes a violation of law,’’ after ‘‘title 

21 18 applies,’’. 

22 (c) STANDARD OF CARE.—Compliance with the re23 quirements of the amendments made by this section, and 

24 any policy issued thereunder, shall not determine whether 


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1 the applicable owner of a vessel covered by such amend2 ments has acted with any requisite standard of care. 

3 (d) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3507(l) of title 46, 

4 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) OWNER.—In this section and section 

7 3508, the term ‘owner’ means the owner, charterer, 

8 managing operator, master, or other individual in 

9 charge of a vessel. 

10 ‘‘(2) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘sexual as11 sault’ means the occurrence of an act that con12 stitutes any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by 

13 Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the vic14 tim lacks capacity to consent. 

15 ‘‘(3) SEXUAL ASSAULT OR HARASSMENT INCI16 DENT.—The term ‘sexual assault or harassment in17 cident’ means the occurrence, or reasonably sus18 pected occurrence, of an act that— 

19 ‘‘(A) constitutes sexual assault or sexual 

20 harassment; and 

21 ‘‘(B) is committed— 

22 ‘‘(i) by a passenger of a vessel to 

23 which this section applies or a member of 

24 the crew of such a vessel against another 


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1 passenger of such vessel or a member of 

2 the crew of such a vessel; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) within— 

4 ‘‘(I) such a vessel; or 

5 ‘‘(II) an area in which passengers 

6 are entering or exiting such a vessel.’’. 

7 (e) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the owner of a 

9 vessel to which section 3507 of title 46, United States 

10 Code, applies shall issue the formal policy with respect to 

11 sexual assault or harassment incidents required by the 

12 amendments made by this section. 

13 SEC. 7. CIVIL PENALTIES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH CER14 TAIN TRANSPORTATION PERSONNEL. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 805 of title 49, United 

16 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘§ 80505. Interference with certain transportation 

19 personnel 

20 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—An individual who physically 

21 or sexually assaults or threatens to physically or sexually 

22 assault an employee engaged in the transportation of pas23 sengers on behalf of a covered entity, or takes any action 

24 that poses an imminent threat to the safety of a vehicle 

25 of a covered entity that is transporting passengers, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Oct 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5139.RFS H5139

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1 ing rolling stock, motorcoaches, and ferries, is liable to the 

2 United States Government for a civil penalty of— 

3 ‘‘(1) for calendar years 2020 through 2024, not 

4 more than $35,000; 

5 ‘‘(2) for calendar years 2025 through 2029, not 

6 more than $40,000; and 

7 ‘‘(3) for calendar year 2030 and thereafter, not 

8 more than $45,000. 

9 ‘‘(b) COMPROMISE AND SETOFF.— 

10 ‘‘(1) COMPROMISE.—The Secretary of Trans11 portation may compromise the amount of a civil pen12 alty imposed under this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) SETOFF.—The United States Government 

14 may deduct the amount of a civil penalty imposed or 

15 compromised under this section from amounts the 

16 Government owes the person liable for the penalty. 

17 ‘‘(c) COVERED ENTITY DEFINED.—In this section, 

18 the term ‘covered entity’ means an entity that is 1 of the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(1) A recipient of Federal funds under chapter 

21 53 of this title. 

22 ‘‘(2) A motor carrier of passengers that— 

23 ‘‘(A) conducts regularly scheduled intercity 

24 service; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) is a Class I carrier (as that term is 

2 used in section 369.3(a) of title 49, Code of 

3 Federal Regulations). 

4 ‘‘(3) An entity providing commuter rail pas5 senger transportation or intercity rail passenger 

6 transportation (as those terms are defined in section 

7 24102 of this title). 

8 ‘‘(4) The owner of a vessel for which section 

9 3507 of title 46 applies. 

10 ‘‘(5) A transportation network company.’’. 

11 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap12 ter 805 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 

13 inserting after the item relating to section 80504 the fol14 lowing: 

‘‘80505. Interference with certain transportation personnel.’’. 

15 (c) GRADUATED FINES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH

16 CABIN OR FLIGHT CREW.—Section 46318(a) of title 49, 

17 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘penalty of 

18 not more than $35,000.’’ and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘penalty of— 

20 ‘‘(1) for calendar years 2020 through 2024, not 

21 more than $35,000; 

22 ‘‘(2) for calendar years 2025 through 2029, not 

23 more than $40,000; and 

24 ‘‘(3) for calendar year 2030 and thereafter, not 

25 more than $45,000.’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. FORMAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT POLI2 CIES FOR TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COM3 PANIES AND FOR-HIRE VEHICLE COMPANIES. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, each transportation net6 work company and for-hire vehicle company shall issue, 

7 in consultation with labor unions representing TNC driv8 ers of each such transportation network company or FVC 

9 drivers of each for-hire vehicle company, if applicable, a 

10 formal policy with respect to transportation sexual assault 

11 or harassment incidents. 

