II 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1776

To amend title 49, United States Code, relating to responsibility for intermodal equipment compliance with commercial motor vehicle safety requirements, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 23, 2003

Mr. CAMPBELL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL

To amend title 49, United States Code, relating to responsibility for intermodal equipment compliance with commercial motor vehicle safety requirements, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Intermodal Equipment 

5 Safety and Responsibility Act of 2003’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 
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1 (1) Promoting safety on United States high2 ways is a national priority. The Secretary of Trans3 portation has promulgated the Federal Motor Car4 rier Safety Regulations to further this purpose. The 

5 systematic maintenance, repair, and inspection of 

6 equipment traveling on public highways in interstate 

7 commerce are an integral part of this safety regime. 

8 (2) Intermodal transportation plays a signifi9 cant role in expanding the United States economy, 

10 which depends heavily upon the ability to transport 

11 goods by various modes of transportation. 

12 (3) Although motor carriers and their drivers 

13 often receive trailers, chassis, containers, and other 

14 items of intermodal equipment to be transported in 

15 interstate commerce, they do not possess the req16 uisite level of control or authority over this inter17 modal equipment to perform the systematic mainte18 nance, repair, and inspection necessary to ensure 

19 compliance with the applicable Federal Motor Car20 rier Safety Regulations and to ensure the safety of 

21 United States highways. 

22 (4) As a result of roadside inspections, motor 

23 carriers and their drivers are cited and fined for vio24 lations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regula25 tions attributable to intermodal equipment that they 
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1 do not have the opportunity to systematically main2 tain. These violations negatively affect the safety 

3 records of motor carriers. 

4 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

5 The purpose of this Act is to ensure that only those 

6 parties that control intermodal equipment transported on 

7 public highways in the United States (and thus have the 

8 opportunity and authority to systematically maintain, re9 pair, and inspect the intermodal equipment) have legal re10 sponsibility for the safety of that equipment as it travels 

11 in interstate commerce. 

12 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

13 Section 5901 of title 49, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following new para15 graphs: 

16 ‘‘(9) ‘motor carrier’ includes—

17 ‘‘(A) a motor private carrier, as defined in 

18 section 13102 of this title; and 

19 ‘‘(B) an agent of a motor carrier. 

20 ‘‘(10) ‘intermodal equipment’—

21 ‘‘(A) means equipment that is commonly 

22 used in the intermodal transportation of freight 

23 over public highways as an instrumentality of 

24 foreign or interstate commerce; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) includes a trailer, chassis, container, 

2 and any device associated with a trailer, chas3 sis, or container. 

4 ‘‘(11) ‘equipment interchange agreement’, with 

5 respect to intermodal equipment, means a written 

6 document that—

7 ‘‘(A) is executed by a controller of the 

8 equipment, or its agent, and a motor carrier; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(B) establishes the responsibilities and li11 abilities of both parties as they relate to the 

12 interchange of the equipment. 

13 ‘‘(12) ‘controller’, with respect to intermodal 

14 equipment, means any party that has any legal 

15 right, title, or interest in the equipment, except that 

16 a motor carrier—

17 ‘‘(A) is not a controller of the equipment 

18 solely because it provides or arranges for any 

19 part of the intermodal transportation of the 

20 equipment; and 

21 ‘‘(B) may not be considered a controller of 

22 the equipment if authority for systematic main23 tenance and repairs of the equipment has not 

24 been delegated to the motor carrier. 
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1 ‘‘(13) ‘interchange’, with respect to intermodal 

2 equipment, means the act of providing the equip3 ment to a motor carrier for the purpose of trans4 porting the equipment for loading or unloading by 

5 any party or repositioning the equipment for the 

6 benefit of the equipment controller, except that such 

7 term does not mean the leasing of the equipment to 

8 a motor carrier for use in the motor carrier’s over9 the-road freight hauling operations. 

