15 U.S.C. § 3808 — Repealed. Pub. L. 104–66, title I, § 1051(p),

Page 2087 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 3808 vehicles to be fueled by methane or with dual fuel capacity, the installation of meth- ane transmission, storage and dispensing fa- cilities, and compliance with data acquisi- tion and reporting requirements under this chapter; and (ii) loans to cover up to 50 per centum of reasonable and necessary costs associated with the installation of methane trans- mission, storage and dispensing facilities: Provided, That the Secretary shall be au- thorized to direct and require recipients of assistance under this section to enter into cooperative agreements for the planning and use of such facilities with other recipients of assistance under this section, under a cost- sharing agreement where appropriate and economical. (B) Loans issued under this section shall bear interest at such rate as the Secretary may determine, giving consideration to the needs and capacities of the recipient and the prevailing rates of interest (public and pri- vate), except that such rate shall not be less than a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking into consideration the cur- rent average yield on outstanding marketable obligations of the United States with remain- ing periods of maturity comparable to the av- erage maturities of such loans. No loan shall be made unless the Secretary shall have deter- mined that there is reasonable prospect of re- payment. (C) The terms and conditions of loans issued under this section shall take into account the scope of the particular demonstration and any particular conditions which might reasonably be expected to result in additional costs to the recipient, and shall reflect the relative costs of gasoline and diesel fuel and methane and the projected savings in fuel costs to the re- cipient as a result of participating in the dem- onstration. In no instance shall a loan issued under this section be for a period in excess of five years. (3) The Secretary shall provide for appro- priate assistance to defray costs associated with complying with data acquisition and re- porting requirements under this chapter. (4) In the case of an organization comprised of both public and private entities, a package of technical and financial assistance shall be designed to the maximum extent feasible, in such a manner as to assist its public compo- nents as provided for in paragraph (1) and to assist its private components as provided for in paragraph (2) of this section. (c) Fiscal year limitations Not fewer than fifty demonstrations shall be assisted under this section with not fewer than ten being initiated in the fiscal year ending Sep- tember 30, 1982, and not fewer than twenty being initiated in each of the fiscal years ending Sep- tember 30, 1983, and September 30, 1984. In the case of demonstrations initiated under this chapter after the first fiscal year in which dem- onstrations are funded, the Secretary shall as- certain that plans for such demonstrations take into consideration information and findings in- cluded in reports filed on other demonstrations assisted under this chapter. (d) Duration; recordkeeping requirements Each demonstration shall have a duration of at least three years during which time records including, but not limited to, fuel efficiency in- dicators, emissions data, repair statistics, and detailed reports of any accidents, shall be main- tained and reports made to the Secretary in ac- cordance with guidelines promulgated by the Secretary prior to issuance of the first loan or grant under this section and amended no more often than twice annually. (e) Selection of proposed demonstrations; discre- tionary and mandatory criteria In selecting proposed demonstrations to be supported under this section, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, as- sure representation of diverse operating condi- tions and vehicle types including, but not lim- ited to— (1) altitude and topography, (2) climatic conditions, (3) air quality conditions, (4) industrial, commercial, and agricultural uses, (5) varying vehicular structures, and (6) average trip lengths: Provided, however, That not fewer than two dem- onstrations initiated in each year shall be lo- cated in a county or standard metropolitan sta- tistical area designated by the Secretary upon recommendation of the Administrator of the En- vironmental Protection Agency based on sever- ity or uniqueness of air quality conditions: And provided further, That the fleet or portions of fleets participating in each demonstration with funding under this chapter shall consist of not fewer than fifty vehicles except in the case of one demonstration each year involving meth- ane-fueled off-road agricultural equipment. (Pub. L. 96–512, § 7, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2830.) § 3807. Use of methane-fueled vehicles by Federal agencies and departments The Secretary shall consult with the Post- master General of the United States Postal Service, the Administrator of the General Serv- ices Administration, the Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other Federal agencies where appropriate to— (a) determine the practicability of using methane vehicles in the performance of cer- tain or all of the functions of their agencies based in counties and standard metropolitan statistical areas in which demonstrations under section 3806 of this title are being con- ducted; and (b) arrange for appropriate use of methane- fueled vehicles at the earliest practicable date. (Pub. L. 96–512, § 8, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2832.) § 3808. Repealed. Pub. L. 104–66, title I, § 