II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3302 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish new automobile safety 

standards, make better motor vehicle safety information available to 

the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the public, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 4, 2010 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mr. PRYOR, Mrs. BOXER, Ms. CANTWELL, 

Mr. LAUTENBERG, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BEGICH, and Mr. UDALL of 

New Mexico) 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, to establish new 

automobile safety standards, make better motor vehicle 

safety information available to the National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration and the public, 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. 

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

5 ‘‘Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 

TITLE I—VEHICLE ELECTRONICS AND SAFETY STANDARDS 

Sec. 101. NHTSA electronics, software, and engineering expertise. 

Sec. 102. Vehicle stopping distance and brake override standard. 

Sec. 103. Pedal placement standard. 

Sec. 104. Electronic systems performance standard. 

Sec. 105. Keyless ignition systems standard. 

Sec. 106. Transmission configuration standard. 

Sec. 107. Vehicle event data recorders. 

TITLE II—ENHANCED SAFETY AUTHORITIES 

Sec. 201. Civil penalties. 

Sec. 202. Imminent hazard authority. 

TITLE III—TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY 

Sec. 301. Public availability of early warning data. 

Sec. 302. Improved NHTSA vehicle safety database. 

Sec. 303. Consumer notice of software updates and other communications with 

dealers. 

Sec. 304. Promotion of vehicle defect reporting. 

Sec. 305. NHTSA hotline for manufacturer, dealer, and mechanic personnel. 

Sec. 306. Whistleblower protections for motor vehicle manufacturer, part supplier, and dealership employees. 

Sec. 307. Corporate responsibility for NHTSA reports. 

Sec. 308. Anti-revolving door. 

Sec. 309. Deadlines for rulemaking. 

TITLE IV—FUNDING 

Sec. 401. Authorization of appropriations. 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) PASSENGER VEHICLE.—The term ‘‘pas6 senger vehicle’’ means a motor vehicle (as defined in 

7 section 30102(a)(6) of title 49, United States Code), 

8 other than a motorcycle or trailer, that is rated at 

9 less than 10,000 pounds gross vehicular weight. 


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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the 

3 Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safe4 ty Administration. 

5 TITLE I—VEHICLE ELEC6 TRONICS AND SAFETY STAND7 ARDS 

8 SEC. 101. NHTSA ELECTRONICS, SOFTWARE, AND ENGI9 NEERING EXPERTISE. 

10 (a) CENTER FOR VEHICLE ELECTRONICS, VEHICLE

11 SOFTWARE, AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES.—The Sec12 retary shall establish, within the National Highway Traffic 

13 Safety Administration, a Center for Vehicle Electronics, 

14 Vehicle Software, and Emerging Technologies to build, in15 tegrate, and aggregate the agency’s expertise in vehicle 

16 electronics and other new and emerging technologies. The 

17 center shall coordinate with all components of the agency 

18 responsible for vehicle safety, including research and de19 velopment, rulemaking, and defects investigation. 

20 (b) HONORS RECRUITMENT PROGRAM.—The Sec21 retary shall establish, within the National Highway Traffic 

22 Safety Administration, an honors program for engineering 

23 students, computer science students, and other students 

24 interested in vehicle safety that will enable them to train 

25 with engineers and other safety officials for a career in 


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1 vehicle safety. The Secretary is authorized to provide a 

2 stipend to students during their participation in the pro3 gram. 

4 SEC. 102. VEHICLE STOPPING DISTANCE AND BRAKE OVER5 RIDE STANDARD. 

6 (a) UNINTENDED ACCELERATION.—The Secretary 

7 shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to prescribe a Fed8 eral motor vehicle safety standard that would prevent un9 intended acceleration in passenger vehicles. The stand10 ard— 

11 (1) shall require manufacturers of passenger ve12 hicles to equip the vehicles with a technology or 

13 mechanism that enables a driver to bring a vehicle 

14 safely to a full stop within a specified distance, to 

15 be determined by the Secretary according to the 

16 speed, size, and weight of the vehicle, by normal 

17 braking pressure even if the vehicle is operating si18 multaneously at open throttle; 

19 (2) may permit compliance through a smart 

20 pedal system that requires brake pedal input, after 

21 a period of time, to override the input signal from 

22 the accelerator pedal and other functions, in order to 

23 safely control the vehicle; 

24 (3) shall require that redundant circuits or 

25 other mechanisms be built into accelerator control 


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1 systems, including systems controlled by electronic 

2 throttle, to maintain vehicle control in the event of 

3 failure of the primary circuit or mechanism; and 

4 (4) may permit vehicles to incorporate a means 

5 by which the driver would be able to temporarily dis6 engage the function required under paragraph (1) to 

7 facilitate operations, such as maneuvering trailers, 

8 that may require the simultaneous operation of 

9 brake and accelerator. 