12 (b) CONTENTS.—The policy required under sub13 section (a) shall include— 

14 (1) a statement indicating that no transpor15 tation sexual assault or harassment incident is ac16 ceptable under any circumstance; 

17 (2) procedures that facilitate the reporting of a 

18 transportation sexual assault or harassment inci19 dent, including— 

20 (A) appropriate public outreach activities; 

21 (B) confidential phone and internet-based 

22 opportunities for reporting; and 

23 (C) TNC personnel or FVC personnel 

24 trained to receive reports; 

25 (3) procedures that TNC personnel or FVC 

26 personnel should follow upon the reporting of a 


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1 transportation sexual assault or harassment inci2 dent, including actions to protect affected individuals 

3 from continued sexual assault or harassment and to 

4 notify law enforcement when appropriate; 

5 (4) procedures that may limit or prohibit, to the 

6 extent practicable, future use of the transportation 

7 network company platform by any passenger or 

8 TNC driver, or future use of the for-hire vehicle 

9 company service by any passenger or FVC driver, 

10 who causes a transportation sexual assault or har11 assment incident; and 

12 (5) training that is required for all appropriate 

13 personnel with respect to the policy required under 

14 subsection (a), including— 

15 (A) specific training for such personnel 

16 who may receive reports of transportation sex17 ual assault or harassment incidents; and 

18 (B) recognizing and responding to poten19 tial human trafficking victims. 

20 (c) PASSENGER INFORMATION.—A transportation 

21 network company or for-hire vehicle company shall promi22 nently display, on the internet website of the company and 

23 through the use of appropriate signage, a written state24 ment that— 


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1 (1) advises passengers that the transportation 

2 network company or for-hire vehicle company has 

3 adopted a formal policy with respect to transpor4 tation sexual assault or harassment incidents; 

5 (2) informs passengers, TNC drivers, TNC per6 sonnel, FVC drivers, and FVC personnel of the 

7 other major components of the transportation net8 work company’s formal policy or the for-hire vehicle 

9 company’s formal policy, including a statement indi10 cating that no transportation sexual assault or har11 assment incident is acceptable under any cir12 cumstance; and 

13 (3) informs passengers of the procedure for re14 porting a transportation sexual assault or harass15 ment incident. 

16 (d) STANDARD OF CARE.—Compliance with the re17 quirements of this section, and any policy issued there18 under, shall not determine whether the transportation net19 work company or for-hire vehicle company has acted with 

20 any requisite standard of care. 

21 SEC. 9. DATA COLLECTION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor24 tation shall establish a program to annually collect and 

25 maintain data from each covered entity, or, as approVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Oct 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5139.RFS H5139

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1 priate, a State or local entity that provides authorized 

2 transportation service, on— 

3 (1) the number of transportation sexual assault 

4 or harassment incidents reported to the covered enti5 ty or State or local entity that provides authorized 

6 transportation service, including— 

7 (A) the number of incidents committed 

8 against passengers; and 

9 (B) the number of incidents committed 

10 against personnel or, in the case of a transpor11 tation network company or for-hire vehicle com12 pany, a TNC driver or a FVC driver, respec13 tively; 

14 (2) the number of transportation sexual assault 

15 or harassment incidents reported to law enforcement 

16 by personnel of the covered entity or State or local 

17 entity that provides authorized transportation serv18 ices; and 

19 (3) any transportation sexual assault or harass20 ment incidents compiled and maintained under sec21 tion 3507(g)(4)(A)(i) of title 46, United States 

22 Code. 

23 (b) DATA AVAILABILITY.—Subject to subsection (c), 

24 the Secretary shall make available to the public on the 

25 primary internet website of the Department of TransporVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Oct 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5139.RFS H5139

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1 tation the data collected and maintained under subsection 

2 (a). 

3 (c) DATA PROTECTION.—Data made available under 

4 subsection (b) shall be made available in a manner that— 

5 (1) protects the privacy and confidentiality of 

6 individuals involved in a transportation sexual as7 sault or harassment incident; 

8 (2) precludes the connection of the data to any 

9 individual covered entity or a State or local entity 

10 that provides authorized transportation service; and 

11 (3) is organized by mode of transportation. 

12 (d) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—Subchapter I of 

13 chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, does not apply 

14 to this Act. 

15 SEC. 10. CRIMINAL REPORTING PROCESS. 

16 The Attorney General, in coordination with the Sec17 retary of Transportation, shall expand the process re18 quired to be established under section 339B of the FAA 

19 Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–254) to 

20 provide for a streamlined process for any individuals in21 volved in alleged transportation sexual assault or harass22 ment incidents that constitute a violation of law to report 

23 those allegations to law enforcement in a manner that pro24 tects the privacy and confidentiality of individuals involved 

25 in such allegations and through the same primary internet 


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1 websites as provided under subsection (b) of such section, 

2 as determined appropriate by the Attorney General. 

