II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1743 

To provide greater transparency, accountability, and safety authority to the 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 9, 2015 

Mr. NELSON (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To provide greater transparency, accountability, and safety 

authority to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF4 ERENCES. 

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

6 ‘‘Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2015’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references. 

Sec. 2. Definition of Secretary. 

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TITLE I—TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

Sec. 101. Public availability of early warning data. 

Sec. 102. Additional early warning reporting requirements. 

Sec. 103. Improved National Highway Traffic Safety Administration vehicle 

safety databases. 

Sec. 104. Corporate responsibility for NHTSA reports. 

Sec. 105. Reports to Congress. 

TITLE II—ENHANCED SAFETY AUTHORITY AND CONSUMER 

PROTECTION 

Sec. 201. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 202. Criminal penalties. 

Sec. 203. Cooperation with foreign governments. 

Sec. 204. Imminent hazard authority. 

Sec. 205. Used passenger motor vehicle consumer protection. 

Sec. 206. Unattended children warning system. 

Sec. 207. Collision avoidance technologies. 

Sec. 208. Motor vehicle pedestrian protection. 

TITLE III—FUNDING 

Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE IV—RECALL PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS 

Sec. 401. Recall obligations under bankruptcy. 

Sec. 402. Dealer requirement to check for and remedy recall. 

Sec. 403. Application of remedies for defects and noncompliance. 

Sec. 404. Direct vehicle notification of recalls. 

Sec. 405. State notification of open safety recalls. 

Sec. 406. Recall completion pilot grant program. 

Sec. 407. Improvements to notification of defect or noncompliance. 

1 (c) REFERENCES TO TITLE 49, UNITED STATES

2 CODE.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever 

3 in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

6 section or other provision of title 49, United States Code. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 

8 In this Act, unless expressly provided otherwise, the 

9 term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Transportation. 

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1 TITLE I—TRANSPARENCY AND 

2 ACCOUNTABILITY 

3 SEC. 101. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF EARLY WARNING DATA. 

4 (a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promul6 gate regulations establishing categories of information 

7 provided to the Secretary under section 30166(m) of title 

8 49, United States Code, as amended by section 102 of this 

9 Act, that must be made available to the public. The Sec10 retary may establish categories of information that are ex11 empt from public disclosure under section 552(b) of title 

12 5, United States Code. 

13 (b) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the rulemaking 

14 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with the 

15 Director of the Office of Government Information Services 

16 within the National Archives and Records Administration 

17 and the Director of the Office of Information Policy of 

18 the Department of Justice. 

19 (c) PRESUMPTION AND LIMITATION.—The Secretary 

20 shall promulgate the regulations with a presumption in 

21 favor of maximum public availability of information. In 

22 promulgating regulations under subsection (a), the fol23 lowing types of information shall presumptively not be eli24 gible for protection under section 552(b) of title 5, United 

25 States Code: 

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1 (1) Vehicle safety defect information related to 

2 incidents involving death or injury. 

3 (2) Aggregated numbers of property damage 

4 claims. 

5 (3) Aggregated numbers of consumer com6 plaints related to potential vehicle defects. 

7 (d) NULLIFICATION OF PRIOR REGULATIONS.—Be8 ginning 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, 

9 the regulations establishing early warning reporting class 

10 determinations in Appendix C of part 512 of title 49, Code 

11 of Federal Regulations, shall have no force or effect. 

12 SEC. 102. ADDITIONAL EARLY WARNING REPORTING RE13 QUIREMENTS. 

14 Section 30166(m) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (3)(C)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘The manufacturer’’ and 

17 inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The manufac19 turer’’; and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(ii) FATAL INCIDENTS.—If an inci22 dent described in clause (i) involves a fa23 tality, the Secretary shall require the man24 ufacturer to submit, as part of its incident 

25 report— 

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1 ‘‘(I) all initial claim or notice 

2 documents, as defined by the Sec3 retary through regulation, except 

4 media reports, that notified the manu5 facturer of the incident; 

6 ‘‘(II) any police reports or other 

7 documents, as defined by the Sec8 retary through regulation, that relate 

9 to the initial claim or notice (except 

10 for documents that are protected by 

11 the attorney-client privilege or work 

12 product privileges that are not already 

13 publicly available), that describe or re14 construct the incident, and that are in 

15 the actual possession or control of the 

16 manufacturer at the time the incident 

17 report is submitted; 

18 ‘‘(III) any amendments or sup19 plements, as defined by the Secretary 

20 through regulation, to the initial claim 

21 or notice documents described in sub22 clause (I), except for— 

23 ‘‘(aa) medical documents 

24 and bills; 

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1 ‘‘(bb) property damage in2 voices or estimates; and 

3 ‘‘(cc) documents related to 

4 damages; and 

5 ‘‘(IV) any police reports or other 

6 documents described in subclause (II) 

7 that are obtained by the manufacturer 

8 after the submission of its incident re9 port.’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (4), by amending subpara11 graph (C) to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The information 

14 provided to the Secretary under this sub15 section shall— 

16 ‘‘(I) be disclosed publicly; and 

17 ‘‘(II) be entered into the early 

18 warning reporting database in a man19 ner specified by the Secretary through 

20 regulation that is searchable by manu21 facturer name, vehicle or equipment 

22 make and model name, model year, 

23 and reported system or component. 