10 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall issue a final 

11 rule under subsection (a) within 1 year after the date of 

12 enactment of this Act. 

13 (c) LEAD-TIME.—The standard prescribed under 

14 subsection (a) shall provide not more than 2 model years 

15 of regulatory lead-time. 

16 SEC. 103. PEDAL PLACEMENT STANDARD. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate a 

18 rulemaking proceeding to prescribe a Federal motor vehi19 cle safety standard that would prevent potential obstruc20 tion of pedal movement in passenger vehicles by estab21 lishing minimum clearances for passenger vehicle foot ped22 als with respect to other pedals, the vehicle floor (including 

23 aftermarket floor coverings), and any other potential ob24 struction to pedal movement, taking into account various 

25 pedal mounting configurations. 


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1 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall issue a final 

2 rule under subsection (a) within 2 years after the date 

3 of enactment of this Act. 

4 (c) COMBINED RULEMAKING.—If appropriate, the 

5 Secretary may combine the rulemaking proceeding re6 quired by subsection (a) with the rulemaking proceeding 

7 required by section 102. 

8 (d) LEAD-TIME.—The standard prescribed under 

9 subsection (a) shall provide not more than 2 model years 

10 of regulatory lead-time. 

11 SEC. 104. ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS PERFORMANCE STAND12 ARD. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate a 

14 rulemaking proceeding to require electronic systems in 

15 passenger vehicles to meet minimum performance stand16 ards. Such a rule may include requirements for electronic 

17 components, the interaction of those electronic compo18 nents, or the effect of surrounding environments on those 

19 electronic systems. 

20 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall issue a final 

21 rule under subsection (a) within 3 years after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act. 

23 (c) LEAD-TIME.—The standard prescribed under 

24 subsection (a) shall provide not more than 2 model years 

25 of regulatory lead-time. 


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1 SEC. 105. KEYLESS IGNITION SYSTEMS STANDARD. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate a 

3 rulemaking proceeding to prescribe a Federal motor vehi4 cle safety standard for passenger vehicles with keyless or 

5 push-button ignition systems, to establish— 

6 (1) the means by which a driver who may be 

7 unfamiliar with the vehicle uses the ignition system 

8 to safely bring a vehicle under control during an 

9 emergency situation; and 

10 (2) the appropriate labeling, size, and location 

11 of the controls for such systems. 

12 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall issue a final 

13 rule under subsection (a) within 1 year after the date of 

14 enactment of this Act. 

15 (c) LEAD-TIME.—The standard prescribed under 

16 subsection (a) shall provide not more than 2 model years 

17 of regulatory lead-time. 

18 SEC. 106. TRANSMISSION CONFIGURATION STANDARD. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate a 

20 rulemaking proceeding to prescribe a Federal motor vehi21 cle safety standard for passenger vehicles requiring an in22 tuitive configuration and labeling of gear shifting controls 

23 for drivers, including drivers unfamiliar with the vehicle, 

24 and that makes the neutral position conspicuous. 


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1 (b) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall issue a final 

2 rule under subsection (a) within 1 year after the date of 

3 enactment of this Act. 

4 (c) LEAD-TIME.—The standard prescribed under 

5 subsection (a) shall provide not more than 1 model year 

6 of regulatory lead-time. 

7 SEC. 107. VEHICLE EVENT DATA RECORDERS. 

8 (a) MANDATORY EVENT DATA RECORDERS.—Not 

9 later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

10 the Secretary shall require that all passenger vehicles be 

11 equipped with an event data recorder that meets the re12 quirements for such recorders established in part 563 of 

13 title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The Secretary shall 

14 require compliance with such requirement for all pas15 senger vehicles manufactured in the first model year that 

16 is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (b) REVISED REQUIREMENTS FOR EVENT DATA RE18 CORDERS.—The Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking pro19 ceeding requiring that the event data recorders required 

20 to be installed in passenger vehicles pursuant to subsection 

21 (a)— 

22 (1) be temperature, water, crash, and tamper 

23 resistant; and 


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1 (2) continuously record vehicle operational data 

2 that can be accessed for retrieval and analysis in ac3 cordance with subsections (c) and (d). 

4 (c) SPECIFICATIONS.—The rule— 

5 (1) shall require such recorders to record, for a 

6 reasonable time before, during, and after a crash or 

7 airbag deployment, information that includes engine 

8 performance, steering, braking, acceleration, vehicle 

9 speed, seat belt use, and airbag deployment level, de10 activation status, deployment time, and deployment 

11 stage, and may require such recorders to record 

12 other data, such as data related to vehicle rollovers, 

13 as the Secretary considers appropriate; 

14 (2) shall require such recorders to record data 

15 for at least 60 seconds prior to, and 15 seconds 

16 after, a crash or airbag deployment; 

17 (3) may require such recorders to capture cer18 tain events such as rapid deceleration, full-throttle 

19 acceleration lasting more than 15 seconds, and full 

20 braking lasting more than 10 seconds, even if there 

21 is not a crash or airbag deployment; 

22 (4) may not require information recorded or 

23 transmitted by such data recorders to include the ve24 hicle’s location; 


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1 (5) shall require that data stored on such re2 corders be accessible, regardless of vehicle manufac3 turer or model, with commercially available equip4 ment; and 

5 (6) shall specify data format requirements and 

6 other requirements, and shall require an interoper7 able data access port to facilitate universal accessi8 bility and analysis. 