3 SEC. 11. INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

4 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the inspector 

6 general of the Department of Transportation shall assess 

7 compliance with the provisions of this Act and the amend8 ments made by this Act, including the accuracy of the re9 porting of transportation sexual assault or harassment in10 cidents by covered entities. 

11 SEC. 12. DEFINITION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

13 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transpor14 tation shall develop, and publish in the Federal Register, 

15 a definition of sexual harassment for purposes of the im16 plementation of this Act and the amendments made by 

17 this Act. 

18 (b) CONSULTATION.—In developing the definition 

19 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with, and 

20 consider input from— 

21 (1) labor unions representing transportation 

22 workers employed by covered entities; and 

23 (2) national organizations that specialize in pro24 viding services to sexual assault victims. 


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1 SEC. 13. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en4 tity’’ means an entity that is one of the following: 

5 (A) An air carrier (as that term is defined 

6 in section 40102 of title 49, United States 

7 Code) that transports passengers for compensa8 tion. 

9 (B) A foreign air carrier (as that term is 

10 defined in section 40102 of title 49, United 

11 States Code) that transports passengers for 

12 compensation. 

13 (C) A State or local governmental entity, 

14 private nonprofit organization, or Tribe that— 

15 (i) operates a public transportation 

16 service; and 

17 (ii) is a recipient or subrecipient of 

18 funds under chapter 53 of title 49, United 

19 States Code. 

20 (D) A motor carrier of passengers that— 

21 (i) conducts regularly scheduled inter22 city service; and 

23 (ii) is a Class I carrier (as that term 

24 is used in section 369.3(a) of title 49, 

25 Code of Federal Regulations). 


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1 (E) An entity providing commuter rail pas2 senger transportation or intercity rail passenger 

3 transportation (as those terms are defined in 

4 section 24102 of title 49, United States Code). 

5 (F) The owner of a vessel for which section 

6 3507 of title 46, United States Code, applies. 

7 (G) A transportation network company. 

8 (H) A for-hire vehicle company. 

9 (2) FOR-HIRE VEHICLE COMPANY.—The term 

10 ‘‘for-hire vehicle company’’ means an entity that— 

11 (A) provides passenger transportation in a 

12 motor vehicle in exchange for compensation; 

13 and 

14 (B) is authorized by a State or local gov15 ernment entity as a taxicab service, limousine 

16 service, livery service, black car service, sedan 

17 service, chauffeur service, or any other similar 

18 category of for-hire transportation service. 

19 (3) FVC DRIVER.—The term ‘‘FVC driver’’ 

20 means an individual who is employed, contracted by, 

21 or otherwise affiliated with a for-hire vehicle com22 pany to provide transportation services to the public. 

23 (4) FVC PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘FVC per24 sonnel’’ means an employee or contractor of a covVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Oct 20, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5139.RFS H5139

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1 ered for-hire vehicle company, other than a FVC 

2 driver. 

3 (5) SEXUAL ASSAULT.—The term ‘‘sexual as4 sault’’ means the occurrence of an act that con5 stitutes any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by 

6 Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the vic7 tim lacks capacity to consent. 

8 (6) TNC DRIVER.—The term ‘‘TNC driver’’ 

9 means an individual who is employed, contracted by, 

10 or otherwise affiliated with a transportation network 

11 company to provide transportation services (also 

12 known as ride-sharing) to the public. 

13 (7) TNC PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘TNC per14 sonnel’’ means an employee or contractor of a cov15 ered transportation network company, other than a 

16 TNC driver. 

17 (8) TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY.— 

18 The term ‘‘transportation network company’’— 

19 (A) means a corporation, partnership, sole 

20 proprietorship, or other entity, that uses a dig21 ital network to connect riders to drivers affili22 ated with the entity in order for the driver to 

23 transport the rider using a vehicle owned, 

24 leased, or otherwise authorized for use by the 

25 driver to a point chosen by the rider; and 


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1 (B) does not include a shared-expense car2 pool or vanpool arrangement that is not in3 tended to generate profit for the driver. 

4 (9) TRANSPORTATION SEXUAL ASSAULT OR

5 HARASSMENT INCIDENT.—The term ‘‘transportation 

6 sexual assault or harassment incident’’ means the 

7 occurrence, or reasonably suspected occurrence, of 

8 an act that— 

9 (A) constitutes sexual assault or sexual 

10 harassment; and 

11 (B) is committed— 

12 (i) by a passenger, personnel, TNC 

13 driver, or FVC driver of a covered entity, 

14 against a passenger, personnel, TNC driv15 er, or FVC driver of the covered entity; 

16 and 

17 (ii) within— 

18 (I) a vehicle of the covered entity 

19 that is transporting passengers, in20 cluding aircraft, rolling stock, 

21 motorcoaches, and ferries; or 

22 (II) an area in which passengers 

23 are entering or exiting such a vehicle. 


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1 SEC. 14. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

2 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

3 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

4 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

5 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

6 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

7 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro8 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

9 vote on passage. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 1, 

2020. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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