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1 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION DISCLOSURE RE2 QUIREMENTS.—In administering this sub3 paragraph, the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(I) presume in favor of max5 imum public availability of informa6 tion; 

7 ‘‘(II) require the publication of 

8 information on incidents involving 

9 death or injury; and 

10 ‘‘(III) require the publication of 

11 numbers of property damage claims.’’; 

12 and 

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

14 ‘‘(6) SECTION 552 OF TITLE 5.—Any require15 ment for the Secretary to publicly disclose informa16 tion under this subsection shall be construed consist17 ently with the requirements of section 552 of title 5. 

18 ‘‘(7) USE OF EARLY WARNING REPORTS.—The 

19 Secretary shall consider information gathered under 

20 this subsection in proceedings described in sections 

21 30118 and 30162.’’. 

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1 SEC. 103. IMPROVED NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY 

2 ADMINISTRATION VEHICLE SAFETY DATA3 BASES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, and after public consulta6 tion, the Secretary shall improve public accessibility to in7 formation on the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin8 istration’s publicly accessible vehicle safety databases— 

9 (1) by improving organization and functionality, 

10 including design features such as drop-down menus, 

11 and allowing for data from all of the publicly acces12 sible vehicle safety databases to be searched, sorted, 

13 aggregated, and downloaded in a manner— 

14 (A) consistent with the public interest; and 

15 (B) that facilitates easy use by consumers; 

16 (2) by providing greater consistency in presen17 tation of vehicle safety issues; 

18 (3) by improving searchability about specific ve19 hicles and issues through standardization of com20 monly used search terms and the integration of 

21 databases to enable all to be simultaneously searched 

22 using the same keyword search function; and 

23 (4) by ensuring that all studies, investigation 

24 reports, inspection reports, incident reports, and 

25 other categories of materials, as specified through 

26 the rulemaking under section 101(a), be made pubmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 licly available in a manner that is searchable in 

2 databases by— 

3 (A) manufacturer name, vehicle or equip4 ment make and model name, and model year; 

5 (B) reported system or component; 

6 (C) number of injuries or fatalities; and 

7 (D) any other element that the Secretary 

8 determines to be in the public interest. 

9 (b) INVESTIGATION INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

10 shall— 

11 (1) provide public notice of information re12 quests to manufacturers issued under section 30166 

13 of title 49, United States Code; and 

14 (2) make such information requests, the manu15 facturer’s written responses to the information re16 quests, and notice of any enforcement or other ac17 tion taken as a result of the information requests— 

18 (A) available to consumers on the Internet 

19 not later than 5 days after such notice is 

20 issued; and 

21 (B) searchable by manufacturer name, ve22 hicle or equipment make and model name, 

23 model year, system or component, and the type 

24 of inspection or investigation being conducted. 

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1 (c) SECTION 552 OF TITLE 5.—Any requirement for 

2 the Secretary to publicly disclose information under this 

3 section shall be construed consistently with the require4 ments of section 552 of title 5, United States Code. 

5 SEC. 104. CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR NHTSA RE6 PORTS. 

7 Section 30166(o) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘may’’ and in9 serting ‘‘shall’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 the date of enactment of the Motor Vehicle Safety 

13 Act of 2015, the Secretary shall issue a final rule 

14 under paragraph (1).’’. 

15 SEC. 105. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

16 (a) ABILITY TO IDENTIFY AND INVESTIGATE VEHI17 CLE SAFETY CONCERNS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, and biennially 

20 thereafter for 6 years, the Inspector General of the 

21 Department of Transportation shall update the In22 spector General’s report dated June 18, 2015 (ST– 

23 2015–063), on the pre-investigation processes used 

24 by the Office of Defects Investigation of the Na25 tional Highway Traffic Safety Administration (remstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ferred to in this section as ‘‘NHTSA’’) to collect and 

2 analyze vehicle safety data and to determine poten3 tial safety issues and whether those processes were 

4 sufficiently improved, including an assessment of— 

5 (A) the sufficiency of NHTSA’s procedures 

6 and practices for collecting, verifying the accu7 racy and completeness of, analyzing, and deter8 mining whether to further investigate potential 

9 safety issues described in consumer complaints 

10 and manufacturer submittals to the early warn11 ing report system; 

12 (B) the number and type of requests for 

13 information made by NHTSA based on data re14 ceived in the early warning reporting system 