1051(p), Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 717 Section, Pub. L. 96–512, § 9, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2833, directed Secretary of Energy to submit such reports to Congress as Secretary deemed appropriate, including annual report on all activities under this chapter. Page 2088 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 3809 § 3809. Authorization of appropriations; required funding There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for purposes of carrying out this chap- ter, not to exceed $3,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1982, not less than one-half of which shall be for the purpose of making loans under section 3806(b) of this title; not to exceed $5,000,000 for the fiscal year ending Sep- tember 30, 1983, not less than one-half of which shall be for the purpose of making loans under section 3806(b) of this title; not to exceed $5,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1984, not less than one-half of which shall be for the purpose of making loans under section 3806(b) of this title; and such sums as may be necessary for the fiscal years ending September 30, 1985, and September 30, 1986. Any amount ap- propriated pursuant to this section shall remain available until expended. (Pub. L. 96–512, § 10, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2833.) § 3810. Relationship to other laws (a) Modification or waiver Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as authorizing the Secretary or any other official with respect to any activity pursuant to this chapter to modify or waive the application of any Federal, State or local laws dealing with the production, transportation, storage, safety, use or pricing of methane. (b) Promulgation of rules Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as granting the Secretary or any other Federal of- ficial any authority to promulgate rules of gen- eral application to regulate the production, transportation, storage, safety, use or pricing of methane as a transportation fuel or vehicles which use methane as a transportation fuel. (Pub. L. 96–512, § 11, Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2833.) CHAPTER 65—LIABILITY RISK RETENTION Sec. 3901. Definitions. 3902. Risk retention groups. 3903. Purchasing groups. 3904. Securities laws. 3905. Clarification concerning permissible State authority. 3906. Injunctive orders issued by United States dis- trict courts. § 3901. Definitions (a) As used in this chapter— (1) ‘‘insurance’’ means primary insurance, excess insurance, reinsurance, surplus lines in- surance, and any other arrangement for shift- ing and distributing risk which is determined to be insurance under applicable State or Fed- eral law; (2) ‘‘liability’’— (A) means legal liability for damages (in- cluding costs of defense, legal costs and fees, and other claims expenses) because of inju- ries to other persons, damage to their prop- erty, or other damage or loss to such other persons resulting from or arising out of— (i) any business (whether profit or non- profit), trade, product, services (including professional services), premises, or oper- ations, or (ii) any activity of any State or local government, or any agency or political subdivision thereof; and (B) does not include personal risk liability and an employer’s liability with respect to its employees other than legal liability under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (45 U.S.C. 51 et seq.); (3) ‘‘personal risk liability’’ means liability for damages because of injury to any person, damage to property, or other loss or damage resulting from any personal, familial, or household responsibilities or activities, rather than from responsibilities or activities re- ferred to in paragraphs (2)(A) and (2)(B); (4) ‘‘risk retention group’’ means any cor- poration or other limited liability associa- tion— (A) whose primary activity consists of as- suming, and spreading all, or any portion, of the liability exposure of its group members; (B) which is organized for the primary pur- pose of conducting the activity described under subparagraph (A); (C) which— (i) is chartered or licensed as a liability insurance company under the laws of a State and authorized to engage in the busi- ness of insurance under the laws of such State; or (ii) before January 1, 1985, was chartered or licensed and authorized to engage in the business of insurance under the laws of Bermuda or the Cayman Islands and, be- fore such date, had certified to the insur- ance commissioner of at least one State that it satisfied the capitalization require- ments of such State, except that any such group shall be considered to be a risk re- tention group only if it has been engaged in business continuously since such date and only for the purpose of continuing to provide insurance to cover product liabil- ity or completed operations liability (as such terms were defined in this section be- fore October 27, 1986); (D) which does not exclude any person from membership in the group solely to pro- vide for members of such a group a competi- tive advantage over such a person; (E) which— (i) has as its owners only persons who comprise the membership of the risk re- tention group and who are provided insur- ance by such group; or (ii) has as its sole owner an organization which has as— (I) its members only persons who com- prise the membership of the risk reten- tion group; and (II) its owners only persons who com- prise the membership of the risk reten- tion group and who are provided insur- ance by such group; (F) whose members are engaged in busi- nesses or activities similar or related with respect to the liability to which such mem-