9 (d) LIMITATIONS ON INFORMATION RETRIEVAL.— 

10 (1) OWNERSHIP OF DATA.—The rule issued 

11 under subsection (b) shall provide that any data in 

12 a data recorder required under the rule is the prop13 erty of the owner or lessee of the motor vehicle in 

14 which the data recorder is installed. 

15 (2) PRIVACY.—The rule issued under sub16 section (b) shall provide that information recorded 

17 or transmitted by such a data recorder may not be 

18 retrieved by a person other than the owner or lessee 

19 of the motor vehicle in which the recorder is in20 stalled unless— 

21 (A) a court authorizes retrieval of the in22 formation in furtherance of a legal proceeding; 

23 (B) the owner or lessee consents to the re24 trieval of the information for any purpose, inVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:42 May 06, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3302.IS S3302

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1 cluding the purpose of diagnosing, servicing, or 

2 repairing the motor vehicle; or 

3 (C) the information is retrieved by a Gov4 ernment motor vehicle safety agency for the 

5 purpose of improving motor vehicle safety if the 

6 personally identifiable information of the owner, 

7 lessee, or driver of the vehicle and the vehicle 

8 identification number is not disclosed in connec9 tion with the retrieved information. 

10 (e) DISCLOSURE OF EXISTENCE AND PURPOSE OF

11 EVENT DATA RECORDER.—The rule issued under sub12 section (b) shall provide that any owner’s manual or simi13 lar documentation provided to the first purchaser of a pas14 senger vehicle for purposes other than resale shall disclose 

15 that the vehicle is equipped with such a data recorder and 

16 explain the purpose of the recorder. 

17 (f) ACCESS TO EVENT DATA RECORDERS IN DEFECT

18 INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 30166(c)(3)(C) of title 49, 

19 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, including 

20 any electronic data contained within the vehicle’s diag21 nostic system or event data recorder’’ after ‘‘equipment’’. 

22 (g) DEADLINE FOR RULEMAKING.—The Secretary 

23 shall issue a final rule under subsection (b) not later than 

24 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (h) LEAD-TIME.—The rule issued under subsection 

2 (b) shall take effect beginning with passenger vehicles 

3 manufactured in the first model year that is 2 years after 

4 the date on which a final rule is issued under this section. 

5 TITLE II—ENHANCED SAFETY 

6 AUTHORITIES 

7 SEC. 201. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

8 Section 30165 of title 49, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

11 (A) in the first sentence by striking 

12 ‘‘$5,000’’and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

13 (B) by striking the third sentence; and 

14 (2) in subsection (a)(3)— 

15 (A) in the second sentence by striking 

16 ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

17 (B) by striking the third sentence. 

18 SEC. 202. IMMINENT HAZARD AUTHORITY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30118(b) of title 49, 

20 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(3) IMMINENT HAZARDS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) ORDERS.—Notwithstanding the pro24 cedures set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2), if 

25 the Secretary decides that a motor vehicle or an 


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1 item of motor vehicle replacement equipment is 

2 not compliant with a motor vehicle safety 

3 standard or contains a defect related to motor 

4 vehicle safety and presents an imminent hazard 

5 to public safety that may result in death or se6 rious bodily harm, the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(i) shall notify the manufacturer of 

8 the motor vehicle or replacement equip9 ment of the decision that the vehicle or 

10 equipment poses an imminent safety haz11 ard to the public and the basis for that de12 cision; 

13 ‘‘(ii) may order the manufacturer and 

14 any person having a legal relationship with 

15 the manufacturer, including dealers and 

16 distributors, to stop any further produc17 tion, sale, offer for sale, lease, offer for 

18 lease, distribution, the introduction or de19 livery for introduction in interstate com20 merce, or importation into the United 

21 States of that motor vehicle or item of re22 placement equipment; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) may order the manufacturer and 

24 any person having a legal relationship with 

25 the manufacturer, including dealers and 


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1 distributors, to notify purchasers of the ve2 hicle or item of replacement equipment of 

3 the Secretary’s decision that the vehicle or 

4 the item of replacement equipment poses 

5 an imminent safety hazard and provide the 

6 purchaser of such vehicle or item of re7 placement equipment with information ex8 plaining the safety risk and actions the 

9 purchasers can take to reduce that risk.’’. 

