H. R. 3—618
of allowing State attorneys general to apply State consumer protec-
tion laws to such transportation. 
(b) MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In conducting the study, 
the Comptroller General shall consider, at a minimum—
(1) the level of consumer protection being provided to con-
sumers through Federal household goods regulations and how 
household goods regulations relating to consumer protection 
compare to regulations relating to consumer protection for other 
modes of transportation regulated by the Department of 
Transportation; 
(2) the history and background of State enforcement of 
State consumer protection laws on household goods carriers 
providing intrastate transportation and what effects such laws 
have on the ability of intrastate household goods carriers to 
operate; 
(3) what operational impacts, if any, would result on house-
hold goods carriers engaged in interstate commerce being sub-
ject to the State consumer protection laws; and 
(4) the potential for States to regulate rates or other busi-
ness operations if State consumer protection laws applied to 
interstate household goods movements. 
(c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study, the Comptroller 
General shall consult with the Secretary, State attorneys general, 
consumer protection agencies, and the household goods industry. 
(d) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to the 
Committee of Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science and 
Transportation of the Senate a report on the results of the study. 
Subtitle C—Unified Carrier Registration 
Act of 2005
SEC. 4301. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Unified Carrier Registration 
Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 4302. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 
Except as provided in section 14504 of title 49, United States 
Code, and sections 14504a and 14506 of title 49, United States 
Code, as added by this subtitle, this subtitle is not intended to 
prohibit any State or any political subdivision of any State from 
enacting, imposing, or enforcing any law or regulation with respect 
to a motor carrier, motor private carrier, broker, freight forwarder, 
or leasing company that is not otherwise prohibited by law. 
SEC. 4303. INCLUSION OF MOTOR PRIVATE AND EXEMPT CARRIERS. 
(a) PERSONS REGISTERED TO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION
OR 
SERVICE AS A MOTOR CARRIER OR MOTOR PRIVATE CARRIER.—Sec-
tion 13905 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) as 
subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following: 
‘‘(b) PERSON REGISTERED WITH SECRETARY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
any person having registered with the Secretary to provide
H. R. 3—619
transportation or service as a motor carrier or motor private 
carrier under this title, as in effect on January 1, 2005, but 
not having registered pursuant to section 13902(a), shall be 
treated, for purposes of this part, to be registered to provide 
such transportation or service for purposes of sections 13908 
and 14504a. 
‘‘(2) EXCLUSIVELY INTRASTATE OPERATORS.—Paragraph (1) 
does not apply to a motor carrier or motor private carrier 
(including a transporter of waste or recyclable materials) 
engaged exclusively in intrastate transportation operations.’’. 
(b) SECURITY REQUIREMENT.—Section 13906(a) of such title is 
amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
(3) and (4), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: 
‘‘(2) SECURITY REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 120 days after 
the date of enactment of the Unified Carrier Registration Act 
of 2005, any person, other than a motor private carrier, reg-
istered with the Secretary to provide transportation or service 
as a motor carrier under section 13905(b) shall file with the 
Secretary a bond, insurance policy, or other type of security 
approved by the Secretary, in an amount not less than required 
by sections 31138 and 31139.’’. 
(c) TERMINATION OF TRANSITION RULE.—Section 13902 of such 
title is amended—
(1) by adding at the end of subsection (d) the following: 
‘‘(3) TERMINATION.—This subsection shall cease to be in 
effect on the transition termination date.’’; and 
(2) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g), and 
inserting after subsection (e) the following: 
‘‘(f) MODIFICATION OF CARRIER REGISTRATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the transition termination 
date, the Secretary—
‘‘(A) may not register a motor carrier under this section 
as a motor common carrier or a motor contract carrier; 
‘‘(B) shall register applicants under this section as 
motor carriers; and 
‘‘(C) shall issue any motor carrier registered under 
this section after that date a motor carrier certificate of 
registration that specifies whether the holder of the certifi-
cate may provide transportation of persons, household 
goods, other property, or any combination thereof. 
‘‘(2) PRE-EXISTING CERTIFICATES AND PERMITS.—The Sec-
retary shall redesignate any motor carrier certificate or permit 
issued before the transition termination date as a motor carrier 
certificate of registration. On and after the transition termi-
nation date, any person holding a motor carrier certificate 
of registration redesignated under this paragraph may provide 
both contract carriage (as defined in section 13102(4)(B)) and 
transportation under terms and conditions meeting the require-
ments of section 13710(a)(1). The Secretary may not, pursuant 
to any regulation or form issued before or after the transition 
termination date, make any distinction among holders of motor 
carrier certificates of registration on the basis of whether the 
holder would have been classified as a common carrier or 
as a contract carrier under—
H. R. 3—620
‘‘(A) subsection (d) of this section, as that section was 
in effect before the transition termination date; or 
‘‘(B) any other provision of this title that was in effect 
before the transition termination date. 