10 ‘‘(14) ‘applicable safety regulations’ means the 

11 regulations applicable to controllers of intermodal 

12 equipment under section 5909 of this title.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. JURISDICTION OVER EQUIPMENT CONTROLLERS. 

14 Chapter 59 of title 49, United States Code, is amend15 ed by adding at the end the following new section: 

16 ‘‘§ 5909. Jurisdiction over equipment controller 

17 ‘‘The authority of the Secretary of Transportation to 

18 prescribe regulations on commercial motor vehicle safety 

19 under section 31136 of this title shall apply to controllers 

20 of intermodal equipment that is interchanged or to be 

21 interchanged.’’. 

22 SEC. 6. EQUIPMENT CONTROLLER RESPONSIBILITY. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 59 of title 49, United 

24 States Code, as amended by section 5, is further amended 

25 by adding at the end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘§ 5910. Equipment inspection, repair, and mainte2 nance 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provision 

4 of an equipment interchange agreement, a controller of 

5 intermodal equipment that is interchanged or to be inter6 changed—

7 ‘‘(1) shall be responsible and held liable for the 

8 systematic inspection, maintenance, and repair of 

9 the equipment; 

10 ‘‘(2) shall, each time prior to offering a motor 

11 carrier the equipment for interchange, inspect the 

12 equipment and provide such maintenance on, and 

13 make such repairs to, the equipment to ensure that 

14 such equipment complies with all applicable safety 

15 regulations at all times; and 

16 ‘‘(3) shall not offer intermodal equipment to a 

17 motor carrier unless such equipment has been in18 spected and repaired as necessary to comply with 

19 such regulations. 

20 ‘‘(b) REIMBURSEMENT.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event that a repair 

22 of interchanged intermodal equipment is necessary 

23 while in a motor carrier’s possession in order to 

24 comply with applicable safety regulations, the con25 troller of the equipment shall promptly reimburse 

26 the motor carrier for the actual expenses that are in-
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1 curred by the motor carrier for the necessary repair, 

2 together with compensation for any loss incurred by 

3 the motor carrier by reason of delay in the transpor4 tation of the equipment necessitated by the need for 

5 the repair. 

6 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The controller of intermodal 

7 equipment shall not be liable to provide reimburse8 ment or compensation for a repair to a motor carrier 

9 under paragraph (1) if the motor carrier’s neg10 ligence or willful misconduct caused the condition re11 quiring the repair. 

12 ‘‘(c) FINES.—The Secretary may prescribe fines 

13 against controllers of intermodal equipment for violations 

14 of this section.’’. 

15 SEC. 7. SAFETY COMPLIANCE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 59 of title 49, United 

17 States Code, as amended by section 6, is further amended 

18 by adding at the end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 5911. Compliance with safety regulations 

20 ‘‘(a) LIABILITY OF EQUIPMENT CONTROLLER.—Not21 withstanding any provision of an equipment interchange 

22 agreement, the controller of intermodal equipment covered 

23 by such agreement shall be liable for each violation of ap24 plicable safety regulations that is attributable to such 

25 equipment and shall pay any fine, penalty, and damages 
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1 resulting from such violation, except that the controller 

2 of such equipment shall not be liable for any such viola3 tions that is proximately caused by the negligence or will4 ful misconduct of a motor carrier that is not the controller 

5 of such equipment. 

6 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY OF MOTOR CAR7 RIER.—A motor carrier who receives intermodal equip8 ment through interchange may not be held liable for a vio9 lation of applicable safety regulations that is attributable 

10 to such equipment other than under the circumstances 

11 and to the extent provided in subsection (a). 

12 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON EFFECT.—No record or report 

13 of a violation of applicable safety regulations attributable 

14 to interchanged intermodal equipment, whether issued by 

15 a Federal, State, or local law enforcement authority, shall 

16 have any effect on a motor carrier’s overall safety rating 

17 or safety status measurement system score, as determined 

18 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, or 

19 on a driving record of a driver for the motor carrier unless 

20 such violation was proximately caused by the negligence 

21 or willful misconduct of the motor carrier or driver, re22 spectively. 