10 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF RECALL ORDERS.—Section 

11 30161 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘A person’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘(1) A person’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(2) A person adversely affected by an order issued 

17 under section 30118 may apply for review of the order 

18 by filing a petition for review in court of appeals of the 

19 United States for the circuit in which the person resides 

20 or has its principal place of business or the United States 

21 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The 

22 petition must be filed not later than 59 days after the 

23 order is issued.’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(f) AVAILABILITY OF REVIEW.—An action of the 

2 Secretary with respect to which review could have been 

3 obtained under subsection (a)(2) shall not be subject to 

4 judicial review in a civil action for enforcement.’’. 

5 TITLE III—TRANSPARENCY AND 

6 ACCOUNTABILITY 

7 SEC. 301. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF EARLY WARNING DATA. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30166(m) of title 49, 

9 United States Code, is amended by— 

10 (1) in paragraph (3)(A) by striking clause (ii) 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(ii) customer satisfaction campaigns, 

13 customer advisories, recalls, consumer 

14 complaints, warranty claims, field reports, 

15 dealer communications, or other informa16 tion involving the repair or replacement of, 

17 or software upgrades for, motor vehicles or 

18 motor vehicle equipment.’’; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking subparagraph 

20 (C) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE.—The information pro22 vided to the Secretary pursuant to this sub23 section shall be disclosed publicly unless exempt 

24 from disclosure under section 552(b) of title 

25 5.’’. 


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1 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

3 regulations establishing categories of information provided 

4 to the Secretary pursuant to this subsection that must be 

5 made available to the public. The Secretary may also es6 tablish categories of information that may be withheld 

7 from public disclosure under paragraphs (4) and (6) of 

8 section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

9 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the rulemaking 

10 required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult 

11 with the Director of the Office of Government Information 

12 Services within the National Archives and the Director of 

13 the Office of Information Policy of the Department of Jus14 tice. 

15 (d) PRESUMPTION AND LIMITATION.—The Secretary 

16 shall issue the regulations with a presumption in favor of 

17 maximum public availability of information. The following 

18 types of information shall not be eligible for protection 

19 under section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code, and 

20 shall not be withheld from public disclosure: 

21 (1) Production information regarding passenger 

22 vehicles, information on incidents involving death or 

23 injury, and numbers of property damage claims. 

24 (2) Aggregated numbers of consumer com25 plaints. 


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1 (e) NULLIFICATION OF PRIOR REGULATIONS.—Be2 ginning 2 years after the date of the enactment of this 

3 Act, the regulations establishing early warning reporting 

4 class determinations in Appendix C of section 512 of title 

5 49, Code of Federal Regulations, shall have no force or 

6 effect. 

7 SEC. 302. IMPROVED NHTSA VEHICLE SAFETY DATABASE. 

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

9 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall im10 prove public accessibility to information on the National 

11 Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s publicly acces12 sible vehicle safety databases by— 

13 (1) improving organization and functionality, 

14 including design features such as dropdown menus, 

15 and allowing for data to be searched, aggregated, 

16 and downloaded; 

17 (2) providing greater consistency in presen18 tation of vehicle safety issues; and 

19 (3) improving searchability about specific vehi20 cles and issues through standardization of commonly 

21 used search terms. 

22 (b) VEHICLE RECALL INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

23 shall require that motor vehicle recall information be made 

24 available to consumers on the Internet, searchable by vehi25 cle identification number in a format that preserves conVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:42 May 06, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3302.IS S3302

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1 sumer privacy. The Secretary may initiate a rulemaking 

2 proceeding to require that such information be available 

3 on manufacturer Web sites or through other reasonable 

4 means. 

5 SEC. 303. CONSUMER NOTICE OF SOFTWARE UPDATES AND 

6 OTHER COMMUNICATIONS WITH DEALERS. 

7 (a) INTERNET ACCESSIBILITY.—Section 30166(f) of 

8 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘, and make available on a 

10 publicly accessible Internet website,’’ after ‘‘Sec11 retary of Transportation’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Com13 munications submitted to the Secretary and required 

14 to be published on a manufacturer’s Internet website 

15 shall include all notices to dealerships of software 

16 upgrades and modifications recommended by a man17 ufacturer for all previously sold vehicles. Notice is 

18 required even if the software upgrade or modifica19 tion is not related to a safety defect or noncompli20 ance with a motor vehicle safety standard. The no21 tice shall include a plain language description of the 

22 purpose of the update and that description shall be 

23 prominently placed at the beginning of the notice.’’. 


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1 SEC. 304. PROMOTION OF VEHICLE DEFECT REPORTING. 