‘‘(3) TRANSITION TERMINATION DATE DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘transition termination date’ means the first 
day of January occurring more than 12 months after the date 
of enactment of the Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005.’’. 
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—
(1) HEADING FOR SECTION 13906.—Section 13906 of such 
title is amended by striking the section designation and heading 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘§ 13906. Security of motor carriers, motor private carriers, 
brokers, and freight forwarders’’. 
(2) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for chapter 139 of 
such title is amended by striking the item relating to section 
13906 and inserting the following:
‘‘13906. Security of motor carriers, motor private carriers, brokers, and freight for-
warders.’’.
SEC. 4304. UNIFIED CARRIER REGISTRATION SYSTEM. 
Section 13908 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘§ 13908. Registration and other reforms 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
UNIFIED
CARRIER
REGISTRATION 
SYSTEM.—The Secretary, in cooperation with the States, representa-
tives of the motor carrier, motor private carrier, freight forwarder, 
and broker industries and after notice and opportunity for public 
comment, shall issue within 1 year after the date of enactment 
of the Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005 regulations to estab-
lish an online Federal registration system, to be named the ‘Unified 
Carrier Registration System’, to replace—
‘‘(1) the current Department of Transportation identifica-
tion number system, the single State registration system under 
section 14504; 
‘‘(2) the registration system contained in this chapter and 
the financial responsibility information system under section 
13906; and 
‘‘(3) the service of process agent systems under sections 
503 and 13304. 
‘‘(b) ROLE AS CLEARINGHOUSE AND DEPOSITORY OF INFORMA-
TION.—The Unified Carrier Registration System shall serve as a 
clearinghouse and depository of information on, and identification 
of, all foreign and domestic motor carriers, motor private carriers, 
brokers, freight forwarders, and others required to register with 
the Department of Transportation, including information with 
respect to a carrier’s safety rating, compliance with required levels 
of financial responsibility, and compliance with the provisions of 
section 14504a. The Secretary shall ensure that Federal agencies, 
States, representatives of the motor carrier industry, and the public 
have access to the Unified Carrier Registration System, including 
the records and information contained in the System. 
‘‘(c) PROCEDURES
FOR CORRECTING INFORMATION.—Not later 
than 60 days after the effective date of this section, the Secretary 
shall prescribe regulations establishing procedures that enable a
H. R. 3—621
motor carrier to correct erroneous information contained in any 
part of the Unified Carrier Registration System. 
‘‘(d) FEE SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall establish, under section 
9701 of title 31, a fee system for the Unified Carrier Registration 
System according to the following guidelines: 
‘‘(1) REGISTRATION
AND
FILING
EVIDENCE
OF
FINANCIAL 
RESPONSIBILITY.—The fee for new registrants shall as nearly 
as possible cover the costs of processing the registration but 
shall not exceed $300. 
‘‘(2) EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—The fee for 
filing evidence of financial responsibility pursuant to this sec-
tion shall not exceed $10 per filing. No fee shall be charged 
for a filing for purposes of designating an agent for service 
of process or the filing of other information relating to financial 
responsibility. 
‘‘(3) ACCESS AND RETRIEVAL FEES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph 
(B), the fee system shall include a nominal fee for the 
access to or retrieval of information from the Unified Car-
rier Registration System to cover the costs of operating 
and upgrading the System, including the personnel costs 
incurred by the Department and the costs of administration 
of the unified carrier registration agreement. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—There shall be no fee charged under 
this paragraph—
‘‘(i) to any agency of the Federal Government or 
a State government or any political subdivision of any 
such government for the access to or retrieval of 
information and data from the Unified Carrier Reg-
istration System for its own use; or 
‘‘(ii) to any representative of a motor carrier, motor 
private carrier, leasing company, broker, or freight for-
warder (as each is defined in section 14504a) for the 
access to or retrieval of the individual information 
related to such entity from the Unified Carrier Reg-
istration System for the individual use of such entity. 
‘‘(e) APPLICATION
TO
CERTAIN
INTRASTATE
OPERATIONS.—
Nothing in this section requires the registration of a motor carrier, 
a motor private carrier of property, or a transporter of waste or 
recyclable materials operating exclusively in intrastate transpor-
tation not otherwise required to register with the Secretary under 
another provision of this title.’’. 
SEC. 4305. REGISTRATION OF MOTOR CARRIERS BY STATES. 
(a) TERMINATION OF REGISTRATION PROVISIONS.—Section 14504, 
and the item relating to such section in the analysis for chapter 
145, of title 49, United States Code, are repealed effective on 
the first January 1st occurring more than 12 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
(b) UNIFIED CARRIER REGISTRATION SYSTEM PLAN AND AGREE-
MENT.—Chapter 145 of title 49, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after section 14504 the following: 
‘‘§ 14504a. Unified Carrier Registration System plan and 
agreement 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section and section 14506, the fol-
lowing definitions apply: