In the Senate of the United States,

September 18, 1996.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 3159) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend title 49, United

States Code, to authorize appropriations for fiscal years

1997, 1998, and 1999 for the National Transportation Safety Board, and for other purposes’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 TITLE I—NTSB AMENDMENTS

2 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

3 This title may be cited as the ‘‘National Transpor4 tation Safety Board Amendments of 1996’’.

5 SEC. 102. FOREIGN INVESTIGATIONS.

6 Section 1114 of title 49, United States Code, is amend7 ed—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘(b) and (c)’’ in subsection (a)

9 and inserting ‘‘(b), (c), and (e)’’; and

10 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(e) FOREIGN INVESTIGATIONS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

3 provision of law, neither the Board, nor any agency

4 receiving information from the Board, shall disclose

5 records or information relating to its participation in

6 foreign aircraft accident investigations; except that—

7 ‘‘(A) the Board shall release records per8 taining to such an investigation when the coun9 try conducting the investigation issues its final

10 report or 2 years following the date of the acci11 dent, whichever occurs first; and

12 ‘‘(B) the Board may disclose records and

13 information when authorized to do so by the

14 country conducting the investigation.

15 ‘‘(2) SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS.—Nothing in

16 this subsection shall restrict the Board at any time

17 from referring to foreign accident investigation infor18 mation in making safety recommendations.’’.

19 SEC. 103. PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION OF IN20 FORMATION.

21 Section 1114(b) of title 49, United States Code, is

22 amended by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(3) PROTECTION OF VOLUNTARY SUBMISSION

24 OF INFORMATION.—Notwithstanding any other provi25 sion of law, neither the Board, nor any agency receiv-
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1 ing information from the Board, shall disclose volun2 tarily provided safety-related information if that in3 formation is not related to the exercise of the Board’s

4 accident or incident investigation authority under

5 this chapter and if the Board finds that the disclosure

6 of the information would inhibit the voluntary provi7 sion of that type of information.’’.

8 SEC. 104. TRAINING.

9 Section 1115 of title 49, United States Code, is amend10 ed by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(d) TRAINING OF BOARD EMPLOYEES AND

12 OTHERS.—The Board may conduct training of its

13 employees in those subjects necessary for the proper

14 performance of accident investigation. The Board

15 may also authorize attendance at courses given under

16 this subsection by other government personnel, person17 nel of foreign governments, and personnel from indus18 try or otherwise who have a requirement for accident

19 investigation training. The Board may require non20 Board personnel to reimburse some or all of the train21 ing costs, and amounts so reimbursed shall be credited

22 to the appropriation of the ‘National Transportation

23 Safety Board, Salaries and Expenses’ as offsetting

24 collections.’’.
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1 SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 Section 1118(a) of title 49, United States Code, is

3 amended—

4 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’; and

5 (2) by inserting before the period at the end of

6 the first sentence the following: ‘‘, $42,400,00 for fiscal

7 year 1997, $44,400,000 for fiscal year 1998, and

8 $46,600,000 for fiscal year 1999.’’.

9 TITLE II—INTERMODAL

10 TRANSPORTATION

11 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

12 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Intermodal Safe Con13 tainer Transportation Amendments Act of 1996’’.

14 SEC. 202. AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.

15 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

16 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

17 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

18 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

19 other provision of title 49 of the United States Code.

20 SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS.

21 Section 5901 (relating to definitions) is amended—

22 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the

23 following:

24 ‘‘(1) except as otherwise provided in this chapter,

25 the definitions in sections 10102 and 13102 of this

26 title apply.’’;
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1 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as

2 paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; and

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the follow4 ing:

5 ‘‘(6) ‘gross cargo weight’ means the weight of the

6 cargo, packaging materials (including ice), pallets,

7 and dunnage.’’.

