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.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6094 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6094
To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit rental of motor
vehicles under a safety recall because of a defect related to motor
vehicle safety or noncompliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety
standard until the defect or noncompliance is remedied, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 2012
Mrs. Capps (for herself, Mr. Engel, and Ms. Schakowsky) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to prohibit rental of motor
vehicles under a safety recall because of a defect related to motor
vehicle safety or noncompliance with an applicable motor vehicle safety
standard until the defect or noncompliance is remedied, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe
Rental Car Act of 2012''.
SEC. 2. APPLICATION OF MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS TO CAR RENTAL
COMPANIES.
(a) Covered Rental Vehicle and Rental Company Defined.--Section
30102(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (11) as
paragraphs (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (12),
and (13), respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(1) `covered rental vehicle' means a motor vehicle that--
``(A) is rated at 26,000 pounds gross vehicle
weight or less;
``(B) is rented without a driver for an initial
term of less than 4 months; and
``(C) is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 5 or more
motor vehicles that is used for rental purposes by a
rental company.''; and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (10) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(11) `rental company' means a person who--
``(A) is engaged in the business of renting covered
rental vehicles; and
``(B) uses for rental purposes a motor vehicle
fleet of 5 or more covered rental vehicles.''.
(b) Notification by Rental Companies to Renters.--
(1) In general.--Section 30119 of such title is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(g) Notification by Rental Company to Renter.--A rental company
that receives a notification required under section 30118 of this title
that includes the vehicle identification number of a covered rental
vehicle during a period in which the vehicle is rented shall, as soon
as practicable, contact the renter of the vehicle and any authorized
driver of the vehicle for whom the rental company has immediate contact
information to inform the renter and authorized driver of the defect or
noncompliance.''.
(2) Regulations.--The Secretary of Transportation may not
begin any process to promulgate regulations under subsection
(g) of such section, as added by paragraph (1), until the date
that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Limitation on Sales, Leases, or Rentals by Rental Companies.--
Section 30120(i) of such title is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)--
(i) by inserting ``, or the manufacturer
has provided to a rental company notification
about a covered rental vehicle (including the
vehicle identification number for such vehicle)
in the company's possession at the time of
notification,'' after ``time of notification'';
and
(ii) by striking ``the dealer may sell or
lease'' and inserting ``the dealer or rental
company may sell, lease, or rent''; and
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``under the
sale or lease'' and inserting ``under the sale, lease,
or rental agreement'';
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or rental company''
after ``a dealer''; and
(3) in the subsection heading by striking ``or Lease'' and
inserting ``, Lease, or Rental''.
(d) Prohibition on Making Safety Devices and Elements
Inoperative.--Section 30122(b) of such title is amended by inserting
``rental company,'' after ``dealer,'' both places it appears.
(e) Inspections, Investigations, and Records.--
(1) Matters that can be inspected and impoundment.--
Subsection (c)(2) of section 30166 of such title is amended by
striking ``or dealer'' both places it appears and inserting
``dealer, or rental company''.
(2) Records and making reports.--Subsection (e) of such
section is amended by striking ``or dealer'' each place it
appears and inserting ``dealer, or rental company''.
(3) Providing copies of communications about defects and
noncompliance.--Subsection (f) of such section is amended by
inserting ``rental companies or other'' after ``dealers or
to''.
(f) Research Authority.--The Secretary of Transportation may
conduct a study of the effectiveness of the amendments made by this
section and of other activities of rental companies (as defined in
section 30102(a) of title 49, United States Code, as added by
subsection (a)(2)) related to their use and disposition of motor
vehicles that are the subject of a notification required under section
30118 of title 49, United States Code.
(g) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of this
Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line