
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 49USC13703]

 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                 SUBTITLE IV--INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION
 
 PART B--MOTOR CARRIERS, WATER CARRIERS, BROKERS, AND FREIGHT FORWARDERS
 
                  CHAPTER 137--RATES AND THROUGH ROUTES
 
Sec. 13703. Certain collective activities; exemption from 
        antitrust laws
        
    (a) Agreements.--
        (1) Authority to enter.--A motor carrier providing 
    transportation or service subject to jurisdiction under chapter 135 
    may enter into an agreement with one or more such carriers to 
    establish--
            (A) through routes and joint rates;
            (B) rates for the transportation of household goods;
            (C) classifications;
            (D) mileage guides;
            (E) rules;
            (F) divisions;
            (G) rate adjustments of general application based on 
        industry average carrier costs (so long as there is no 
        discussion of individual markets or particular single-line 
        rates); or
            (H) procedures for joint consideration, initiation, or 
        establishment of matters described in subparagraphs (A) through 
        (G).

        (2) Submission of agreement to board; approval.--An agreement 
    entered into under paragraph (1) may be submitted by any carrier or 
    carriers that are parties to such agreement to the Board for 
    approval and may be approved by the Board only if it finds that such 
    agreement is in the public interest.
        (3) Conditions.--The Board may require compliance with 
    reasonable conditions consistent with this part to assure that the 
    agreement furthers the transportation policy set forth in section 
    13101.
        (4) Independently established rates.--Any carrier which is a 
    party to an agreement under paragraph (1) is not, and may not be, 
    precluded from independently establishing its own rates, 
    classification, and mileages or from adopting and using a 
    noncollectively made classification or mileage guide.
        (5) Investigations.--
            (A) Reasonableness.--The Board may suspend and investigate 
        the reasonableness of any rate, rule, classification, or rate 
        adjustment of general application made pursuant to an agreement 
        under this section.
            (B) Actions not in the public interest.--The Board may 
        investigate any action taken pursuant to an agreement approved 
        under this section. If the Board finds that the action is not in 
        the public interest, the Board may take such measures as may be 
        necessary to protect the public interest with regard to the 
        action, including issuing an order directing the parties to 
        cease and desist or modify the action.

        (6) Effect of approval.--If the Board approves the agreement or 
    renews approval of the agreement, it may be made and carried out 
    under its terms and under the conditions required by the Board, and 
    the antitrust laws, as defined in the first section of the Clayton 
    Act (15 U.S.C. 12), do not apply to parties and other persons with 
    respect to making or carrying out the agreement.

    (b) Records.--The Board may require an organization established or 
continued under an agreement approved under this section to maintain 
records and submit reports. The Board, or its delegate, may inspect a 
record maintained under this section, or monitor any organization's 
compliance with this section.
    (c) Review.--
        (1) In general.--The Board may review an agreement approved 
    under this section, on its own initiative or on request, and shall 
    change the conditions of approval or terminate it when necessary to 
    protect the public interest. Action of the Board under this 
    section--
            (A) approving an agreement,
            (B) denying, ending, or changing approval,
            (C) prescribing the conditions on which approval is granted, 
        or
            (D) changing those conditions,

    has effect only as related to application of the antitrust laws 
    referred to in subsection (a).
        (2) Periodic review of approvals.--Subject to this section, in 
    the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
    paragraph and in each 5-year period thereafter, the Board shall 
    initiate a proceeding to review any agreement approved pursuant to 
    this section. Any such agreement shall be continued unless the Board 
    determines otherwise.

    (d) Limitation.--The Board shall not take any action that would 
permit the establishment of nationwide collective ratemaking authority.
    (e) Existing Agreements.--
        (1) Agreements existing as of December 31, 1995.--Agreements 
    approved under former section 10706(b) and in effect on December 31, 
    1995, shall be treated for purposes of this section as approved by 
    the Board under this section beginning on January 1, 1996.
        (2) Cases pending as of date of the enactment.--Nothing in 
    section 227 (other than subsection (b)) of the Motor Carrier Safety 
    Improvement Act of 1999, including the amendments made by such 
    section, shall be construed to affect any case brought under this 
    section that is pending before the Board as of the date of the 
    enactment of this paragraph.

    (f) Limitations on Statutory Construction.--
        (1) Undercharge claims.--Nothing in this section shall serve as 
    a basis for any undercharge claim.
        (2) Obligation of shipper.--Nothing in this title, the ICC 
    Termination Act of 1995, or any amendments or repeals made by such 
    Act shall be construed as creating any obligation for a shipper 
    based solely on a classification that was on file with the 
    Interstate Commerce Commission or elsewhere on December 31, 1995.