15 and consumer complaints received; 

16 (C) the number of safety defect investiga17 tions opened by NHTSA based on information 

18 reported to NHTSA through the early warning 

19 reporting system, consumer complaints, or 

20 other sources; 

21 (D) the nature and vehicle defect category 

22 of each safety defect investigation described in 

23 subparagraph (C); 

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1 (E) the duration of each safety defect in2 vestigation described in subparagraph (C), in3 cluding— 

4 (i) the number of safety defect inves5 tigations described in subparagraph (C) 

6 that are subsequently closed without fur7 ther action; and 

8 (ii) the number and description of 

9 safety defect investigations described in 

10 subparagraph (C) that have been open for 

11 more than 1 year; 

12 (F) the percentage of the safety defect in13 vestigations described in subparagraph (C) that 

14 result in a finding of a safety defect, recall, or 

15 service information campaign; 

16 (G) the status and sufficiency of NHTSA’s 

17 compliance with each recommendation designed 

18 to improve vehicle safety made by the Inspector 

19 General; and 

20 (H) other information the Inspector Gen21 eral considers appropriate. 

22 (2) REPORT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

24 after the date that a report under paragraph 

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1 (1) is complete, the Inspector General shall 

2 transmit the report to— 

3 (i) the Committee on Commerce, 

4 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; 

5 and 

6 (ii) the Committee on Energy and 

7 Commerce of the House of Representa8 tives. 

9 (B) PUBLIC.—The Inspector General shall 

10 make the report public as soon as practicable, 

11 but not later than 30 days after the date the 

12 report is transmitted under subparagraph (A). 

13 (b) REPORT ON OPERATIONS OF THE COUNCIL FOR

14 VEHICLE ELECTRONICS, VEHICLE SOFTWARE, AND

15 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary shall prepare a report regarding the oper19 ations of the Council for Vehicle Electronics, Vehicle 

20 Software, and Emerging Technologies established 

21 under section 31401 of the Moving Ahead for 

22 Progress in the 21st Century Act (49 U.S.C. 105 

23 note). The report shall include information about the 

24 accomplishments of the Council, the role of the 

25 Council in integrating and aggregating expertise 

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1 across NHTSA, and the priorities of the Council 

2 over the next 5 years. 

3 (2) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—The Secretary 

4 shall submit the report upon completion to the Com5 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

6 the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Com7 merce of the House of Representatives. 

8 TITLE II—ENHANCED SAFETY 

9 AUTHORITY AND CONSUMER 

10 PROTECTION 

11 SEC. 201. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30165(a) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) in the first sentence— 

15 (i) by inserting ‘‘or causes the viola16 tion of’’ after ‘‘violates’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

19 (B) by striking the third sentence; 

20 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000’’; and 

23 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

24 second sentence; and 

25 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

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1 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

2 causes the violation of’’ after ‘‘violates’’; 

3 (B) in the second sentence, by striking 

4 ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

5 (C) by striking the third sentence. 

6 (b) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be 

7 construed as preventing the imposition of penalties under 

8 section 30165 of title 49, United States Code, prior to 

9 the issuance of a final rule under section 31203(b) of the 

10 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (49 

11 U.S.C. 30165 note). 

12 SEC. 202. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

13 (a) REPORTING STANDARDS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part I of title 18, United 

15 States Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 

16 101 the following: 

17 ‘‘CHAPTER 101A—REPORTING STANDARDS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘2081. Definitions. 

‘‘2082. Failure to inform and warn. 

‘‘2083. Relationship to existing law. 

18 ‘‘§ 2081. Definitions 

19 ‘‘In this chapter— 

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘appropriate Federal agency’ 

21 means an agency with jurisdiction over a covered 

22 product, covered service, or business practice; 

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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘business entity’ means a cor2 poration, company, association, firm, partnership, 

3 sole proprietor, or other business entity; 

4 ‘‘(3) the term ‘business practice’ means a meth5 od or practice of— 

6 ‘‘(A) manufacturing, assembling, design7 ing, researching, importing, or distributing a 

8 covered product; 

9 ‘‘(B) conducting, providing, or preparing 

10 to provide a covered service; or 

11 ‘‘(C) otherwise carrying out business oper12 ations relating to covered products or covered 

13 services; 

14 ‘‘(4) the term ‘covered product’ means a prod15 uct manufactured, assembled, designed, researched, 

16 imported, or distributed by a business entity that en17 ters interstate commerce; 

18 ‘‘(5) the term ‘covered service’ means a service 

19 conducted or provided by a business entity that en20 ters interstate commerce; 

21 ‘‘(6) the term ‘responsible corporate officer’ 

22 means a person who— 

23 ‘‘(A) is an employer, director, or officer of 

24 a business entity; 

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1 ‘‘(B) has the responsibility and authority, 

