
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: 49USC32505]

 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
             SUBTITLE VI--MOTOR VEHICLE AND DRIVER PROGRAMS
 
            PART C--INFORMATION, STANDARDS, AND REQUIREMENTS
 
                      CHAPTER 325--BUMPER STANDARDS
 
Sec. 32505. Information and compliance requirements

    (a) General Authority.--(1) 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--
        (A) keep records;
        (B) make reports;
        (C) provide items and information, including vehicles and 
    equipment for testing at a negotiated price not more than the 
    manufacturer's cost; and
        (D) allow an officer or employee designated by the Secretary to 
    inspect vehicles and relevant records of the manufacturer.

    (2) 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.
    (b) Powers of Secretary and Civil Actions To Enforce.--(1) In 
carrying out this chapter, the Secretary may--
        (A) inspect and copy records of any person at reasonable times;
        (B) order a person to file written reports or answers to 
    specific questions, including reports or answers under oath; and
        (C) 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.

    (2) 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.
    (3) 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.
    (c) Confidentiality of Information.--(1) 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--
        (A) to another officer or employee of the United States 
    Government for use in carrying out this chapter; or
        (B) in a proceeding under this chapter.

    (2) This subsection does not authorize information to be withheld 
from a committee of Congress authorized to have the information.
    (3) 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.

(Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1044; Pub. L. 103-
429, Sec. 6(32), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4380.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
                                                 Pub. L. 103-272
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
           Revised  Section                    Source (U.S. Code)              
 Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
32505(a)(1)...........................  15:1915(a).                      Oct. 2
0, 1972, Pub. L. 92-513, Secs.
                                                                          104(a
), (b), 105(a), (b), 109, 86
                                                                          Stat.
 950, 951, 952, 955.
32505(a)(2)...........................  15:1915(b).
32505(b)(1)...........................  15:1914(a)(1)-(3).
32505(b)(2)...........................  15:1914(a)(5).
32505(b)(3)...........................  15:1914(a)(4).
32505(c)(1), (2)......................  15:1914(b).
32505(c)(3)...........................  15:1919.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    In subsection (a)(1), before clause (A), the words ``To enable the 
Secretary of Transportation to decide whether . . . is complying'' are 
substituted for ``to enable him to determine whether such manufacturer 
has acted or is acting in compliance'' and ``determining whether such 
manufacturer has acted or is acting in compliance'' to eliminate 
unnecessary words. The word ``reasonably'' is omitted as surplus. In 
clause (A), the word ``keep'' is substituted for ``establish and 
maintain'' for consistency in the revised title and to eliminate 
unnecessary words. In clause (C), the text of 15:1915(a) (2d sentence) 
is omitted as surplus because of 49:322(a). In clause (D), the words 
``upon request'' and ``duly'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (a)(2), the word ``enter'' is omitted as being as 
included in ``inspect''. The word ``facility'' is substituted for 
``factory, warehouse, or establishment'' to eliminate unnecessary words. 
The words ``shall be commenced and completed'' are omitted as surplus.
    In subsection (b)(1), before clause (A), the words ``In carrying out 
this chapter'' are substituted for ``For the purpose of carrying out the 
provisions of this subchapter'', ``In order to carry out the provisions 
of this subchapter'', ``relevant to any function of the Secretary under 
this subchapter'', and ``relating to any function of the Secretary under 
this subchapter'' for consistency. In clause (A), the words ``inspect 
and copy'' are substituted for ``have access to, and for the purposes of 
examination the right to copy'' to eliminate unnecessary words. The word 
``records'' is substituted for ``documentary evidence'' for consistency. 
In clause (B), the word ``order'' is substituted for ``require, by 
general or special orders'' to eliminate unnecessary words. The words 
``in such form as the Secretary may prescribe'' and ``shall be filed 
with the Secretary within such reasonable period as the Secretary may 
prescribe'' are omitted as surplus because of 49:322(a). In clause (C), 
the words ``sit and act at such times and places'' are omitted as being 
included in ``conduct hearings''.
    In subsection (b)(3), the words ``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 the judicial district in which 
the proceeding by the Secretary was conducted'' are substituted for 
15:1914(a)(4) (words before semicolon) for consistency in the revised 
title and to eliminate unnecessary words.
    In subsection (c)(1), before clause (A), the words ``reported to or 
otherwise'' are omitted as surplus. The words ``or his representative'' 
are omitted for consistency with subsection (b) of this section. The 
words ``related to a confidential matter referred to'' are substituted 
for ``contains or relates to a trade secret or other matter referred 
to'' to eliminate unnecessary words. The words ``shall be considered 
confidential for the purpose of that section'' are omitted as surplus. 
In clause (A), the words ``of the United States Government'' are added 
for clarity. In clause (B) the words ``when relevant'' are omitted as 
surplus.
    In subsection (c)(2), the words ``a committee of Congress authorized 
to have the information'' are substituted for ``the duly authorized 
committees of the Congress'' for clarity.
    In subsection (c)(3), the words ``copies of any communications, 
documents, reports, or other'' are omitted as surplus.


                             Pub. L. 103-429

    This amends 49:32505(b)(3) to clarify the restatement of 
15:1914(a)(4) by section 1 of the Act of July 5, 1994 (Public Law 103-
272, 108 Stat. 1044).


                               Amendments

    1994--Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 103-429 substituted ``any judicial 
district in which the proceeding by the Secretary is conducted'' for 
``the judicial district in which the proceeding by the Secretary was 
conducted''.


                    Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 103-429 effective July 5, 1994, see section 9 
of Pub. L. 103-429, set out as a note under section 321 of this title.
