lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2012-06-28 00:00:00

Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2012 - Repeals the prohibition against a motor vehicle safety standard's requiring or allowing a manufacturer to comply with it by using a buzzer designed to indicate a safety belt is not in use, except a buzzer that operates only during the eight-second period after the ignition is turned to the "start" or "on" position. (Thus allows manufacturers to comply with the standard by using any sort of buzzer.) Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT), with respect to odometer disclosures required when ownership of a motor vehicle is transferred, to prescribe regulations permitting any written disclosures or notices and related matters to be provided electronically. Increases civil penalties (including damages) for violations of federal prohibitions against tampering with odometers. Prohibits a person from selling, offering for sale, introducing in interstate commerce, or importing into the United States motor vehicles or equipment about which a notice of a defect or order of noncompliance with federal motor vehicle safety requirements has been issued. Prescribes conditions on the importation of vehicles and equipment. Requires an officer or employee designated by the Secretary to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) for inspections and sampling of motor vehicle equipment being offered for import to determine compliance with federal transportation law. Directs the Secretary to: (1) require motor vehicle safety recall information be made available to the public on the Internet, and (2) publicize the means for contacting a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) motor vehicle safety defect hotline for manufacturer, dealer, and mechanic personnel. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to require passenger motor vehicle manufacturers to affix, in a readily accessible location, a device that provides information on how to submit a safety-related motor vehicle defect complaint to NHTSA. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the quality of data collected through the National Automotive Sampling System, including the Special Crash Investigations Program. Declares that filing for bankruptcy shall not negate a manufacturer's duty to comply with motor vehicle safety requirements for the recall of defective motor vehicle and motor vehicle equipment. Directs the Secretary to establish within NHTSA a Council for Vehicle Electronics, Vehicle Software, and Emerging Technologies. Directs the Secretary to complete an examination of the need for safety standards with regard to electronic systems in passenger motor vehicles. Directs the Secretary to modify federal motor vehicle safety standards to: (1) improve the protection of children seated in child restraint systems during side impact crashes, (2) improve the ease of use of child restraint anchorage systems, and (3) provide a safety belt use warning system for designated seating positions in the rear seat.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2012-07-10 00:00:00

Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2012 - Requires a rental company that receives a Secretary of Transportation (DOT) ordered notification from the manufacturer of a covered rental vehicle of equipment defect, or noncompliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards, during the vehicle rental period to contact the renter and any authorized driver of the vehicle about the defect or noncompliance. Covers a rental vehicle: (1) rated at 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less, (2) rented without a driver for an initial term of under 4 months, and (3) that is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 5 or more motor vehicles used for rental purposes by a rental company. Authorizes a rental company that receives notification of a defect or the noncompliance of a new vehicle or new replacement vehicle equipment in the company's possession to rent such vehicle or equipment only if the defect or noncompliance is remedied. Prohibits a rental company from knowingly making inoperable any safety devices or elements of design installed on or in a compliant motor vehicle or vehicle equipment unless the company reasonably believes such vehicle or equipment will not be used when the devices or elements are inoperable. Authorizes the Secretary, upon request, to inspect records of a rental company with respect to a safety investigation. Authorizes the Secretary to require a rental company to keep records or make reports for purposes of compliance with federal motor vehicle safety orders or regulations. Authorizes the Secretary to study the effectiveness of the amendments made by this Act and of other activities of rental companies.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2012-09-12 00:00:00

Remove Unnecessary Roadblocks to Local Transportation Safety Projects Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to issue categorical exclusions (that do not involve significant environmental impact) from the environmental assessment or environmental impact statement requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for highway safety improvement projects.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2012-09-20 00:00:00

Preserving Jobs in the Oilfield Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to ensure that, with respect to maximum hours of service for drivers, on-duty time does not include waiting time at a natural gas or oil well site for operators of commercial motor vehicles transporting supplies, equipment, or materials, including sand or water, to or from a natural gas or oil well site. Applies this exclusion without regard to whether operators have received special training or operate vehicles specially constructed to service wells.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2012-09-20 00:00:00