2 by reason of his or her position in the business 

3 entity and in accordance with the rules or prac4 tice of the business entity, to acquire knowledge 

5 of any serious danger associated with a covered 

6 product (or component of a covered product), 

7 covered service, or business practice of the busi8 ness entity; and 

9 ‘‘(C) has the responsibility, by reason of 

10 his or her position in the business entity, to 

11 communicate information about the serious 

12 danger to— 

13 ‘‘(i) an appropriate Federal agency; 

14 ‘‘(ii) employees of the business entity; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(iii) individuals, other than employ17 ees of the business entity, who may be ex18 posed to the serious danger; 

19 ‘‘(7) the term ‘serious bodily injury’ means an 

20 impairment of the physical condition of an indi21 vidual, including as a result of trauma, repetitive 

22 motion, or disease, that— 

23 ‘‘(A) creates a substantial risk of death; or 

24 ‘‘(B) causes— 

25 ‘‘(i) serious permanent disfigurement; 

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1 ‘‘(ii) unconsciousness; 

2 ‘‘(iii) extreme pain; or 

3 ‘‘(iv) permanent or protracted loss or 

4 impairment of the function of any bodily 

5 member, organ, bodily system, or mental 

6 faculty; 

7 ‘‘(8) the term ‘serious danger’ means a danger, 

8 not readily apparent to a reasonable person, that the 

9 normal or reasonably foreseeable use of, or the expo10 sure of an individual to, a covered product, covered 

11 service, or business practice has an imminent risk of 

12 causing death or serious bodily injury to an indi13 vidual; and 

14 ‘‘(9) the term ‘warn affected employees’ means 

15 take reasonable steps to give, to each individual who 

16 is exposed or may be exposed to a serious danger in 

17 the course of work for a business entity, a descrip18 tion of the serious danger that is sufficient to make 

19 the individual aware of the serious danger. 

20 ‘‘§ 2082. Failure to inform and warn 

21 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—After acquiring actual knowl22 edge of a serious danger associated with a covered product 

23 (or component of a covered product), covered service, or 

24 business practice of a business entity, a business entity 

25 and any responsible corporate officer with respect to the 

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1 covered product, covered service, or business practice, 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) as soon as practicable and not later than 

4 24 hours after acquiring such knowledge, verbally 

5 inform an appropriate Federal agency of the serious 

6 danger, unless the business entity or responsible cor7 porate officer has actual knowledge that an appro8 priate Federal agency has been so informed; 

9 ‘‘(2) not later than 15 days after acquiring such 

10 knowledge, inform an appropriate Federal agency in 

11 writing of the serious danger; 

12 ‘‘(3) as soon as practicable, but not later than 

13 30 days after acquiring such knowledge, warn af14 fected employees in writing, unless the business enti15 ty or responsible corporate officer has actual knowl16 edge that affected employees have been so warned; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(4) as soon as practicable, but not later than 

19 30 days after acquiring such knowledge, inform indi20 viduals, other than affected employees, who may be 

21 exposed to the serious danger of the serious danger 

22 if such individuals can reasonably be identified. 

23 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly violates 

2 subsection (a) shall be fined under this title, impris3 oned for not more than 5 years, or both. 

4 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION OF PAYMENT BY BUSINESS

5 ENTITIES.—If a final judgment is rendered and a 

6 fine is imposed on an individual under this sub7 section, the fine may not be paid, directly or indi8 rectly, out of the assets of any business entity on be9 half of the individual. 

10 ‘‘(c) CIVIL ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST RETALIA11 TION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful to 

13 knowingly discriminate against any person in the 

14 terms or conditions of employment, in retention in 

15 employment, or in hiring because the person in16 formed a Federal agency, warned employees, or in17 formed other individuals of a serious danger associ18 ated with a covered product, covered service, or busi19 ness practice, as required under this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT ACTION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A person who alleges 

22 discharge or other discrimination by any person 

23 in violation of paragraph (1) may seek relief 

24 under paragraph (3), by— 

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1 ‘‘(i) filing a complaint with the Sec2 retary of Labor; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) if the Secretary has not issued a 

4 final decision within 180 days of the filing 

5 of the complaint and there is no showing 

6 that such delay is due to the bad faith of 

7 the claimant, bringing an action at law or 

8 equity for de novo review in the appro9 priate district court of the United States, 

10 which shall have jurisdiction over such an 

11 action without regard to the amount in 

12 controversy. 

13 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURE.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An action under 

15 subparagraph (A)(i) shall be governed 

16 under the rules and procedures set forth in 

17 section 42121(b) of title 49. 

18 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notification made 

19 under section 42121(b)(1) of title 49 shall 

20 be made to the person named in the com21 plaint and to the employer. 