2 Section 32302 of title 49, United States Code, is 

3 amended by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(d) MOTOR VEHICLE DEFECT REPORTING INFOR5 MATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Within 1 year 

7 after the date of enactment of the Motor Vehicle 

8 Safety Act of 2010 the Secretary shall prescribe reg9 ulations that require passenger motor vehicle manu10 facturers to affix, in the glove compartment or in 

11 another readily accessible location on the vehicle, a 

12 sticker, decal, or other device that provides, in sim13 ple and understandable language, information about 

14 how to submit a safety-related motor vehicle defect 

15 complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety 

16 Administration. The Secretary shall require the 

17 same information to be prominently printed on a 

18 separate page within the owner’s manual. The infor19 mation may not be placed on the label required by 

20 section 3 of the Automobile Information Disclosure 

21 Act (15 U.S.C. 1232). 

22 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—The requirements estab23 lished under paragraph (1) shall apply to passenger 

24 motor vehicles manufactured in model years begin25 ning more than 1 year after the date on which a 

26 final rule is published under that paragraph.’’. 


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1 SEC. 305. NHTSA HOTLINE FOR MANUFACTURER, DEALER, 

2 AND MECHANIC PERSONNEL. 

3 The Secretary shall— 

4 (1) establish a means by which mechanics, pas5 senger vehicle dealership personnel, and passenger 

6 vehicle manufacturer personnel may contact the Na7 tional Highway Traffic Safety Administration di8 rectly and confidentially regarding potential pas9 senger vehicle safety defects; and 

10 (2) publicize the means for contacting the Na11 tional Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a 

12 manner that targets mechanics, passenger vehicle 

13 dealership personnel, and manufacturer personnel. 

14 SEC. 306. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS FOR MOTOR VE15 HICLE MANUFACTURER, PART SUPPLIER, 

16 AND DEALERSHIP EMPLOYEES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 301 of 

18 title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

19 end the following: 

20 ‘‘§ 30171. Protection of employees providing motor ve21 hicle safety information 

22 ‘‘(a) DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEES OF

23 MANUFACTURERS, PART SUPPLIERS, AND DEALER24 SHIPS.—No motor vehicle manufacturer, part supplier, or 

25 dealership may discharge an employee or otherwise dis26 criminate against an employee with respect to compensaVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:42 May 06, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3302.IS S3302

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1 tion, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment be2 cause the employee (or any person acting pursuant to a 

3 request of the employee)— 

4 ‘‘(1) provided, caused to be provided, or is 

5 about to provide (with any knowledge of the em6 ployer) or cause to be provided to the employer or 

7 the Secretary information relating to any motor ve8 hicle defect or any violation or alleged violation of 

9 any notification or reporting requirement of this 

10 chapter; 

11 ‘‘(2) has filed, caused to be filed, or is about to 

12 file (with any knowledge of the employer) or cause 

13 to be filed a proceeding relating to any violation or 

14 alleged violation of any motor vehicle defect or any 

15 violation or alleged violation of any notification or 

16 reporting requirement of this chapter; 

17 ‘‘(3) testified or is about to testify in such a 

18 proceeding; or 

19 ‘‘(4) assisted or participated or is about to as20 sist or participate in such a proceeding. 

21 ‘‘(b) COMPLAINT PROCEDURE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) FILING AND NOTIFICATION.—A person 

23 who believes that he or she has been discharged or 

24 otherwise discriminated against by any person in 

25 violation of subsection (a) may, not later than 180 


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1 days after the date on which such violation occurs, 

2 file (or have any person file on his or her behalf) a 

3 complaint with the Secretary of Transportation al4 leging such discharge or discrimination. Upon re5 ceipt of such a complaint, the Secretary shall notify, 

6 in writing, the person named in the complaint of the 

7 filing of the complaint, of the allegations contained 

8 in the complaint, of the substance of evidence sup9 porting the complaint, and of the opportunities that 

10 will be afforded to such person under paragraph (2). 

11 ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION; PRELIMINARY ORDER.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

13 days after the date of receipt of a complaint 

14 filed under paragraph (1) and after affording 

15 the person named in the complaint an oppor16 tunity to submit to the Secretary a written re17 sponse to the complaint and an opportunity to 

18 meet with a representative of the Secretary to 

19 present statements from witnesses, the Sec20 retary shall conduct an investigation and deter21 mine whether there is reasonable cause to be22 lieve that the complaint has merit and notify, in 

23 writing, the complainant and the person alleged 

24 to have committed a violation of subsection (a) 

25 of the Secretary’s findings. If the Secretary 


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1 concludes that there is a reasonable cause to 

2 believe that a violation of subsection (a) has oc3 curred, the Secretary shall accompany the Sec4 retary’s findings with a preliminary order pro5 viding the relief prescribed by paragraph 

6 (3)(B). Not later than 30 days after the date 

7 of notification of findings under this paragraph, 

8 either the person alleged to have committed the 

9 violation or the complainant may file objections 

10 to the findings or preliminary order, or both, 

11 and request a hearing on the record. The filing 

12 of such objections shall not operate to stay any 

13 reinstatement remedy contained in the prelimi14 nary order. Such hearings shall be conducted 

15 expeditiously. If a hearing is not requested in 

16 such 30-day period, the preliminary order shall 

17 be deemed a final order that is not subject to 

18 judicial review. 