8 SEC. 204. NOTIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION.

9 (a) PRIOR NOTIFICATION.—Subsection (a) of section

10 5902 (relating to prior notification) is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘Before a person tenders to a

12 first carrier for intermodal transportation a’’ and in13 serting ‘‘If the first carrier to which any’’;

14 (2) by striking ‘‘10,000 pounds (including pack15 ing material and pallets), the person shall give the

16 carrier a written’’ and inserting ‘‘29,000 pounds is

17 tendered for intermodal transportation is a motor

18 carrier, the person tendering the container or trailer

19 shall give the motor carrier a’’;

20 (3) by striking ‘‘trailer.’’ and inserting ‘‘trailer

21 before the tendering of the container or trailer.’’;

22 (4) by striking ‘‘electronically.’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘electronically or by telephone.’’; and

24 (5) by adding at the end thereof the following:

25 ‘‘This subsection applies to any person within the
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1 United States who tenders a container or trailer sub2 ject to this chapter for intermodal transportation if

3 the first carrier is a motor carrier.’’.

4 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Subsection (b) of section 5902

5 (relating to certification) is amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who tenders a load8 ed container or trailer with an actual gross cargo

9 weight of more than 29,000 pounds to a first carrier

10 for intermodal transportation shall provide a certifi11 cation of the contents of the container or trailer in

12 writing, or electronically, before or when the con13 tainer or trailer is so tendered.

14 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF CERTIFICATION.—The certifi15 cation required by paragraph (1) shall include—

16 ‘‘(A) the actual gross cargo weight;

17 ‘‘(B) a reasonable description of the con18 tents of the container or trailer;

19 ‘‘(C) the identity of the certifying party;

20 ‘‘(D) the container or trailer number; and

21 ‘‘(E) the date of certification or transfer of

22 data to another document, as provided for in

23 paragraph (3).

24 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF CERTIFICATION DATA.—A

25 carrier who receives a certification may transfer the
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1 information contained in the certification to another

2 document or to electric format for forwarding to a

3 subsequent carrier. The person transferring the infor4 mation shall state on the forwarded document the

5 date on which the data was transferred and the iden6 tity of the party who performed the transfer.

7 ‘‘(4) SHIPPING DOCUMENTS.—For purposes of

8 this chapter, a shipping document, prepared by the

9 person who tenders a container or trailer to a first

10 carrier, that contains the information required by

11 paragraph (2) meets the requirements of paragraph

12 (1).

13 ‘‘(5) USE OF ‘FREIGHT ALL KINDS’ TERM.—The

14 term ‘Freight All Kinds’ or ‘FAK’ may not be used

15 for the purpose of certification under section 5902(b)

16 after December 31, 2000, as a commodity description

17 for a trailer or container if the weight of any com18 modity in the trailer or container equals or exceeds

19 20 percent of the total weight of the contents of the

20 trailer or container. This subsection does not prohibit

21 the use of the term after that date for rating purposes.

22 ‘‘(6) SEPARATE DOCUMENT MARKING.—If a sepa23 rate document is used to meet the requirements of

24 paragraph (1), it shall be conspicuously marked

25 ‘INTERMODAL CERTIFICATION’.
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1 ‘‘(7) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection applies to

2 any person, domestic or foreign, who first tenders a

3 container or trailer subject to this chapter for inter4 modal transportation within the United States.’’.

5 (c) FORWARDING CERTIFICATIONS.—Subsection (c) of

6 section 5902 (relating to forwarding certifications to subse7 quent carriers) is amended—

8 (1) by striking ‘‘transportation.’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘transportation before or when the loaded intermodal

10 container or trailer is tendered to the subsequent car11 rier. If no certification is received by the subsequent

12 carrier before or when the container or trailer is ten13 dered to it, the subsequent carrier may presume that

14 no certification is required.’’; and

15 (2) by adding at the end thereof the following:

16 ‘‘If a person inaccurately transfers the information on

17 the certification, or fails to forward the certification

18 to a subsequent carrier, then that person is liable to

19 any person who incurs any bond, fine, penalty, cost

20 (including storage), or interest for any such fine, pen21 alty, cost (including storage), or interest incurred as

22 a result of the inaccurate transfer of information or

23 failure to forward the certification. A subsequent car24 rier who incurs a bond, fine, penalty, or cost (includ25 ing storage), or interest as a result of the inaccurate
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1 transfer of the information, or the failure to forward

2 the certification, shall have a lien against the contents

3 of the container or trailer under section 5905 in the

4 amount of the bond, fine, penalty, or cost (including

5 storage), or interest and all court costs and legal fees

6 incurred by the carrier as a result of such inaccurate

7 transfer or failure.’’.