22 ‘‘(iii) BURDENS OF PROOF.—An ac23 tion brought under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

24 shall be governed by the legal burdens of 

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1 proof set forth in section 42121(b) of title 

2 49. 

3 ‘‘(iv) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An 

4 action under subparagraph (A) shall be 

5 commenced not later than 180 days after 

6 the date on which the violation occurs, or 

7 after the date on which the employee be8 came aware of the violation. 

9 ‘‘(v) JURY TRIAL.—A party to an ac10 tion brought under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

11 shall be entitled to trial by jury. 

12 ‘‘(3) REMEDIES.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An employee pre14 vailing in any action under paragraph (2)(A) 

15 shall be entitled to all relief necessary to make 

16 the employee whole. 

17 ‘‘(B) COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.—Relief 

18 for any action under subparagraph (A) shall in19 clude— 

20 ‘‘(i) reinstatement with the same se21 niority status that the employee would 

22 have had, but for the discrimination; 

23 ‘‘(ii) the amount of back pay, with in24 terest; and 

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1 ‘‘(iii) compensation for any special 

2 damages sustained as a result of the dis3 crimination, including litigation costs, ex4 pert witness fees, and reasonable attorney 

5 fees. 

6 ‘‘(4) RIGHTS RETAINED BY EMPLOYEE.—Noth7 ing in this subsection shall be deemed to diminish 

8 the rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee 

9 under any Federal or State law, or under any collec10 tive bargaining agreement. 

11 ‘‘(5) NONENFORCEABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI12 SIONS WAIVING RIGHTS AND REMEDIES OR REQUIR13 ING ARBITRATION OF DISPUTES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) WAIVER OF RIGHTS AND REM15 EDIES.—The rights and remedies provided for 

16 in this subsection may not be waived by any 

17 agreement, policy form, or condition of employ18 ment, including by a predispute arbitration 

19 agreement. 

20 ‘‘(B) PREDISPUTE ARBITRATION AGREE21 MENTS.—No predispute arbitration agreement 

22 shall be valid or enforceable, if the agreement 

23 requires arbitration of a dispute arising under 

24 this subsection. 

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1 ‘‘§ 2083. Relationship to existing law 

2 ‘‘(a) RIGHTS TO INTERVENE.—Nothing in this chap3 ter shall be construed to limit the right of any individual 

4 or group of individuals to initiate, intervene in, or other5 wise participate in any proceeding before a regulatory 

6 agency or court, nor to relieve any regulatory agency, 

7 court, or other public body of any obligation, or affect its 

8 discretion to permit intervention or participation by an in9 dividual or a group or class of consumers, employees, or 

10 citizens in any proceeding or activity. 

11 ‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

12 chapter shall be construed to— 

13 ‘‘(1) increase the time period for informing of 

14 a serious danger or other harm under any other pro15 vision of law; or 

16 ‘‘(2) limit or otherwise reduce the penalties for 

17 any violation of Federal or State law under any 

18 other provision of law.’’. 

19 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND20 MENT.—The table of chapters for part I of title 18, 

21 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

22 the item relating to chapter 101 the following: 

‘‘101A. Reporting standards ................................................................... 2081’’. 

23 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

24 by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall take effect on the 

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1 date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 (b) PROHIBITION ON RENDERING SAFETY ELE4 MENTS INOPERATIVE.—Section 30122 is amended by 

5 amending subsection (b) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), a person may not knowingly make inoper9 ative any part of a device or element of design in10 stalled on or in a motor vehicle or motor vehicle 

11 equipment in compliance with an applicable motor 

12 vehicle safety standard prescribed under this chapter 

13 unless the person reasonably believes the vehicle or 

14 equipment will not be used (except for testing or a 

15 similar purpose during maintenance or repair) when 

16 the device or element is inoperative. 

17 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition under para18 graph (1) does not apply to a modification made by 

19 an individual to a motor vehicle or item of equip20 ment owned or leased by that individual.’’. 

21 (c) CRIMINAL LIABILITY.—Section 30170 is amend22 ed by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(c) CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR TAMPERING WITH

24 MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ELEMENTS.—Whoever knowing 

25 that he will endanger the safety of any person on board 

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1 a motor vehicle or anyone who he believes will board the 

2 same, or with a reckless disregard for the safety of human 

3 life, violates section 30122(b) under this title shall be sub4 ject to criminal penalties under section 33(a) of title 18.’’. 

5 SEC. 203. COOPERATION WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS. 

6 (a) TITLE 49 AMENDMENT.—Section 30182(b) is 

7 amended— 

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

9 inserting a semicolon; 

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

11 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(6) enter into cooperative agreements (in co15 ordination with the Department of State) and col16 laborative research and development agreements 

17 with foreign governments.’’. 

18 (b) TITLE 23 AMENDMENT.—Section 403 of title 23, 

19 United States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(C), by inserting ‘‘for21 eign government (in coordination with the Depart22 ment of State),’’ after ‘‘institution,’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘for24 eign governments,’’ after ‘‘local governments,’’. 

