49 U.S.C. § 32505 — Information and compliance requirements
submitted 32 years ago by Pub. L. 103-272 to r/title-49-TRANSPORTATION · 447 words · no verdicts yet
The Secretary can require manufacturers to keep records, file reports, and allow inspections to check compliance. The Secretary can also subpoena records and testimony, and courts can enforce those subpoenas. Confidential business information stays protected, though Congress can still access it.
(a) General authority. (1) To check whether a manufacturer of passenger vehicles or vehicle equipment is following this chapter and its standards, the Secretary of Transportation may require the manufacturer to (A) keep records, (B) file reports, (C) provide items and information — including vehicles and equipment for testing, at a negotiated price no higher than the manufacturer's own cost — and (D) let an officer or employee the Secretary picks inspect the manufacturer's vehicles and relevant records. (2) To enforce this chapter, an officer or employee the Secretary designates may — after showing proper credentials and giving written notice to the owner, operator, or person in charge — inspect any facility where passenger vehicles or vehicle equipment are made, held before being shipped, or held for sale after being shipped in interstate commerce. Any inspection must happen at a reasonable time, in a reasonable way, and without unreasonable delay.
(b) Powers of Secretary and civil actions to enforce. (1) To carry out this chapter, the Secretary may (A) inspect and copy anyone's records at reasonable times, (B) order a person to file written reports or answer specific questions, including under oath, and (C) hold hearings, swear in witnesses, take testimony, and require — by subpoena or otherwise — that witnesses appear and testify and records be produced. (2) A summoned witness gets the same fee and travel mileage a federal court witness would get. (3) To enforce a subpoena or order, a civil suit may be brought in the U.S. district court for the district where the Secretary's proceeding is happening, and that court can treat disobedience as contempt of court.
(c) Confidentiality of information. (1) Confidential information the Secretary gets under this chapter — the kind protected by section 1905 of title 18 — may only be shared (A) with another federal officer or employee for use in carrying out this chapter, or (B) in a proceeding under this chapter. (2) This does not let anyone withhold the information from an authorized congressional committee. (3) Subject to those confidentiality rules, the Secretary must make available to the public, at cost, information the Secretary submits or receives while carrying out this chapter.
To enable the Secretary of Transportation to decide whether a manufacturer of passenger motor vehicles or passenger motor vehicle equipment is complying with this chapter and standards prescribed under this chapter, the Secretary may require the manufacturer to—
keep records;
make reports;
provide items and information, including vehicles and equipment for testing at a negotiated price not more than the manufacturer’s cost; and
allow an officer or employee designated by the Secretary to inspect vehicles and relevant records of the manufacturer.
To enforce this chapter, an officer or employee designated by the Secretary, on presenting appropriate credentials and a written notice to the owner, operator, or agent in charge, may inspect a facility in which passenger motor vehicles or passenger motor vehicle equipment is manufactured, held for introduction in interstate commerce, or held for sale after introduction in interstate commerce. An inspection shall be conducted at a reasonable time, in a reasonable way, and with reasonable promptness.
In carrying out this chapter, the Secretary may—
inspect and copy records of any person at reasonable times;
order a person to file written reports or answers to specific questions, including reports or answers under oath; and
conduct hearings, administer oaths, take testimony, and require (by subpena or otherwise) the appearance and testimony of witnesses and the production of records the Secretary considers advisable.
A witness summoned under this subsection is entitled to the same fee and mileage the witness would have been paid in a court of the United States.
A civil action to enforce a subpena or order of the Secretary under this subsection may be brought in the United States district court for any judicial district in which the proceeding by the Secretary is conducted. The court may punish a failure to obey an order of the court to comply with the subpena or order of the Secretary as a contempt of court.
Information obtained by the Secretary under this chapter related to a confidential matter referred to in section 1905 of title 18 may be disclosed only—
to another officer or employee of the United States Government for use in carrying out this chapter; or
in a proceeding under this chapter.
This subsection does not authorize information to be withheld from a committee of Congress authorized to have the information.
Subject to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Secretary, on request, shall make available to the public at cost information the Secretary submits or receives in carrying out this chapter.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 103–272, § 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1044; Pub. L. 103–429, § 6(32), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4380.)
- 1994Enacted · Pub. L. 103-272 · 108 Stat. 1044
- 1994Amended · Pub. L. 103-429 · 108 Stat. 4380
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 103-272 on 1994-07-05.
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