19 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) REQUIRED SHOWING BY COM21 PLAINANT.—The Secretary shall dismiss a 

22 complaint filed under this subsection and 

23 shall not conduct an investigation other24 wise required under subparagraph (A) un25 less the complainant makes a prima facie 


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1 showing that any behavior described in 

2 paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection 

3 (a) was a contributing factor in the unfa4 vorable personnel action alleged in the 

5 complaint. 

6 ‘‘(ii) SHOWING BY EMPLOYER.—Not7 withstanding a finding by the Secretary 

8 that the complainant has made the show9 ing required under clause (i), no investiga10 tion otherwise required under subpara11 graph (A) shall be conducted if the em12 ployer demonstrates, by clear and con13 vincing evidence, that the employer would 

14 have taken the same unfavorable personnel 

15 action in the absence of that behavior. 

16 ‘‘(iii) CRITERIA FOR DETERMINATION

17 BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary may de18 termine that a violation of subsection (a) 

19 has occurred only if the complainant dem20 onstrates that any behavior described in 

21 paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection 

22 (a) was a contributing factor in the unfa23 vorable personnel action alleged in the 

24 complaint. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) PROHIBITION.—Relief may not 

2 be ordered under subparagraph (A) if the 

3 employer demonstrates by clear and con4 vincing evidence that the employer would 

5 have taken the same unfavorable personnel 

6 action in the absence of that behavior. 

7 ‘‘(3) FINAL ORDER.— 

8 ‘‘(A) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE; SETTLE9 MENT AGREEMENTS.—Not later than 120 days 

10 after the date of conclusion of a hearing under 

11 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall issue a final 

12 order providing the relief prescribed by this 

13 paragraph or denying the complaint. At any 

14 time before issuance of a final order, a pro15 ceeding under this subsection may be termi16 nated on the basis of a settlement agreement 

17 entered into by the Secretary, the complainant, 

18 and the person alleged to have committed the 

19 violation. 

20 ‘‘(B) REMEDY.—If, in response to a com21 plaint filed under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

22 determines that a violation of subsection (a) 

23 has occurred, the Secretary shall order the per24 son who committed such violation— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to take affirmative action to 

2 abate the violation; 

3 ‘‘(ii) to reinstate the complainant to 

4 his or her former position together with 

5 the compensation (including back pay) and 

6 restore the terms, conditions, and privi7 leges associated with his or her employ8 ment; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) to provide compensatory dam10 ages to the complainant. 

11 If such an order is issued under this paragraph, 

12 the Secretary, at the request of the complain13 ant, shall assess against the person against 

14 whom the order is issued a sum equal to the ag15 gregate amount of all costs and expenses (in16 cluding attorneys’ and expert witness fees) rea17 sonably incurred, as determined by the Sec18 retary, by the complainant for, or in connection 

19 with, the bringing the complaint upon which the 

20 order was issued. 

21 ‘‘(C) FRIVOLOUS COMPLAINTS.—If the 

22 Secretary finds that a complaint under para23 graph (1) is frivolous or has been brought in 

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1 vailing employer a reasonable attorney’s fee not 

2 exceeding $1,000. 

3 ‘‘(4) REVIEW.— 

4 ‘‘(A) APPEAL TO COURT OF APPEALS.— 

5 Any person adversely affected or aggrieved by 

6 an order issued under paragraph (3) may ob7 tain review of the order in the United States 

8 Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the 

9 violation, with respect to which the order was 

10 issued, allegedly occurred or the circuit in which 

11 the complainant resided on the date of such vio12 lation. The petition for review shall be filed not 

13 later than 60 days after the date of the 

14 issuance of the final order of the Secretary. Re15 view shall conform to chapter 7 of title 5. The 

16 commencement of proceedings under this sub17 paragraph shall not, unless ordered by the 

18 court, operate as a stay of the order. 

19 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON COLLATERAL AT20 TACK.—An order of the Secretary with respect 

21 to which review could have been obtained under 

22 subparagraph (A) shall not be subject to judi23 cial review in any criminal or other civil pro24 ceeding. 


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1 ‘‘(5) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER BY SEC2 RETARY.—Whenever any person has failed to comply 

3 with an order issued under paragraph (3), the Sec4 retary may file a civil action in the United States 

5 district court for the district in which the violation 

6 was found to occur to enforce such order. In actions 

7 brought under this paragraph, the district courts 

8 shall have jurisdiction to grant all appropriate relief 

9 including, but not limited to, injunctive relief and 

10 compensatory damages. 