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1 SEC. 204. IMMINENT HAZARD AUTHORITY. 

2 Section 30118(b) is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1) The Sec4 retary may’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Ex5 cept as provided under paragraph (3), the Secretary 

6 may’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘ORDERS.— 

8 ’’ before ‘‘If the Secretary’’; and 

9 (3) by adding after paragraph (2) the following: 

10 ‘‘(3) IMMINENT HAZARDS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) DECISIONS AND ORDERS.—If the 

12 Secretary makes an initial decision that a defect 

13 or noncompliance, or combination of both, 

14 under subsection (a) presents an imminent haz15 ard, the Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall notify the manufacturer of a 

17 motor vehicle or replacement equipment 

18 immediately under subsection (a); 

19 ‘‘(ii) shall order the manufacturer of 

20 the motor vehicle or replacement equip21 ment to immediately— 

22 ‘‘(I) give notification under sec23 tion 30119 of this title to the owners, 

24 purchasers, and dealers of the vehicle 

25 or equipment of the imminent hazard; 

26 and 

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1 ‘‘(II) remedy the defect or non2 compliance under section 30120 of 

3 this title; 

4 ‘‘(iii) notwithstanding section 30119 

5 or 30120, may order the time for notifica6 tion, means of providing notification, ear7 liest remedy date, and time the owner or 

8 purchaser has to present the motor vehicle 

9 or equipment, including a tire, for remedy; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iv) may include in an order under 

12 this subparagraph any other terms or con13 ditions that the Secretary determines nec14 essary to abate the imminent hazard. 

15 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY FOR ADMINISTRATIVE

16 REVIEW.—Subsequent to the issuance of an 

17 order under subparagraph (A), opportunity for 

18 administrative review shall be provided in ac19 cordance with section 554 of title 5, except that 

20 such review shall occur not later than 10 days 

21 after issuance of such order. 

22 ‘‘(C) DEFINITION OF IMMINENT HAZ23 ARD.—In this paragraph, the term ‘imminent 

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1 tially increases the likelihood of serious injury 

2 or death if not remedied immediately.’’. 

3 SEC. 205. USED PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE CONSUMER 

4 PROTECTION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30120 is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(k) LIMITATION ON SALE OR LEASE OF USED PAS8 SENGER MOTOR VEHICLES.—(1) A dealer may not sell or 

9 lease a used passenger motor vehicle until any defect or 

10 noncompliance determined under section 30118 with re11 spect to the vehicle has been remedied. 

12 ‘‘(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply if— 

13 ‘‘(A) the recall information regarding a used 

14 passenger motor vehicle was not accessible at the 

15 time of sale or lease using the means established by 

16 the Secretary under section 31301 of the Moving 

17 Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (49 

18 U.S.C. 30166 note); or 

19 ‘‘(B) notification of the defect or noncompliance 

20 is required under section 30118(b), but enforcement 

21 of the order is set aside in a civil action to which 

22 30121(d) applies. 

23 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding section 30102(a)(1), in this 

24 subsection— 

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1 ‘‘(A) the term ‘dealer’ means a person that has 

2 sold at least 10 motor vehicles to 1 or more con3 sumers during the most recent 12-month period; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the term ‘used passenger motor vehicle’ 

5 means a motor vehicle that has previously been pur6 chased other than for resale. 

7 ‘‘(4) By rule, the Secretary may exempt the auc8 tioning of a used passenger motor vehicle from the re9 quirements under paragraph (1) to the extent that the ex10 emption does not harm public safety.’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

12 subsection (a) of this section shall take effect on the date 

13 that is 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 206. UNATTENDED CHILDREN WARNING SYSTEM. 

15 (a) SAFETY RESEARCH INITIATIVE.—Not later than 

16 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec17 retary shall complete research into the development of per18 formance requirements to warn a driver that a child or 

19 other unattended passenger remains in a rear seating posi20 tion after a vehicle motor is disengaged. 

21 (b) SPECIFICATIONS.—In completing the research 

22 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider perform23 ance requirements that— 

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1 (1) sense weight, the presence of a buckled seat 

2 belt, or other indications of the presence of a child 

3 or other passenger; and 

4 (2) provide an alert to prevent hyperthermia 

5 and hypothermia that can result in death or severe 

6 injuries. 

7 (c) RULEMAKING OR REPORT.— 

8 (1) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after 

9 the date that the research under subsection (a) is 

10 complete, the Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking 

11 proceeding to issue a Federal motor vehicle safety 

12 standard if the Secretary determines that such a 

13 standard meets the requirements and considerations 

14 set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of section 30111 

15 of title 49, United States Code. The Secretary shall 

16 complete the rulemaking and issue a final rule not 

17 later than 2 years after the date the rulemaking is 

18 initiated. 

