I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5413 
To amend title 46, United States Code, to require the Secretary of the 
department in which the Coast Guard is operating to prescribe additional 
regulations to secure the safety of individuals and property on board 
certain small passenger vessels, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 12, 2019 
Mr. CARBAJAL (for himself and Ms. BROWNLEY of California) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To amend title 46, United States Code, to require the Sec-
retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is 
operating to prescribe additional regulations to secure 
the safety of individuals and property on board certain 
small passenger vessels, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Small Passenger Vessel 
Safety Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. REGULATIONS FOR COVERED SMALL PASSENGER 
VESSELS. 
Section 3306 of title 46, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
by inserting ‘‘, including covered small pas-
senger vessels (as defined in subsection (n)(5))’’ 
after ‘‘vessels subject to inspection’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (5), by inserting before 
the period at the end ‘‘, including rechargeable 
devices utilized for personal or commercial elec-
tronic equipment’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(n) ADDITIONAL
REGULATIONS
FOR
COVERED 
SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pre-
scribe additional regulations to secure the safety of 
individuals and property on board covered small pas-
senger vessels. 
‘‘(2) COMPREHENSIVE
REVIEW.—The regula-
tions prescribed under paragraph (1) shall include 
the provision of a comprehensive review of all re-
quirements for covered small passenger vessels, in-
cluding calculations, with respect to fire detection, 
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protection, and suppression systems on board such 
vessels. 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations pre-
scribed under paragraph (1) shall include each of 
the following requirements for covered small pas-
senger vessels: 
‘‘(A) Requirements for the addition of 
interconnected fire detection, protection, and 
suppression equipment, including fire extin-
guishers, in all areas on board such vessels to 
which passengers have access, including dining 
areas, sleeping quarters, and lounges. 
‘‘(B) Requirements to increase fire detec-
tion, protection, and suppression systems on 
board such vessels in unmanned areas with ma-
chinery or areas with other potential heat 
sources. 
‘‘(C) Requirements for fire detection, sup-
pression, and control in all areas on board such 
vessels to which passengers have access, includ-
ing dining areas, sleeping quarters, and 
lounges. 
‘‘(D) Requirements for all such vessels to 
have not less than 2 avenues of escape from all 
general areas accessible to passengers. Such 
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avenues of escape shall be located so that if one 
avenue is not available another avenue may be 
available. 
‘‘(E) Requirements, including increased 
standards, for marine firefighting training pro-
grams with respect to such vessels to improve 
crewmember training and proficiency. Such pro-
grams shall— 
‘‘(i) include training regarding ship-
board marine firefighting operations; and 
‘‘(ii) be reviewed and maintained by a 
third party contractor approved by the 
Commandant. 
‘‘(F) Requirements for handling, storage, 
and operation of flammable items, such as lith-
ium ion batteries, on board such vessels. 
‘‘(4) INTERIM POLICIES.—To the maximum ex-
tent practicable, the Secretary shall implement in-
terim policies to, prior to the issuance by the Sec-
retary of final regulations prescribed under para-
graph (1), apply the requirements under paragraph 
(3) to covered small passenger vessels. 
‘‘(5) DEFINITION
OF
COVERED
SMALL
PAS-
SENGER VESSEL.—In this subsection, the term ‘cov-
ered small passenger vessel’— 
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‘‘(A) means a small passenger vessel 
that— 
‘‘(i) is less than 100 gross tons as 
measured under section 14502 of this title, 
or an alternate tonnage measured under 
section 14302 of this title as prescribed by 
the Secretary under section 14104 of this 
title; and 
‘‘(ii) is carrying— 
‘‘(I) for overnight domestic voy-
ages, not more than 49 passengers; 
and 
‘‘(II) for all other voyages, not 
more than 150 passengers; and 
‘‘(B) includes any wooden vessel con-
structed prior to March 11, 1996, that carries 
passengers on overnight domestic voyages.’’. 
SEC. 3. SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO INCLUDE ALL 
SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS. 
Title 46, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in section 3202(b)— 
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 
(2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 
and indenting appropriately; 
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(B) by striking ‘‘This chapter’’ and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This chapter;’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—Notwith-
standing any other provision in this chapter, includ-
ing paragraph (1)(B), the regulations issued under 
section 3203, including the safety management sys-
tem established by such regulations, shall apply to 
all small passenger vessels.’’; and 
(2) in section 3203(a), by inserting ‘‘(including, 
for purposes of this section, all small passenger ves-
sels)’’ after ‘‘vessels to which this chapter applies’’. 
Æ 
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