Home > 105th Congressional Bills > H.R. 2691 (rh) To reauthorize and improve the operations of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ...H.R. 2691 (rh) To reauthorize and improve the operations of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ...
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 2691
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 22, 1998
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To reauthorize and improve the operations of the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration Reauthorization Act of 1998''.
SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Motor Vehicle Safety Activities.--Section 30104 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 30104. Authorization of appropriations
``There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
$81,200,000 for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to
carry out this part in each fiscal year beginning in fiscal year 1999
and ending in fiscal year 2001.''.
(b) Motor Vehicle Information Activities.--Section 32102 of title
49, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 32102. Authorization of appropriations
``There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
$6,200,000 for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to
carry out this part in each fiscal year beginning in fiscal year 1999
and ending in fiscal year 2001.''.
SEC. 3. RESTRICTIONS ON LOBBYING ACTIVITIES.
(a) Amendment.--Subchapter I of chapter 301 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 30105. Restriction on lobbying activities
``No funds appropriated to the Secretary pursuant to section 30104
or 32102 may be available for any activity specifically designed to
urge a State or local legislator to favor or oppose the adoption of any
specific legislative proposal pending before any State or local
legislature.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in subchapter I of
chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``30105. Restriction on lobbying activities.''.
SEC. 4. RISK AND BENEFIT DISCLOSURE.
(a) In General.--Within one year of the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall communicate to the
public information regarding the reasonable risks and benefits of any
major device or element of design to be installed on or in a motor
vehicle or motor vehicle equipment in compliance with a motor vehicle
safety standard issued under section 30111 of title 49, United States
Code, determined by the Secretary to be important to the protection of
motor vehicle occupants.
(b) Notice and Comment.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Secretary of Transportation shall provide notice that the Secretary is
considering the means for carrying out subsection (a) and shall provide
opportunity for comment on--
(1) the extent to which the information to be communicated
under subsection (a) can be communicated in a manner which is
scientifically objective and which relies upon scientific
findings; and
(2) the extent to which such information can be made
available to consumers in a clear and easily understandable
format through the Internet, public libraries, and such other
means as the Secretary may deem appropriate.
(c) No Requirement.--Unless the Secretary of Transportation
determines that it is essential to ensuring motor vehicle safety, the
Secretary may not require a manufacturer or distributor to distribute
any statement of reasonable risks and benefits which the Secretary is
to communicate under subsection (a).
SEC. 5. OCCUPANT PROTECTION PREFERENCES.
Section 30111 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by
inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) Special Considerations Relating to Occupant Protection.--When
prescribing or revising a motor vehicle safety standard under this
section or section 30127 relating to the protection of motor vehicle
occupants under this chapter, the Secretary shall, to the extent
relevant and practicable, design such standard to protect improperly
restrained and positioned occupants only to the extent that such a
design would not substantially increase the risk of injury to properly
restrained and positioned occupants.''.
SEC. 6. ODOMETERS.
(a) Transfers of New Motor Vehicles.--Section 32705(a) of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(4)(A) This subsection shall apply to all transfers of motor
vehicles (unless otherwise exempted by the Secretary by regulation),
except in the case of transfers of new motor vehicles from a vehicle
manufacturer jointly to a dealer and a person engaged in the business
of renting or leasing vehicles for a period of 30 days or less.
``(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term `new motor
vehicle' means any motor vehicle driven with no more than the limited
use necessary in moving, transporting, or road testing such vehicle
prior to delivery from the vehicle manufacturer to a dealer, but in no
event shall the odometer reading of such vehicle exceed 300 miles.''.
(b) Exempted Vehicles.--Section 32705(a) of title 49, United States
Code, as amended by subsection (a), is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(5) The Secretary may exempt such classes or categories of
vehicles as the Secretary deems appropriate from these requirements.
Until such time as the Secretary amends or modifies the regulations set
forth in 49 CFR 580.6, such regulations shall have full force and
effect.''.
SEC. 7. INTERNATIONAL HARMONIZATION.
(a) Amendment.--Subchapter III of chapter 301 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 30148. International motor vehicle safety outreach
``(a) Activities.--The Secretary is authorized, in consultation
with the Secretaries of State and Commerce where appropriate, to engage
in activities that improve worldwide motor vehicle safety through
appropriate activities. Such activities may include--
``(1) promoting the adoption of international and national
vehicle standards that are harmonized with, functionally
equivalent to, or compatible with United States vehicle
standards;
``(2) participating in efforts to foster an international
acceptance of globally harmonized or functionally equivalent or
compatible motor vehicle regulations and standards to otherwise
improve international highway and motor vehicle safety;
``(3) promoting international cooperative programs for
conducting research, development, demonstration projects,
training, and other forms of technology transfer and exchange,
including safety conferences, seminars, and expositions to
enhance international motor vehicle safety; and
``(4) providing technical assistance to other countries
relating to their adoption of United States vehicle regulations
or standards functionally equivalent to United States vehicle
standards.
``(b) Cooperation.--The Secretary may carry out the authority
granted by this section, in cooperation with appropriate United States
Government agencies, any State or local agency, and any authority,
association, institution, corporation (profit or nonprofit), foreign
government, multinational institution, or any other organization or
person.
``(c) Consideration.--When engaging in activities to improve
worldwide motor vehicle safety, the Secretary shall ensure that these
activities maintain or improve the level of safety of motor vehicles
and motor vehicle equipment sold in the United States.