19 (2) REPORT.—If the Secretary determines that 

20 the standard described in subsection (a) does not 

21 meet the requirements and considerations set forth 

22 in subsections (a) and (b) of section 30111 of title 

23 49, United States Code, the Secretary shall submit 

24 a report describing the reasons for not prescribing 

25 such a standard to— 

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1 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

2 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

3 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com4 merce of the House of Representatives. 

5 SEC. 207. COLLISION AVOIDANCE TECHNOLOGIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall initiate 

8 a rulemaking to establish a Federal motor vehicle safety 

9 standard requiring a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle 

10 weight rating greater than 26,000 pounds be equipped 

11 with crash avoidance and mitigation systems, such as for12 ward collision automatic braking systems and lane depar13 ture warning systems. 

14 (b) PERFORMANCE AND STANDARDS.—The regula15 tions prescribed under subsection (a) shall establish per16 formance requirements and standards to prevent collisions 

17 with moving vehicles, stopped vehicles, pedestrians, cy18 clists, and other road users. 

19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The regulations prescribed 

20 by the Secretary under this section shall take effect 2 

21 years after the date of publication of the final rule. 

22 SEC. 208. MOTOR VEHICLE PEDESTRIAN PROTECTION. 

23 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, the Secretary, through the Administrator 

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1 of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 

2 shall issue a final rule that— 

3 (1) establishes standards for the hood and 

4 bumper areas of motor vehicles, including passenger 

5 cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and 

6 buses with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 

7 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less, in order to re8 duce the number of injuries and fatalities suffered 

9 by pedestrians who are struck by such vehicles; and 

10 (2) considers the protection of vulnerable pedes11 trian populations, including children and older 

12 adults. 

13 TITLE III—FUNDING 

14 SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 Section 30104 is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘$98,313,500’’; and 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘this part in each fiscal year be18 ginning in fiscal year 1999 and ending in fiscal year 

19 2001.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘this chapter 

20 and to carry out the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 

21 2015— 

22 ‘‘(1) $179,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

23 ‘‘(2) $187,055,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

24 ‘‘(3) $195,659,530 for fiscal year 2018; 

25 ‘‘(4) $204,268,549 for fiscal year 2019; 

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1 ‘‘(5) $214,073,440 for fiscal year 2020; and 

2 ‘‘(6) $223,920,818 for fiscal year 2021.’’. 

3 TITLE IV—RECALL PROCESS 

4 IMPROVEMENTS 

5 SEC. 401. RECALL OBLIGATIONS UNDER BANKRUPTCY. 

6 Section 30120A is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘§ 30120A. Recall obligations and bankruptcy of a 

8 manufacturer 

9 ‘‘Notwithstanding any provision of title 11, United 

10 States Code, a manufacturer’s duty to comply with section 

11 30112, sections 30115 through 30121, and section 30166 

12 of this title shall be enforceable against a manufacturer 

13 or a manufacturer’s successors-in-interest whether accom14 plished by merger or by acquisition of the manufacturer’s 

15 stock, the acquisition of all or substantially all of the man16 ufacturer’s assets or a discrete product line, or confirma17 tion of any plan of reorganization under section 1129 of 

18 title 11.’’. 

19 SEC. 402. DEALER REQUIREMENT TO CHECK FOR AND REM20 EDY RECALL. 

21 Section 30120(f) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(f) DEALERS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) FAIR REIMBURSEMENT TO DEALERS.—A 

24 manufacturer shall pay fair reimbursement to a 

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1 dealer providing a remedy without charge under this 

2 section. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Each time a defective 

4 or noncomplying motor vehicle is presented to a 

5 dealer by the owner of that motor vehicle for any 

6 service on that motor vehicle, the dealer shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) inform the owner of the defect or 

8 noncompliance; and 

9 ‘‘(B) with consent from the owner, remedy 

10 the defect or noncompliance without charge 

11 under this section.’’. 

12 SEC. 403. APPLICATION OF REMEDIES FOR DEFECTS AND 

13 NONCOMPLIANCE. 

14 Section 30120(g)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘the 

15 motor vehicle or replacement equipment was bought by the 

16 first purchaser more than 10 calendar years, or’’. 

17 SEC. 404. DIRECT VEHICLE NOTIFICATION OF RECALLS. 

18 (a) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 1 year after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall initiate 

20 a rulemaking for a regulation to require a warning system 

21 in each new motor vehicle to indicate to the operator in 

22 a conspicuous manner when the vehicle is subject to an 

23 open recall. 

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1 (b) FINAL RULE.—The Secretary shall prescribe 

2 final standards not later than 3 years after the date of 

3 enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 405. STATE NOTIFICATION OF OPEN SAFETY RECALLS. 