23 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURE FOR RECORDS CORRECTIONS.—

24 The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe an expe25 dited procedure to correct records or reports of violations 
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1 that under subsection (c) should not have been adversely 

2 affected by a violation of applicable safety regulations.’’. 

3 (b) TIME FOR PRESCRIBING RECORDS CORRECTION

4 PROCEDURES.—The Secretary shall issue final regulations 

5 setting forth the expedited procedures required by section 

6 5910(d) of title 49, United States Code, not later than 

7 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 8. AUTHORITY TO INSPECT. 

9 Chapter 59 of title 49, United States Code, as 

10 amended by section 7, is further amended by adding at 

11 the end the following new section: 

12 ‘‘§ 5912. Authority to inspect 

13 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Transportation 

14 is authorized to enter any facility of a controller of inter15 modal equipment interchanged for use on a public highway 

16 in order to inspect the equipment to determine whether 

17 the equipment complies with the applicable regulations. 

18 ‘‘(b) INSPECTION PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall es19 tablish and implement with appropriate staffing an inspec20 tion and audit program at facilities of controllers of inter21 modal equipment in order to make determinations under 

22 subsection (a). Inspection of equipment and maintenance 

23 records for such equipment at such facility shall take place 

24 not less frequently than once every 3 months. 
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1 ‘‘(c) NON-COMPLYING EQUIPMENT.—Any intermodal 

2 equipment that is determined under this section as failing 

3 to comply with applicable safety regulations shall be 

4 placed out of service and may not be used on a public 

5 highway until the repairs necessary to bring such equip6 ment into compliance have been completed. Repairs of 

7 equipment placed out of service shall be documented in 

8 the maintenance records for such equipment.’’. 

9 SEC. 9. PROHIBITION ON RETALIATION. 

10 Chapter 59 of title 49, United States Code, as 

11 amended by section 8, is further amended by adding at 

12 the end the following new section: 

13 ‘‘§ 5913. Penalties for retaliation 

14 ‘‘(a) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.—A controller of 

15 intermodal equipment may not take any action to threat16 en, coerce, discipline, discriminate, or otherwise retaliate 

17 against a motor carrier in response to a request made by 

18 the motor carrier for maintenance or repair of equipment 

19 intended for interchange in order to comply with the appli20 cable safety regulations. 

21 ‘‘(b) FAILURE TO TIMELY PROVIDE SAFE EQUIP22 MENT DEEMED TO BE RETALIATION.—Upon receiving a 

23 motor carrier’s request for maintenance or repair of inter24 modal equipment to be picked up by the motor carrier in 

25 an interchange of equipment, the controller of intermodal
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1 equipment shall be considered to have retaliated against 

2 the motor carrier for the purposes of this section if the 

3 controller of intermodal equipment fails to provide the 

4 motor carrier with the equipment in a condition compliant 

5 with the applicable safety regulations within 60 minutes 

6 after the motor carrier arrives to pick up the equipment 

7 at the place where the equipment is to be picked up. 

8 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.—A controller of intermodal equip9 ment that violates subsection (a) shall be liable to the 

10 United States Government for a civil penalty of up to 

11 $10,000 for each violation.’’. 

12 SEC. 10. DELEGATION OF MAINTENANCE RESPONSIBILITY. 

13 Chapter 59 of title 49, United States Code, as 

14 amended by section 9, is further amended by adding at 

15 the end the following new section: 

16 ‘‘§ 5914. Maintenance responsibility 

17 ‘‘A controller of intermodal equipment may not dele18 gate its responsibility to systematically maintain and re19 pair equipment intended for interchange to a motor car20 rier or motor carrier agent in an equipment interchange 

21 agreement.’’. 