Denali Commission Reauthorization Act of 2012 - Amends the Denali Commission Act of 1998 (the Act) to revise requirements concerning the composition of the membership of the Denali Commission. Appoints Commission members to four-year terms. Directs the Commission, in carrying out construction projects or activities under the Act, to require a cost share of: (1) up to 50% of the total cost of the project or activity; or (2) up to 20% of the total cost of a project or activity carried out in a distressed community. Exempts preconstruction procedures from such cost share requirements. Requires the Commission to seek comments from rural Alaska communities and other stakeholder groups regarding rural development needs. Rewrites the duties of the Commission. Instructs Commission members to: (1) advise the Commission regarding coordinated infrastructure planning among and for rural Alaskan communities, the state of Alaska, federal agencies, and other governmental and nongovernmental entities; (2) annually establish a list of priorities of the Commission for such communities; and (3) review ongoing and completed Commission-funded projects and programs. Makes the Cochairperson responsible for Commission operational matters, including budgetary matters. Revises requirements regarding demonstration health projects. Authorizes appropriations. Rewrites provisions concerning the powers of the Commission. Requires the Commission to use the services of the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce. Makes permanent the authorization of appropriations for the Commission to carry out the Act. Repeals provisions regarding: (1) the exemption of the Commission from the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and (2) the Economic Development Committee. Requires the federal Cochairperson to establish a Budget Committee to serve the Commission.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2012-09-21 00:00:00

Sustainable, Livable And Green (S.L.A.G.) Highway Construction Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to establish in the Office of Pavement Technology of the Federal Highway Administration the position of Recovered Mineral Component Ombudsman to: (1) act as a liaison between the states and the DOT on federally funded highway projects; (2) encourage states to use recovered mineral component (RMC) to drive down costs and be more environmentally sensitive; and (3) provide information on projects that use RMC, its safety, and training and educational seminars on RMC environmental benefits. Urges the Secretary to amend comprehensive procurement guidelines for federally-funded asphalt and concrete highway projects to include specifications that encourage the use of such RMCs as ground granulated blast furnace slag, blast furnace slag aggregate, and steel furnace slag aggregate. Requires the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish standards to ensure that the use of RMCs does not violate the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or any other environmental law.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2012-09-21 00:00:00

Stop Excessive Toll Hikes Act - Revises urbanized area formula grant eligibility requirements to allow a recipient (person, entity, or state or regional authority) to receive such a grant only if it certifies that it has not raised the maximum tolls for any bridge or tunnel by more than 10% during the previous 5 fiscal years.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2012-09-21 00:00:00

Maximize Our Highways Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to study the economically beneficial uses of rights-of-way associated with federal-aid highways, including: (1) the identification of economically beneficial activities that may be carried out to ensure those rights-of-way are used in the most economically beneficial manner; and (2) an analysis of the costs and benefits of, barriers to, and revenue generated by carrying out such activities.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2012-12-05 00:00:00

Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to carry out a pilot program to study the benefits of using hair specimens to conduct preemployment controlled substances tests of commercial motor vehicle operators. Directs the Secretary to develop guidelines, protocols, and standards for such tests.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2012-12-13 00:00:00

Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) establish a pilot program to be known as the Road User Fee Pilot Project to study alternatives to the system of taxing motor vehicle fuels, including alternatives based upon the mileage of vehicles subject to tax (miles based program); (2) coordinate with technology, transportation system, and environmental working groups in carrying out the pilot program; and (3) establish a grant program to aid in the development of onboard technologies necessary for a miles based program.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-01-25 00:00:00

Extends to all portions of the Interstate Highway System in the states of Maine and Vermont the application of their respective state vehicle weight limit laws and regulations in lieu of federal vehicle weight limits.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Energy
Date: 2011-01-25 00:00:00

Dual Fuel Vehicle Act of 2011 - Requires automobile manufacturers to ensure that at least 50% of 2014 and 2015 model year automobiles and light duty trucks manufactured for sale in the United States are dual fueled (capable of operating on alternative fuel and on gasoline or diesel fuel or a mixture of biodiesel and diesel fuel). Increases the minimum to 90% for later model years. (Excludes automobiles and light duty trucks that operate only on electricity.)
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-01-26 00:00:00