8 (d) LIABILITY.—Section 5902 is amended by redesig9 nating subsection (d) as subsection (e), and by inserting

10 after subsection (c) the following:

11 ‘‘(d) LIABILITY TO OWNER OR BENEFICIAL OWNER.—

12 If—

13 ‘‘(1) a person inaccurately transfers information

14 on a certification required by subsection (b)(1), or

15 fails to forward a certification to the subsequent car16 rier;

17 ‘‘(2) as a result of the inaccurate transfer of such

18 information or a failure to forward a certification,

19 the subsequent carrier incurs a bond, fine, penalty, or

20 cost (including storage), or interest; and

21 ‘‘(3) that subsequent carrier exercises its rights to

22 a lien under section 5905,

23 then that person is liable to the owner or beneficial owner,

24 or to any other person paying the amount of the lien to

25 the subsequent carrier, for the amount of the lien and all
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1 costs related to the imposition of the lien, including court

2 costs and legal fees incurred in connection with it.’’.

3 (e) NONAPPLICATION.—Subsection (e) of section 5902,

4 as redesignated, is amended—

5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

6 paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and

7 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redesig8 nated, the following:

9 ‘‘(1) The notification and certification require10 ments of subsections (a) and (b) of this section do not

11 apply to any intermodal container or trailer contain12 ing consolidated shipments loaded by a motor carrier

13 if that motor carrier—

14 ‘‘(A) performs the highway portion of the

15 intermodal movement; or

16 ‘‘(B) assumes the responsibility for any

17 weight-related fine or penalty incurred by any

18 other motor carrier that performs a part of the

19 highway transportation.’’.

20 SEC. 205. PROHIBITIONS.

21 Section 5903 (relating to prohibitions) is amended—

22 (1) by inserting after ‘‘person’’ a comma and the

23 following: ‘‘To whom section 5902(b) applies,’’;

24 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the

25 following:
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1 ‘‘(b) TRANSPORTING PRIOR TO RECEIVING CERTIFI2 CATION.—

3 ‘‘(1) PRESUMPTION.—If no certification is re4 ceived by a motor carrier before or when a loaded

5 intermodal container or trailer is tendered to it, the

6 motor carrier may presume that the gross cargo

7 weight of the container or trailer is less than 29,001

8 pounds.

9 ‘‘(2) COPY OF CERTIFICATION NOT REQUIRED TO

10 ACCOMPANY CONTAINER OR TRAILER.—Notwithstand11 ing any other provision of this chapter to the con12 trary, a copy of the certification required by section

13 5902(b) is not required to accompany the intermodal

14 container or trailer.’’;

15 (3) by striking ‘‘10,000 pounds (including pack16 ing materials and pallets)’’ in subsection (c)(1) and

17 inserting ‘‘29,000 pounds’’; and

18 (4) by adding at the end the following:

19 ‘‘(d) NOTICE TO LEASED OPERATORS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a motor carrier knows

21 that the gross cargo weight of an intermodal con22 tainer or trailer subject to the certification require23 ments of section 5902(b) would result in a violation

24 of applicable State gross vehicle weight laws, then—
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1 ‘‘(A) the motor carrier shall give notice to

2 the operator of a vehicle which is leased by the

3 vehicle operator to a motor carrier that trans4 ports an intermodal container or trailer of the

5 gross cargo weight of the container or trailer as

6 certified to the motor carrier under section

7 5902(b);

8 ‘‘(B) the notice shall be provided to the op9 erator prior to the operator being tendered the

10 container or trailer;

11 ‘‘(C) the notice required by this subsection

12 shall be in writing, but may be transmitted elec13 tronically; and

14 ‘‘(D) the motor carrier shall bear the burden

15 of proof to establish that it tendered the required

16 notice to the operator.

