49 U.S.C. § 13907 — Household goods agents

Page 503 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 13907 violated the requirements of this subsection or a regulation prescribed under this sub- section, the surety provider shall be ineli- gible to provide freight forwarder financial security for 3 years (9) DEDUCTION OF COSTS PROHIBITED.—The amount of the financial security required under this subsection may not be reduced by deducting attorney’s fees or administrative costs. (d) TYPE OF INSURANCE.—The Secretary may determine the type and amount of security filed under this section. A motor carrier may submit proof of qualifications as a self-insurer to satisfy the security requirements of this section. The Secretary shall adopt regulations governing the standards for approval as a self-insurer. Motor carriers which have been granted authority to self-insure as of January 1, 1996, shall retain that authority unless, for good cause shown and after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, the Secretary finds that the authority must be revoked. (e) NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF INSURANCE.— The Secretary shall issue regulations requiring the submission to the Secretary of notices of in- surance cancellation sufficiently in advance of actual cancellation so as to enable the Sec- retary to promptly revoke or suspend the reg- istration of any carrier or broker after the effec- tive date of the cancellation. (f) FORM OF ENDORSEMENT.—The Secretary shall also prescribe the appropriate form of en- dorsement to be appended to policies of insur- ance and surety bonds which will subject the in- surance policy or surety bond to the full secu- rity limits of the coverage required under this section. (Added Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 103, Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 885; amended Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(34), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3392; Pub. L. 109–59, title IV, § 4303(b), (d)(1), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1762, 1763; Pub. L. 112–141, div. C, title II, § 32918(a), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 822; Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title V, § 5201, Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1534.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Paragraph (3) of this subsection, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), was redesignated as paragraph (4) of subsec. (a) of this section by Pub. L. 109–59, title IV, § 4303(b)(1), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1762. The date of enactment of the Unified Carrier Reg- istration Act of 2005, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), is the date of enactment of subtitle C of title IV of Pub. L. 109–59, which was approved Aug. 10, 2005. AMENDMENTS 2015—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 114–94 inserted ‘‘or suspend’’ after ‘‘revoke’’. 2012—Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 112–141 added subsecs. (b) and (c) and struck out former subsecs. (b) and (c) which related to broker requirements and freight for- warder requirements, respectively. 2005—Pub. L. 109–59, § 4303(d)(1), inserted ‘‘motor pri- vate carriers,’’ after ‘‘motor carriers,’’ in section catch- line. Subsec. (a)(2) to (4). Pub. L. 109–59, § 4303(b), added par. (2) and redesignated former pars. (2) and (3) as (3) and (4), respectively. 1996—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–287 substituted ‘‘Janu- ary 1, 1996,’’ for ‘‘the effective date of this section’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2015 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–94 effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as a note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2012 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 112–141, div. C, title II, § 32918(c), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 826, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [see section 3(a), (b) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amend- ment notes under section 101 of Title 23, Highways].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise pro- vided in Pub. L. 104–88, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of this title. REGULATIONS Pub. L. 112–141, div. C, title II, § 32918(b), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 826, provided that: ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [see section 3(a), (b) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment notes under section 101 of Title 23, Highways], the Secretary [of Transportation] shall issue regulations to implement and enforce the requirements under subsections (b) and (c) of section 13906 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by sub- section (a).’’ RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS Except as provided in sections 14504, 14504a, and 14506 of this title, subtitle C (§§ 4301–4308) of title IV of Pub. L. 109–59 is not intended to prohibit any State or any political subdivision of any State from enacting, im- posing, or enforcing any law or regulation with respect to a motor carrier, motor private carrier, broker, freight forwarder, or leasing company that is not other- wise prohibited by law, see section 4302 of Pub. L. 109–59, set out as a note under section 13902 of this title. SELF-INSURANCE RULES Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 104(h), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 920, provided that: ‘‘The Secretary of Transportation shall continue to enforce the rules and regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission, as in effect on July 1, 1995, governing the qualifications for approval of a motor carrier as a self-insurer, until such time as the Secretary finds it in the public interest to revise such rules. The revised rules must provide for— ‘‘(1) continued ability of motor carriers to qualify as self-insurers; and ‘‘(2) the continued qualification of all carriers then so qualified under the terms and conditions set by the Interstate Commerce Commission or Secretary at the time of qualification.’’ [Interstate Commerce Commission abolished by sec- tion 101 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under sec- tion 1301 of this title.] § 13907. Household goods agents (a) CARRIERS RESPONSIBLE FOR AGENTS.—Each motor carrier providing transportation of house- hold goods shall be responsible for all acts or omissions of any of its agents which relate to the performance of household goods transpor- tation services (including accessorial or ter- minal services) and which are within the actual or apparent authority of the agent from the car- rier or which are ratified by the carrier. (b) STANDARD FOR SELECTING AGENTS.—Each motor carrier providing transportation of house- Page 504 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 13907 hold goods shall use due diligence and reason- able care in selecting and maintaining agents who are sufficiently knowledgeable, fit, willing, and able to provide adequate household goods transportation services (including accessorial and terminal services) and to fulfill the obliga- tions imposed upon them by this part and by such carrier. (c) ENFORCEMENT.— (1) COMPLAINT.