Freedom from Tolls Act of 2011 - Prohibits the use of highway funds to impose a toll on any segment of a federal-aid system highway that as of enactment of this Act: (1) has had its construction completed, (2) is not tolled, (3) was constructed with federal assistance, and (4) is in actual operation. Excepts from this prohibition, thus allowing tolls on, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes as well as any highway segment that, as of the date on which a toll is imposed on it, will have the same number of non-toll lanes as were in existence before that date. Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to decrease from three to two the number of facilities a state may establish on a highway, bridge, or tunnel on the Interstate System to collect tolls for reconstructing and rehabilitating Interstate highway corridors under the Interstate System reconstruction and rehabilitation pilot program.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-01-26 00:00:00

Redistribution of Unspent Earmarks Act of 2011 - Requires unobligated highway project amounts made available from the Highway Trust Fund through an earmark for FY2008 or a preceding fiscal year to be: (1) returned to the transportation department of the state in which such earmarks were directed to be used, and (2) redistributed by the state for expeditious use for other federally-approved state transportation projects.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-01-26 00:00:00

Use It or Lose It Act of 2011 - Requires highway project amounts made available from the Highway Trust Fund through an earmark to be obligated within three years after the date such earmarked amounts are first made available. Requires amounts not obligated within three years of the earmark to be: (1) released to the transportation department of the state with jurisdiction over the original recipient of the earmark, and (2) redistributed by the state for expeditious use for other federally-approved state transportation projects.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-02-01 00:00:00

Highway Fairness and Reform Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT), beginning with FY2011, to carry out a direct federal-aid highway program to permit a state governor or chief executive officer, at least 90 days before the beginning of a fiscal year, to elect to: (1) waive the state's right to receive apportioned or allocated funds under the federal-aid highway program, and (2) receive instead a prorated amount of the taxes appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund (other than from the Mass Transit Account) which are attributable to highway users in the state. Requires a pro rata reduction of such tax-equivalent amount in order to fund contract authority for programs of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Requires the Secretary to accept a state's election if: (1) the state has an interstate maintenance program; (2) it submits a plan describing the purposes, projects, and uses to which such amounts will be put and the federal-aid highway programmatic requirements the state elects to continue; (3) the state agrees to obligate program amounts exclusively for projects that would be eligible for surface transportation program funding; and (4) it continues to suballocate surface transportation program funds to urbanized and other areas using certain formulae and rules.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-02-03 00:00:00

Drunk Driving Repeat Offender Prevention Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to withhold specified graduated percentages of a state's apportionment of certain federal-aid highway funds for FY2014-FY2016 if the state has not enacted and is not enforcing a law requiring the installation of an ignition interlock device for a minimum of 180 days on each motor vehicle operated by an individual convicted of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence (having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or greater).
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-03-09 00:00:00

Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act of 2011 or STANDUP Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to award incentive grants to states with graduated driver licensing laws that require novice drivers younger than age 21 to comply with a two-stage licensing process before receiving an unrestricted driver's license. Requires such laws, at a minimum, to include: (1) a learner's permit stage that commences at age 16 or older, lasts at least six months, prohibits driver use of a cellular phone or other communications device in nonemergency situations, and remains in effect until commencement of the intermediate stage or the driver attains age 18; (2) an intermediate stage in effect until the driver attains age 18 that commences immediately after expiration of the learner's permit stage, lasts at least six months, prohibits driver use of a cellular phone or other communications device in nonemergency situations, prohibits nighttime driving, prohibits more than one non-familial passenger under age 21 unless there is a licensed driver at least age 21 present in the vehicle; and (3) any other requirement that the Secretary may require. Deems a state that meets such minimum requirements to be in compliance regardless of whether a state law, enacted before January 1, 2011, establishes a class of license that permits licensees younger than age 18 to drive a motor vehicle in connection with work performed on or for the operation of a farm owned by family members of the licensees. Directs the Secretary to withhold a certain percentage of federal-aid highway funds from states that do not comply with the requirements of this Act.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-04-06 00:00:00