17 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT.—If the operator of a

18 leased vehicle transporting a container or trailer sub19 ject to this chapter is fined because of a violation of

20 a State’s gross vehicle weight laws or regulations and

21 the lessee motor carrier cannot establish that it ten22 dered to the operator the notice required by para23 graph (1) of this subsection, then the operator shall be

24 entitled to reimbursement from the motor carrier in

25 the amount of any fine and court costs resulting from
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1 the failure of the motor carrier to tender the notice to

2 the operator.’’.

3 SEC. 206. LIENS.

4 Section 5905 (relating to liens) is amended—

5 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the

6 following:

7 ‘‘(a) GENERAL.—If a person involved in the inter8 modal transportation of a loaded container or trailer for

9 which a certification is required by section 5902(b) of this

10 title is required, because of a violation of a State’s gross

11 vehicle weight laws or regulations, to post a bond or pay

12 a fine, penalty, cost (including storage), or interest result13 ing from—

14 ‘‘(1) erroneous information provided by the cer15 tifying party in the certification to the first carrier

16 in violation of section 5903(a) of this title;

17 ‘‘(2) the failure of the party required to provide

18 the certification to the first carrier to provide it;

19 ‘‘(3) the failure of a person required under sec20 tion 5902(c) to forward the certification to forward it;

21 or

22 ‘‘(4) an error occurring in the transfer of infor23 mation on the certification to another document

24 under section 5902(b)(3) or (c), then the person post25 ing the bond, or paying the fine, penalty, costs (in-
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1 cluding storage), or interest has a lien against the

2 contents equal to the amount of the bond, fine, pen3 alty, cost (including storage), or interest incurred,

4 until the person receives a payment of that amount

5 from the owner or beneficial owner of the contents, or

6 from the person responsible for making or forwarding

7 the certification, or transferring the information from

8 the certification to another document.’’;

9 (2) by inserting a comma and ‘‘or the owner or

10 beneficial owner of the contents,’’ after ‘‘first carrier’’

11 in subsection 9(b)(1); and

12 (3) by striking ‘‘cost, or interest.’’ in subsection

13 (b)(1) and inserting ‘‘cost (including storage), or in14 terest. The lien shall remain in effect until the lien

15 holder has received payment for all costs and expenses

16 described in subsection (a) of this section.’’.

17 SEC. 207. PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.

18 Section 5906 (relating to perishable agricultural com19 modities) is amended by striking ‘‘Sections 5904(a)(2) an

20 5905 of this title do’’ and inserting ‘‘Section 5905 of this

21 title does’’.

22 SEC. 208. EFFECTIVE DATE.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5907 (relating to regula24 tions and effective date) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘§ 5907. Effective date

2 ‘‘This chapter shall take effect 180 days after the date

3 of enactment of the Intermodal Safe Container Transpor4 tation Amendments Act of 1996.’’.

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for

6 chapter 59 is amended by striking the item relating to sec7 tion 5907 and inserting the following:

‘‘5907. Effective date’’.

8 SEC. 209. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 59 is amended by adding

10 at the end thereof the following:

11 ‘‘§ 5908. Relationship to other laws

12 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter affects—

13 ‘‘(1) chapter 51 (relating to transportation of

14 hazardous material) or the regulations promulgated

15 under that chapter; or

16 ‘‘(2) any State highway weight or size law or

17 regulation applicable to tractor-trailer combina18 tions.’’.
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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for

2 such chapter is amended by adding at the end thereof the

3 following:

‘‘5908. Relationship to other laws’’.

Attest:

Secretary.
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104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3159

AMENDMENT