22 SEC. 11. COMPATIBILITY OF STATE LAWS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 59 of title 49, United 

24 States Code, as amended by section 10, is further amend25 ed by adding at the end the following new section: 
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1 ‘‘§ 5915. Compatibility of State laws 

2 ‘‘(a) PREEMPTION GENERALLY.—Except as provided 

3 in subsection (b) or as otherwise authorized by Federal 

4 law, a law, regulation, order, or other requirement of a 

5 State or political subdivision of a State, or of a tribal orga6 nization, is preempted if compliance with such law, regula7 tion, order, or other requirement would preclude compli8 ance with a requirement imposed under this chapter. 

9 ‘‘(b) CERTAIN RULES NOT PREEMPTED.—A law, reg10 ulation, order, or other requirement of a State or political 

11 subdivision of a State, or of a tribal organization, shall 

12 not be preempted under subsection (a) if such law, regula13 tion, order, or other requirement is more stringent than, 

14 but otherwise compatible with, a requirement under this 

15 chapter. 

16 ‘‘(c) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this sec17 tion, the term ‘tribal organization’ has the meaning given 

18 such term in section (4)(l) of the Indian Self-Determina19 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(l)).’’. 

20 SEC. 12. REPEAL OF OBSOLETE PROVISION. 

21 Section 5907 of title 49, United States Code, is re22 pealed. 

23 SEC. 13. CLERICAL AMENDMENTS. 

24 The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter 

25 is amended—
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1 (1) by striking the item relating to section 

2 5907; and 

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

‘‘5909. Jurisdiction over equipment controller. 

‘‘5910. Equipment inspection, repair, and maintenance. 

‘‘5911. Compliance with safety regulations. 

‘‘5912. Authority to inspect. 

‘‘5913. Penalties for retaliation. 

‘‘5914. Maintenance responsibility. 

‘‘5915. Compatibility of State laws.’’.

4 SEC. 14. IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS. 

5 (a) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Transpor6 tation, after notice and opportunity for comment, shall 

7 issue regulations implementing the provisions of this Act. 

8 The regulations shall be issued as part of the Federal 

9 Motor Carrier Safety Regulations of the Department of 

10 Transportation. The implementing regulations shall in11 clude—

12 (1) a requirement to identify controllers of 

13 intermodal equipment that is interchanged or in14 tended for interchange in intermodal transportation; 

15 (2) a requirement to match such equipment 

16 readily to its controller through a unique identifying 

17 number; 

18 (3) a requirement to ensure that each controller 

19 of intermodal equipment maintains a system of 

20 maintenance and repair records for such equipment; 
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1 (5) a provision that prohibits controllers of 

2 intermodal equipment that fail to attain satisfactory 

3 compliance with such regulations from authorizing 

4 the placement of equipment on public highways; 

5 (6) a requirement for the Secretary to consider 

6 the effect that adequate maintenance facilities may 

7 have on safety condition of equipment; 

8 (7) a process by which motor carriers and 

9 agents of motor carriers may anonymously petition 

10 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to 

11 undertake an investigation of a noncompliant con12 troller of intermodal equipment; 

13 (8) administrative procedures to resolve dis14 putes arising under the regulations; and 

15 (9) the inspection and audit program required 

16 under section 5912(b) of title 49, United States 

17 Code, as added by section 8. 

18 (b) TIME FOR ISSUING REGULATIONS.—The regula19 tions required under subsection (a) shall be developed pur20 suant to a rulemaking proceeding initiated not later than 

21 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

22 shall be issued not later than one year after such date 

23 of enactment. 
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1 (c) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, 

2 the definitions set forth in section 5901 of title 49, United 

3 States Code, as amended by section 4, shall apply. 

4 SEC. 15. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Federal 

6 Motor Carrier Safety Administration such sums as may 

7 be necessary for the establishment and implementation of 

8 the inspection program required under section 5912 of 

9 title 49, United States Code, as added by section 8. 

10 SEC. 16. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

11 Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 of this 

12 Act and the amendments made by such sections shall take 

13 effect 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.

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