Safe and Efficient Transportation Act of 2011 - Allows a state to authorize a vehicle with a maximum gross weight (including enforcement tolerances) exceeding certain federal weight limitations to operate on Interstate Highway System (IHS) routes in the state if: (1) the vehicle is equipped with at least six axles, (2) the weight of any single axle does not exceed 20,000 pounds, (3) the weight of any tandem axle does not exceed 34,000 pounds, (4) the weight of any group of 3 or more axles does not exceed 51,000 pounds, and (5) the gross weight of the vehicle does not exceed 97,000 pounds. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a safe and efficient vehicle bridge infrastructure improvement program. Requires the Secretary to apportion amounts from the Safe and Efficient Vehicle Trust Fund to states for eligible bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a tax on any vehicles that exceed federal weight limitations operating on the IHS, and (2) establish the Safe and Efficient Vehicle Trust Fund.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-04-07 00:00:00

Safe Roads Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to establish a national clearinghouse for verified positive alcohol and controlled substance test results and test refusals as well as violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) alcohol and controlled substances regulations of commercial motor vehicle operators. Prohibits the release of clearinghouse information to a commercial motor carrier employer unless there has been compliance with all applicable federal privacy laws and regulations. Authorizes the Secretary to collect fees from such employers and other authorized users for informational requests. Prohibits an employer from hiring an individual to operate a commercial motor vehicle unless the employer has determined that the individual, for the preceding three-year period, has: (1) been tested for use of alcohol and controlled substances; (2) not tested positive for their use, or tested positive but has completed the return-to-duty process; (3) not refused to be tested; and (4) not violated FMCSA alcohol and controlled substances regulations. Directs the Secretary to establish a process: (1) to require employers to request and review any clearinghouse records of individuals before their employment as a commercial motor vehicle operator and for each year thereafter as long as the individual is so employed; and (2) for an individual and a state licensing authority to request and receive information from the clearinghouse. Subjects persons who violate the requirements of this Act to both civil and criminal penalties. Requires the Secretary to take certain actions to enhance DOT oversight of testing sites.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-04-14 00:00:00

Transportation Equity for All Americans Act - Excludes privatized highway miles (lane and vehicle miles traveled on a privatized highway) from being a factor in calculating the state apportionment of certain federal-aid highway funds (including funds under the Equity bonus program). Defines "privatized highway" as a highway subject to an agreement giving a private entity control over the highway's operation and ownership over collected highway toll revenues.
Topic: Transportation — Highways
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2011-05-03 00:00:00

Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act - Prohibits a state from prescribing or enforcing any regulation that allows a restricted property-carrying unit (any trailer, semi-trailer, container, or other property-carrying unit longer than 53 feet, except for a fire-fighting unit) to operate on the National Highway System (NHS) (including the Interstate System), unless the operation of such unit is authorized by the state on June 1, 2008, and in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including seasonal operations) on or before that date. Prohibits a state from allowing the operation of a commercial motor vehicle combination on the NHS (except a vehicle or load that cannot be dismantled or divided easily, and that has been issued a special permit under state law) with more than one property-carrying unit (excluding the truck tractor) whose property-carrying units are more than: (1) the maximum combination trailer, semi-trailer, or other type of length limitation allowed by state law on June 1, 2008; or (2) the length of the property-carrying units of those commercial motor vehicle combinations, by specific configuration, in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including continual seasonal operation) in such state on or before June 1, 2008. Prohibits a state from allowing the operation of a vehicle or combination (other than a longer combination vehicle) exceeding Interstate weight limits on the Interstate System unless its operation was lawful: (1) on July 1, 1956; (2) in the case of the overall gross weight of any group of two or more consecutive axles, on January 4, 1975; or (3) under a special permit pursuant to state (grandfather) law. Declares that Interstate weight limitations on vehicles and combinations (other than longer combination vehicles) that operate on the Interstate System shall apply to such vehicles and combinations that operate on non-Interstate segments of the NHS, unless: (1) such segments are subject to lower state weight limits; or (2) a state allows the operation of any vehicle or combination on an existing non-Interstate segment of the NHS that could have been lawfully operated on June 1, 2008.