11 ‘‘(6) ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER BY PARTIES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.—A per13 son on whose behalf an order was issued under 

14 paragraph (3) may commence a civil action 

15 against the person to whom such order was 

16 issued to require compliance with such order. 

17 The appropriate United States district court 

18 shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the 

19 amount in controversy or the citizenship of the 

20 parties, to enforce such order. 

21 ‘‘(B) ATTORNEY FEES.—The court, in 

22 issuing any final order under this paragraph, 

23 may award costs of litigation (including reason24 able attorney and expert witness fees) to any 


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1 party whenever the court determines such 

2 award is appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(c) MANDAMUS.—Any nondiscretionary duty im4 posed by this section shall be enforceable in a mandamus 

5 proceeding brought under section 1361 of title 28. 

6 ‘‘(d) NONAPPLICABILITY TO DELIBERATE VIOLA7 TIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to an 

8 employee of a motor vehicle manufacturer, part supplier, 

9 or dealership who, acting without direction from such 

10 motor vehicle manufacturer, part supplier, or dealership 

11 (or such person’s agent), deliberately causes a violation 

12 of any requirement relating to motor vehicle safety under 

13 this chapter.’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec15 tions for chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, is 

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

17 30170 the following: 

‘‘30171. Protection of employees providing motor vehicle safety information’’. 

18 SEC. 307. CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR NHTSA RE19 PORTS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 30166 of title 49, United 

21 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(o) CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR REPORTS.— 

24 The Secretary shall require for each company submitting 

25 information to the Secretary in response to a preliminary 


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1 safety investigation, or in response to an official safety in2 vestigation under this chapter, that the principal executive 

3 officer or officers residing in the United States certify 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(1) the signing officer has reviewed the sub6 mission; and 

7 ‘‘(2) based on the officer’s knowledge, the sub8 mission does not contain any untrue statement of a 

9 material fact or omit to state a material fact nec10 essary in order to make the statements made, in 

11 light of the circumstances under which such state12 ments were made, not misleading.’’. 

13 (b) PENALTIES.— 

14 (1) CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 30165(a) of title 

15 49, United States Code, is amended— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘A person’’ in paragraph 

17 (3) and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in para18 graph (4), a person’’; and 

19 (B) by adding at the end thereof the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(4) FALSE, MISLEADING OR INCOMPLETE RE22 PORTS.—A person who knowingly and willfully sub23 mits materially false, misleading, or incomplete in24 formation to the Secretary, after certifying the same 

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1 tification process established pursuant to section 

2 30166(o), shall be subject to a civil penalty of not 

3 more than $50,000 per day. The maximum penalty 

4 under this paragraph for a related series of daily 

5 violations is $250,000,000.’’. 

6 (2) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Section 30170 of 

7 title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

8 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

9 (2) of subsection (a) as paragraphs (2) and (3), 

10 respectively, and by inserting before paragraph 

11 (2) the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) SUBMITTING MISLEADING INFORMATION

13 TO THE SECRETARY.—A person who violates section 

14 1001 of title 18 with respect to the reporting re15 quirements of section 30118, 30119, or 30166, with 

16 the specific intent of misleading the Secretary with 

17 respect to motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment 

18 safety related defects shall, in addition to the pen19 alties imposed under title 18, be subject to imprison20 ment for not more than an additional 12 months.’’; 

21 (B) by striking the heading for paragraph 

22 (2), as redesignated, of subsection (a) and in23 serting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) SUBMITTING MISLEADING INFORMATION

2 TO THE SECRETARY THAT LEADS TO DEATH OR SE3 RIOUS INJURY.—’’; and 

4 (C) by striking subparagraph (A) of para5 graph (3), as redesignated, of subsection (a) 

6 and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) CORRECTION.—A person described in 

8 paragraph (1) or (2) shall not be subject to 

9 criminal penalties under this subsection if— 

10 ‘‘(i) the person corrects any improper 

11 reports or failure to report within a rea12 sonable time; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a person described 

14 in paragraph (2), at the time of the viola15 tion, such person does not know that the 

16 violation would result in an accident caus17 ing death or serious bodily injury.’’. 

18 SEC. 308. ANTI-REVOLVING DOOR. 

19 (a) PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY INTEGRITY PE20 RIOD.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 301 

22 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by add23 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 30107. Restriction on certain employment activi2 ties. 

