46 U.S.C. § 7510 — Examinations for merchant mariner cre-

Page 143 TITLE 46—SHIPPING § 7510 (b) PROCESS FOR ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES BY SECRETARY.—A final rule implementing this sec- tion shall include a process for— (1) the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to issue medical certificates to mariners who submit applica- tions for such certificates to the Secretary; and (2) a trusted agent to defer to the Secretary the issuance of a medical certificate. (c) TRUSTED AGENT DEFINED.—In this section the term ‘‘trusted agent’’ means a medical prac- titioner certified by the Secretary to perform physical examinations of an individual for pur- poses of a license, certificate of registry, or mer- chant mariner’s document under this part. (Added Pub. L. 114–120, title III, § 309(a), Feb. 8, 2016, 130 Stat. 56.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries IMPLEMENTATION DEADLINE Pub. L. 114–120, title III, § 309(b), Feb. 8, 2016, 130 Stat. 57, provided that: ‘‘Not later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act [Feb. 8, 2016], the Sec- retary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall issue a final rule implementing section 7509 of title 46, United States Code, as added by this section.’’ § 7510. Examinations for merchant mariner cre- dentials (a) DISCLOSURE NOT REQUIRED.—Notwith- standing any other provision of law, the Sec- retary is not required to disclose to the public— (1) a question from any examination for a merchant mariner credential; (2) the answer to such a question, including any correct or incorrect answer that may be presented with such question; and (3) any quality or characteristic of such a question, including— (A) the manner in which such question has been, is, or may be selected for an examina- tion; (B) the frequency of such selection; and (C) the frequency that an examinee cor- rectly or incorrectly answered such ques- tion. (b) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN QUESTIONS.—Not- withstanding subsection (a), the Secretary may, for the purpose of preparation by the general public for examinations required for merchant mariner credentials, release an examination question and answer that the Secretary has re- tired or is not presently on or part of an exam- ination, or that the Secretary determines is ap- propriate for release. (c) EXAM REVIEW.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2016, and once every two years thereafter, the Commandant shall com- mission a working group to review new ques- tions for inclusion in examinations required for merchant mariner credentials, composed of— (A) 1 subject matter expert from the Coast Guard; (B) representatives from training facilities and the maritime industry, of whom— (i) one-half shall be representatives from approved training facilities; and (ii) one-half shall be representatives from the appropriate maritime industry; (C) at least 1 representative from the Na- tional Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee; (D) at least 2 representatives from the State maritime academies, of whom one shall be a representative from the deck training track and one shall be a representa- tive of the engineer license track; (E) representatives from other Coast Guard Federal advisory committees, as ap- propriate, for the industry segment associ- ated with the subject examinations; (F) at least 1 subject matter expert from the Maritime Administration; and (G) at least 1 human performance tech- nology representative. (2) INCLUSION OF PERSONS KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT EXAMINATION TYPE.—The working group shall include representatives knowledgeable about the examination type under review. (3) LIMITATION.—The requirement to convene a working group under paragraph (1) does not apply unless there are new examination ques- tions to review. (4) BASELINE REVIEW.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of the enactment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2016, the Secretary shall convene the working group to complete a baseline review of the Coast Guard’s Mer- chant Mariner Credentialing Examination, including review of— (i) the accuracy of examination ques- tions; (ii) the accuracy and availability of ex- amination references; (iii) the length of merchant mariner ex- aminations; and (iv) the use of standard technologies in administering, scoring, and analyzing the examinations. (B) PROGRESS REPORT.—The Coast Guard shall provide a progress report to the appro- priate congressional committees on the re- view under this paragraph. (5) FULL MEMBERSHIP NOT REQUIRED.—The Coast Guard may convene the working group without all members present if any non-Coast- Guard representative is present. (6) NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT.—The Sec- retary shall require all members of the work- ing group to sign a nondisclosure agreement with the Secretary. (7) TREATMENT OF MEMBERS AS FEDERAL EM- PLOYEES.—A member of the working group who is not a Federal Government employee shall not be considered a Federal employee in the service or the employment of the Federal Government, except that such a member shall be considered a special government employee, as defined in section 202(a) of title 18 for pur- poses of sections 203, 205, 207, 208, and 209 of such title and shall be subject to any adminis- trative standards of conduct applicable to an employee of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating. Page 144 TITLE 46—SHIPPING § 7511 (8) FORMAL EXAM REVIEW.—The Secretary shall ensure that the Coast Guard Perform- ance Technology Center— (A) prioritizes the review of examinations required for merchant mariner credentials; and (B) not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2016, completes a formal review, in- cluding an appropriate analysis, of the top- ics and testing methodology employed by the National Maritime Center for merchant mariner licensing. (9) CHAPTER 10 OF TITLE 5.