``(d) Public Meetings and Information.--To ensure public awareness
of, and opportunity to comment on, decision-making meetings concerning
the adoption of a globally harmonized motor vehicle regulation or
standard, described in subsection (a)(2), by an international body or
representatives of any foreign nation the Secretary shall--
``(1) not less than quarterly, provide notice of, and hold
a public meeting to receive comments on the subject matter of,
any decision-making meetings scheduled to be held with an
international body or representatives of any foreign nation
before the next public meeting required to be held under this
paragraph; and
``(2) make available to the public any relevant information
and records, including any proposed text, concerning the matter
of any decision-making meetings scheduled with an international
body or representatives of any foreign nation as those
materials become available.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in subchapter III of
chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``30148. International motor vehicle safety outreach.''.
SEC. 8. MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS.
(a) Notification of Defects and Noncompliance.--Sections 30118(d)
and 30120(h) of title 49, United States Code, are each amended by
striking the second sentence.
(b) Remedies for Defects and Noncompliance.--Section 30120(i)(1) of
title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting ``(including
retailers of motor vehicle equipment)'' after ``dealer'' the first time
it appears.
(c) Tires.--Section 30123 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) and by redesignating
subsections (d), (e), and (f), as subsections (a), (b), and (c),
respectively.
(d) Automatic Occupant Crash Protection and Seat Belt Use.--Section
30127(g)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking
``every 6 months'' and inserting ``annually''.
(e) Miscellaneous.--
(1) Definitions.--
(A) Country of origin.--Section 32304(a)(3)(B) of
title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting
before the period the following: ``, plus the assembly
and labor costs incurred for the final assembly of such
engines and transmissions''.
(B) Final assembly place.--Section 32304(a)(5) of
title 49, United States Code, is amended is amended by
adding at the end the following: ``Such term does not
include facilities for engine and transmission
fabrication and assembly and the facilities for
fabrication of motor vehicle equipment component parts
which are produced at the same final assembly place
using forming processes such as stamping, machining, or
molding processes.''.
(C) Outside supplier content reporting.--Section
32304(a)(9)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended to read as follows:
``(A) for an outside supplier--
``(i) the full purchase price of passenger
motor vehicle equipment whose purchase price
contains at least 70 percent value added in the
United States and Canada; or
``(ii) that portion of the purchase price
of passenger motor vehicle equipment containing
less than 70 percent value added in the United
States and Canada that is attributable to the
percent value added in the United States and
Canada when such percent is expressed to the
nearest 5 percent; and''.
(2) Country of assembly.--Section 32304(d) of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following; ``A manufacturer may add to the label required under
subsection (b) a line stating the country in which vehicle
assembly was completed.''.
(3) Vehicle content percentage by assembly plant.--Section
32304 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by
redesignating subsections (c) through (f) as subsections (f)
through (i), respectively, and by adding after subsection (b)
the following:
``(c) Vehicle Content Percentage by Assembly Plant.--A manufacturer
may display separately on the label required by subsection (b) the
domestic content of a vehicle based on the assembly plant. Such display
shall occur after the matter required to be in the label by subsection
(b)(1)(A).''.
(4) Suppliers failing to report.--Section 32304 of title
49, United States Code, is amended by adding after subsection
(c), as added by paragraph (3), the following:
``(d) Value Added Determination.--If a manufacturer or allied
supplier requests information in a timely manner from one or more of
its outside suppliers concerning the United States/Canadian content of
particular equipment, but does not receive that information despite a
good faith effort to obtain it, the manufacturer or allied supplier may
make its own good faith value added determinations, subject to the
following:
``(1) The manufacturer or allied supplier shall make the
same value added determinations as would be made by the outside
supplier, that is, whether 70 percent or more of the value of
equipment is added in the United States and/or Canada.
``(2) The manufacturer or allied supplier shall consider
the amount of value added and the location in which the value
was added for all of the stages that the outside supplier would
be required to consider.
``(3) The manufacturer or allied supplier may determine
that the value added in the United States and/or Canada is 70
percent or more only if it has a good faith basis to make that
determination.
``(4) A manufacturer and its allied suppliers may, on a
combined basis, make value added determinations for no more
than 10 percent, by value, of a carline's total parts content
from outside suppliers.
``(5) Value added determinations made by a manufacturer or
allied supplier under this paragraph shall have the same effect
as if they were made by the outside supplier.
``(6) This provision does not affect the obligation of
outside suppliers to provide the requested information.''.
(5) Accounting for the value of small parts.--Section 32304
of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding after
subsection (d), as added by paragraph (4), the following:
``(e) Small Parts.--The country of origin of nuts, bolts, clips,
screws, pins, braces, gasoline, oil, blackout, phosphate rinse,
windshield washer fluid, fasteners, tire assembly fluid, rivets,
adhesives, and grommets, of any system, subassembly, or component
installed in a vehicle shall be considered to be the country in which
such parts were included in the final assembly of such vehicle.''.
(f) Study.--The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
shall conduct a study of the benefits to motor vehicle drivers of a
regulation to require the installation in a motor vehicle of an
interior device to release the trunk lid. Not later than 18 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administration shall
submit a report on the results of the study to the Committee on
Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
SEC. 9. IMPORTATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE FOR SHOW OR DISPLAY.
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