3 ‘‘(a) NHTSA EMPLOYEES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A individual to whom this 

5 subsection applies who is employed by the National 

6 Highway Traffic Safety Administration may not 

7 commence employment with, or otherwise advise, 

8 provide assistance to, or represent for compensation, 

9 a manufacturer or other person subject to regulation 

10 under this chapter during the 36-month period com11 mencing upon that individual’s termination of em12 ployment with the National Highway Traffic Safety 

13 Administration if such employment, advice, assist14 ance, or representation involves— 

15 ‘‘(A) written or oral communication with 

16 the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis17 tration on any matter relating to compliance 

18 with the requirements of this chapter on behalf 

19 of the manufacturer or person; 

20 ‘‘(B) representing or advising a manufac21 turer with respect to a motor vehicle safety or 

22 fuel economy issue, including any defect related 

23 to motor vehicle safety, compliance with a 

24 motor vehicle safety standard, or compliance 

25 with an average fuel economy standard pre26 scribed under chapter 329 of this title; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) assisting a manufacturer in respond2 ing to a request for information from the Na3 tional Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

4 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—This subsection ap6 plies to any individual— 

7 ‘‘(i) to whom section 207(c) or (d) of 

8 title 18 applies; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) whose responsibilities during his 

10 or her last 12 months of employment at 

11 the National Highway Traffic Safety Ad12 ministration included administrative, man13 agerial, supervisory, legal, or senior tech14 nical responsibility for any motor vehicle 

15 safety-related program or activity. 

16 ‘‘(2) SAFE HARBOR.—This subsection does not 

17 apply to any individual employed by a manufacturer 

18 or other person subject to regulation under this 

19 chapter as of the date of enactment of the Motor Ve20 hicle Safety Act of 2010. 

21 ‘‘(b) MANUFACTURERS.—It is unlawful for any man22 ufacturer or other person subject to regulation under this 

23 chapter to employ or contract for the services of an indi24 vidual to whom subsection (a) applies during the 36- 

25 month period commencing on the individual’s termination 


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1 of employment with the National Highway Traffic Safety 

2 Administration in a capacity in which the individual is 

3 prohibited from serving during that period.’’. 

4 (2) CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 30165(a) of title 

5 49, United States Code, as amended by section 307, 

6 is further amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(5) SECTION 30107.—An individual who vio9 lates section 30107(a) is liable to the United States 

10 Government for a civil penalty as determined under 

11 section 216(b) of title 18 for an offense under sec12 tion 207 of that title. A manufacturer or other per13 son subject to regulation under this chapter who vio14 lates section 30107(b) is liable to the United States 

15 Government for a civil penalty of the sum of— 

16 ‘‘(A) an amount equal to not less than 

17 $100,000; and 

18 ‘‘(B) an amount equal to 90 percent of the 

19 annual compensation or fee paid or payable to 

20 the individual with respect to whom the viola21 tion occurred.’’. 

22 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

23 contents for chapter 301 of title 49, United States 

24 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 

25 to section 30106 the following: 

‘‘30107. Restriction on certain employment activities’’. 


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1 (b) STUDY OF DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

2 POLICIES ON OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION WITH FORMER

3 MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ISSUE EMPLOYEES.—Within 1 

4 year after the date of enactment of this Act the Depart5 ment of Transportation Inspector General shall— 

6 (1) review the Department’s policies and proce7 dures applicable to official communication with 

8 former employees concerning motor vehicle safety 

9 compliance matters for which they had responsibility 

10 during the last 12 months of their tenure at the De11 partment, including any limitations on the ability of 

12 such employees to submit comments, or otherwise 

13 communicate directly with the Department, on 

14 motor vehicle safety issues; and 

15 (2) submit a report to the Senate Committee on 

16 Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

17 House of Representatives Committee on Energy and 

18 Commerce containing the Inspector General’s find19 ings, conclusions, and recommendations for 

20 strengthening those policies and procedures to mini21 mize the risk of undue influence without compro22 mising the ability of the Department to employ and 

23 retain highly qualified individuals for such respon24 sibilities. 

25 (c) POST-EMPLOYMENT POLICY STUDY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Trans2 portation Inspector General shall conduct a study of 

3 the Department’s policies relating to post-employ4 ment restrictions on employees who perform func5 tions related to transportation safety. 

6 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Inspector General 

8 shall submit a report containing the results of the 

9 study conducted under paragraph (1) to— 

10 (A) the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

11 Science, and Transportation; 

12 (B) the House of Representatives Com13 mittee on Energy and Commerce; and 

14 (C) the Secretary of Transportation. 

15 (3) USE OF RESULTS.—The Secretary of trans16 portation shall review the results of the study and 

17 take whatever action the Secretary determines to be 

18 appropriate. 

19 SEC. 309. DEADLINES FOR RULEMAKING. 

20 If the Secretary determines that a deadline for a final 

21 rule under this Act or an amendment made by this Act 

22 cannot be met, the Secretary shall— 

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1 portation and explain why that deadline cannot be 

2 met; and 

3 (2) establish a new deadline for that rule. 

4 TITLE IV—FUNDING 

5 SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 Section 30104 of title 49, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

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

9 (2) by striking ‘‘in each fiscal year beginning’’ 

10 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘and to carry out 

11 the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010— 

12 ‘‘(1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

13 ‘‘(2) $240,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

14 ‘‘(3) $280,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.’’. 

Æ 


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