—Chapter 10 of title 5 shall not apply to any working group created under this section to review the Coast Guard’s merchant mariner credentialing ex- aminations. (d) MERCHANT MARINER CREDENTIAL DEFINED.— In this section, the term ‘‘merchant mariner credential’’ means a merchant mariner license, certificate, or document that the Secretary is authorized to issue pursuant to this title. (Added Pub. L. 114–120, title III, § 315(a)(1), Feb. 8, 2016, 130 Stat. 60; amended Pub. L. 114–328, div. C, title XXXV, § 3503(a), (b)(1), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2775; Pub. L. 115–232, div. C, title XXXV, § 3541(b)(12), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 2323; Pub. L. 115–282, title VI, § 601(c)(3)(B), Dec. 4, 2018, 132 Stat. 4289; Pub. L. 116–283, div. G, title LVXXXV [LXXXV], § 8505(b)(7), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4751; Pub. L. 117–286, § 4(a)(290), Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4337.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The date of the enactment of the Coast Guard Au- thorization Act of 2016, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), (4)(A), (8)(B), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 114–120, which was approved Feb. 8, 2016. AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (c)(9). Pub. L. 117–286 substituted ‘‘Chapter 10 of title 5’’ for ‘‘FACA’’ in heading and ‘‘Chapter 10 of title 5’’ for ‘‘The Federal Advisory Com- mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)’’ in text. 2021—Subsec. (c)(8)(B). Pub. L. 116–283, § 8505(b)(7)(A), substituted ‘‘merchant mariner’’ for ‘‘merchant sea- men’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 116–283, § 8505(b)(7)(B), substituted ‘‘merchant mariner license’’ for ‘‘merchant seaman li- cense’’. 2018—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted ‘‘Com- mandant’’ for ‘‘Commandant of the Coast Guard’’ in in- troductory provisions. Subsec. (c)(1)(C). Pub. L. 115–282 inserted ‘‘National’’ before ‘‘Merchant Marine’’. 2016—Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 114–328, § 3503(a), in intro- ductory provisions, substituted ‘‘Coast Guard Author- ization Act of 2016’’ for ‘‘Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015’’. Subsec. (c)(1)(D). Pub. L. 114–328, § 3503(b)(1)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘engineer’’ for ‘‘engine’’. Subsec. (c)(4)(A), (8)(B). Pub. L. 114–328, § 3503(a), sub- stituted ‘‘Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2016’’ for ‘‘Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015’’. Subsec. (c)(9). Pub. L. 114–328, § 3503(b)(1)(B), inserted a period after ‘‘App’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2016 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–328 effective as if included in the enactment of Pub. L. 114–120, see section 3503(e) of Pub. L. 114–328, set out as a note under section 315 of Title 14, Coast Guard. DISCLOSURE TO CONGRESS Pub. L. 114–120, title III, § 315(c), Feb. 8, 2016, 130 Stat. 62, provided that: ‘‘Nothing in this section [enacting this section and section 7116 of this title] may be con- strued to authorize the withholding of information from an appropriate inspector general, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen- ate, or the Committee on Transportation and Infra- structure of the House of Representatives.’’ § 7511. Convicted sex offender as grounds for de- nial (a) SEXUAL ABUSE.—A license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner’s document au- thorized to be issued under this part shall be de- nied to an individual who has been convicted of a sexual offense prohibited under— (1) chapter 109A of title 18, except for sub- section (b) of section 2244 of title 18; or (2) a substantially similar offense under State, local, or Tribal law. (b) ABUSIVE SEXUAL CONTACT.—A license, cer- tificate of registry, or merchant mariner’s docu- ment authorized to be issued under this part may be denied to an individual who within 5 years before applying for the license, certificate, or document, has been convicted of a sexual of- fense prohibited under subsection (b) of section 2244 of title 18, or a substantially similar offense under State, local, or Tribal law. (Added Pub. L. 117–263, div. K, title CXVI, § 11602(a), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 4147.) CHAPTER 77—SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION Sec. 7701. General. 7702. Administrative procedure. 7703. Bases for suspension or revocation. 7704. Dangerous drugs as grounds for revocation. 7704a. Sexual harassment or sexual assault as grounds for suspension or revocation. 7705. Subpenas and oaths. 7706. Drug testing reporting. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2022—Pub. L. 117–263, div. K, title CXVI, § 11603(b), Dec. 23, 2022, 136 Stat. 4148, added item 7704a. 2004—Pub. L. 108–293, title IV, § 414(b), Aug. 9, 2004, 118 Stat. 1047, added item 7706. § 7701. General (a) The purpose of suspension and revocation proceedings is to promote safety at sea. (b) Licenses, certificates of registry, and mer- chant mariners’ documents may be suspended or revoked for acts described in section 7703 of this title. (c) When a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner’s document has been revoked under this chapter, the former holder may be issued a new license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner’s document only after— (1) the Secretary decides, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary, that the issuance is compatible with the requirement of good discipline and safety at sea; and