5 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—Not later than 2 years after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es7 tablish a grant program for States to notify registered 

8 motor vehicle owners of safety recalls issued by the manu9 facturers of those motor vehicles. 

10 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant, a State 

11 shall— 

12 (1) submit an application in such form and 

13 manner as the Secretary prescribes; 

14 (2) agree that when a motor vehicle owner reg15 isters the motor vehicle for use in that State, the 

16 State will— 

17 (A) search the recall database maintained 

18 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin19 istration using the motor vehicle identification 

20 number; 

21 (B) determine all safety recalls issued by 

22 the manufacturer of that motor vehicle that 

23 have not been completed; and 

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1 (C) notify the motor vehicle owner of the 

2 safety recalls described in subparagraph (B); 

3 and 

4 (3) provide such other information or notifica5 tion as the Secretary may require. 

6 SEC. 406. RECALL COMPLETION PILOT GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

8 pilot program to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness 

9 of a State process for increasing the recall completion rate 

10 for motor vehicles by requiring each owner or lessee of 

11 a motor vehicle to have repaired any open recall on that 

12 motor vehicle. 

13 (b) GRANTS.—To carry out this program, the Sec14 retary shall make a grant to a State to be used to imple15 ment the pilot program described in subsection (a) in ac16 cordance with the requirements under subsection (c). 

17 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant under 

18 this section, a State shall— 

19 (1) submit an application in such form and 

20 manner as the Secretary prescribes; 

21 (2) meet the requirements and provide notifica22 tion of safety recalls to registered motor vehicle own23 ers under the grant program described in section 

24 405 of this Act; 

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1 (3) except as provided in subsection (d), agree 

2 to require, as a condition of motor vehicle registra3 tion, including renewal, that the motor vehicle owner 

4 or lessee complete all remedies for defects and non5 compliance offered without charge by the manufac6 turer or a dealer under section 30120 of title 49, 

7 United States Code; and 

8 (4) provide such other information or notifica9 tion as the Secretary may require. 

10 (d) EXCEPTION.—A State may exempt a motor vehi11 cle owner or lessee from the requirement under subsection 

12 (c)(3) if— 

13 (1) the recall occurred not earlier than 75 days 

14 prior to the registration or renewal date; 

15 (2) the manufacturer, through a local dealer16 ship, has not provided the motor vehicle owner or 

17 lessee with a reasonable opportunity to complete any 

18 applicable safety recall remedy due to a shortage of 

19 necessary parts or qualified labor; or 

20 (3) the motor vehicle owner or lessee states that 

21 the owner or lessee has had no reasonable oppor22 tunity to complete all applicable safety recall rem23 edies, in which case the State may grant a tem24 porary registration, of not more than 90 days, dur25 ing which time the motor vehicle owner or lessee 

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1 shall complete all applicable safety recall remedies 

2 for which the necessary parts and qualified labor are 

3 available. 

4 (e) AWARD.—In selecting an applicant for award 

5 under this section, the Secretary shall consider the State’s 

6 methodology for— 

7 (1) determining safety recalls on a motor vehi8 cle; 

9 (2) informing the owner or lessee of a motor ve10 hicle of the safety recalls; 

11 (3) requiring the owner or lessee of a motor ve12 hicle to repair any safety recall prior to issuing any 

13 registration, approval, document, or certificate re14 lated to a motor vehicle registration renewal; and 

15 (4) determining performance in increasing the 

16 safety recall completion rate. 

17 (f) PERFORMANCE PERIOD.—A grant awarded under 

18 this section shall require a performance period for at least 

19 2 years. 

20 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the com21 pletion of the performance period under subsection (f) and 

22 the obligations under the pilot program, the grantee shall 

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1 essary to evaluate the extent to which safety recalls have 

2 been remedied. 

3 (h) EVALUATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

4 date the Secretary receives the report under subsection 

5 (g), the Secretary shall evaluate the extent to which safety 

6 recalls identified under subsection (c) have been remedied. 

7 SEC. 407. IMPROVEMENTS TO NOTIFICATION OF DEFECT 

8 OR NONCOMPLIANCE. 

9 (a) IMPROVEMENTS TO NOTIFICATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 270 days 

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary shall prescribe a final rule revising the regula13 tions under section 577.7 of title 49, Code of Fed14 eral Regulations, to include notification by electronic 

15 means in addition to notification by first class mail. 

16 (2) DEFINITION OF ELECTRONIC MEANS.—In 

17 this subsection, the term ‘‘electronic means’’ in18 cludes electronic mail and may include such other 

19 means of electronic notification, such as social media 

20 or targeted online campaigns, as determined by the 

21 Secretary. 

22 (b) NOTIFICATION BY ELECTRONIC MAIL.—Section 

23 30118(c) is amended by inserting ‘‘or electronic mail’’ 

24 after ‘‘certified mail’’. 

Æ 

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