    (g) Industry Standard Guides.--
        (1) In general.--
            (A) Public availability.--Routes, rates, classifications, 
        mileage guides, and rules established under agreements approved 
        under this section shall be published and made available for 
        public inspection upon request.
            (B) Participation of carriers.--
                (i) In general.--A motor carrier of property whose 
            routes, rates, classifications, mileage guides, rules, or 
            packaging are determined or governed by publications 
            established under agreements approved under this section 
            must participate in the determining or governing publication 
            for such provisions to apply.
                (ii) Power of attorney.--The motor carrier of property 
            shall issue a power of attorney to the publishing agent and, 
            upon its acceptance, the agent shall issue a written 
            certification to the motor carrier affirming its 
            participation in the governing publication, and the 
            certification shall be made available for public inspection.

        (2) Mileage limitation.--No carrier subject to jurisdiction 
    under subchapter I or III of chapter 135 may enforce collection of 
    its mileage rates unless such carrier--
            (A) is a participant in a publication of mileages formulated 
        under an agreement approved under this section; or
            (B) uses a publication of mileage (other than a publication 
        described in subparagraph (A)) that can be examined by any 
        interested person upon reasonable request.

    (h) Single Line Rate Defined.--In this section, the term ``single 
line rate'' means a rate, charge, or allowance proposed by a single 
motor carrier that is applicable only over its line and for which the 
transportation can be provided by that carrier.

(Added Pub. L. 104-88, title I, Sec. 103, Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 869; 
amended Pub. L. 104-287, Sec. 5(28), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3391; Pub. 
L. 105-102, Sec. 2(9), Nov. 20, 1997, 111 Stat. 2204; Pub. L. 106-159, 
title II, Sec. 227, Dec. 9, 1999, 113 Stat. 1772.)


                      Historical and Revision Notes

                             Pub. L. 105-102

    This amends 49:13703(a)(2) to correct an erroneous cross-reference.

                       References in Text

    The date of the enactment of this paragraph, referred to in subsecs. 
(c)(2) and (e)(2), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 106-159, which 
was approved Dec. 9, 1999.
    Former section 10706(b), referred to in subsec. (e)(1), probably 
means section 10706(b) of this title as in effect before that section 
was omitted and a new section 10706 enacted in the general amendment of 
this subtitle by Pub. L. 104-88, title I, Sec. 102(a), Dec. 29, 1995, 
109 Stat. 804, 812.
    Section 227 of the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, 
referred to in subsec. (e)(2), is section 227 of Pub. L. 106-159, which 
amended this section. See 1999 Amendment notes below.
    The ICC Termination Act of 1995, referred to in subsec. (f)(2), is 
Pub. L. 104-88, Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 803. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1995 
Amendment note set out under section 101 of this title and Tables.


                            Prior Provisions

    Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in 
section 10706 of this title prior to the general amendment of this 
subtitle by Pub. L. 104-88, Sec. 102(a).


                               Amendments

    1999--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 106-159, Sec. 227(a), designated 
introductory provisions as par. (1) and inserted heading, redesignated 
former pars. (1) to (4) as subpars. (A) to (D), respectively, of par. 
(1) and realigned their margins, and added par. (2).
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 106-159, Sec. 227(b), amended heading and text 
of subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: 
``Subject to subsection (c), approval of an agreement under subsection 
(a) shall expire 3 years after the date of approval unless renewed under 
this subsection. The approval may be renewed upon request of the parties 
to the agreement if such parties resubmit the agreement to the Board, 
the agreement is unchanged, and the Board approves such renewal. The 
Board shall approve the renewal unless it finds that the renewal is not 
in the public interest. Parties to the agreement may continue to 
undertake activities pursuant to the previously approved agreement while 
the renewal request is pending.''
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 106-159, Sec. 227(c), designated existing 
provisions as par. (1), inserted par. heading, and added par. (2).
    1997--Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 105-102 substituted ``paragraph (1)'' 
for ``subsection (a)''.
    1996--Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104-287, Sec. 5(28)(A), substituted 
``December 31, 1995,'' for ``the day before the effective date of this 
section'' and ``January 1, 1996'' for ``such effective date''.
    Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 104-287, Sec. 5(28)(B), substituted 
``December 31, 1995'' for ``the day before the effective date of this 
section''.

               Abolition of Interstate Commerce Commission

    Interstate Commerce Commission abolished by section 101 of Pub. L. 
104-88, set out as a note under section 701 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 13541, 13701, 14706 of this 
title.