—Whenever the Secretary has reason to believe from a complaint or inves- tigation that an agent providing household goods transportation services (including acces- sorial and terminal services) under the author- ity of a motor carrier providing transpor- tation of household goods has violated section 14901(e) or 14912 or is consistently not fit, will- ing, and able to provide adequate household goods transportation services (including acces- sorial and terminal services), the Secretary may issue to such agent a complaint stating the charges and containing notice of the time and place of a hearing which shall be held no later than 60 days after service of the com- plaint to such agent. (2) RIGHT TO DEFEND.—The agent shall have the right to appear at such hearing and rebut the charges contained in the complaint. (3) ORDER.—If the agent does not appear at the hearing or if the Secretary finds that the agent has violated section 14901(e) or 14912 or is consistently not fit, willing, and able to pro- vide adequate household goods transportation services (including accessorial and terminal services), the Secretary may issue an order to compel compliance with the requirement that the agent be fit, willing, and able. Thereafter, the Secretary may issue an order to limit, condition, or prohibit such agent from any in- volvement in the transportation or provision of services incidental to the transportation of household goods if, after notice and an oppor- tunity for a hearing, the Secretary finds that such agent, within a reasonable time after the date of issuance of a compliance order under this section, but in no event less than 30 days after such date of issuance, has willfully failed to comply with such order. (4) HEARING.—Upon filing of a petition with the Secretary by an agent who is the subject of an order issued pursuant to the second sen- tence of paragraph (3) of this subsection and after notice, a hearing shall be held with an opportunity to be heard. At such hearing, a de- termination shall be made whether the order issued pursuant to paragraph (3) of this sub- section should be rescinded. (5) COURT REVIEW.—Any agent adversely af- fected or aggrieved by an order of the Sec- retary issued under this subsection may seek relief in the appropriate United States court of appeals as provided by and in the manner prescribed in chapter 158 of title 28, United States Code. (d) LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY OF ANTITRUST LAWS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—The antitrust laws, as de- fined in the first section of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 12), do not apply to discussions or agreements between a motor carrier providing transportation of household goods and its agents (whether or not an agent is also a car- rier) related solely to— (A) rates for the transportation of house- hold goods under the authority of the prin- cipal carrier; (B) accessorial, terminal, storage, or other charges for services incidental to the trans- portation of household goods transported under the authority of the principal carrier; (C) allowances relating to transportation of household goods under the authority of the principal carrier; and (D) ownership of a motor carrier providing transportation of household goods by an agent or membership on the board of direc- tors of any such motor carrier by an agent. (2) BOARD REVIEW.—The Board, upon its own initiative or request, shall review any activi- ties undertaken under paragraph (1) and shall modify or terminate the activity if necessary to protect the public interest. (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following definitions apply: (1) HOUSEHOLD GOODS.—The term ‘‘household goods’’ has the meaning such term had under section 10102(11) of this title, as in effect on December 31, 1995. (2) TRANSPORTATION.—The term ‘‘transpor- tation’’ means transportation that would be subject to the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission under subchapter II of chapter 105 of this title, as in effect on Decem- ber 31, 1995, if such subchapter were still in ef- fect. (Added Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 103, Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 887; amended Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(35), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3392.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES PUB. L. 104–287 This amends 49:13907(e)(1) and (2) for clarity and con- sistency. Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 10102(11) of this title, referred to in subsec. (e)(1), was omitted and a new section 10102 enacted in the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 102(a), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 804, 806, ef- fective Jan. 1, 1996. Subchapter II of chapter 105 of this title, referred to in subsec. (e)(2), was omitted in the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 102(a), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 804, effective Jan. 1, 1996. PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in section 10934 of this title prior to the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, § 102(a). AMENDMENTS 1996—Subsec. (e)(1). Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(35)(A), sub- stituted ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ for ‘‘the day before the ef- fective date of this section’’. Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(35)(B), substituted ‘‘December 31, 1995’’ for ‘‘the day before such effective date’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise pro- vided in Pub. L. 104–88, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of this title. Page 505 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 13908 1 See References in Text note below. ABOLITION OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION Interstate Commerce Commission abolished by sec- tion 101 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under sec- tion 1301 of this title. § 13908. Registration and other reforms (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFIED CARRIER REG- ISTRATION SYSTEM.—The Secretary, in coopera- tion with the States, representatives of the motor carrier, motor private carrier, freight for- warder, and broker industries and after notice and opportunity for public comment, shall issue within 1 year after the date of enactment of the Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005 regula- tions to establish an online Federal registration system, to be named the ‘‘Unified Carrier Reg- istration System’’, to replace— (1) the current Department of Transpor- tation identification number system, the sin- gle State registration system under section 14504; 1 (2) the registration system contained in this chapter and the financial responsibility infor- mation system under section 13906; and (3) the service of process agent systems under sections 503 and 13304. (b) ROLE AS CLEARINGHOUSE AND DEPOSITORY OF INFORMATION.—The Unified Carrier Registra- tion System shall serve as a clearinghouse and depository of information on, and identification of, all foreign and domestic motor carriers, motor private carriers, brokers, freight for- warders, and others required to register with the Department of Transportation, including infor- mation with respect to a carrier’s safety rating, compliance with required levels of financial re- sponsibility, and compliance with the provisions of section 14504a. The Secretary shall ensure that Federal agencies, States, representatives of the motor carrier industry, and the public have access to the Unified Carrier Registration Sys- tem, including the records and information con- tained in the System. (c) PROCEDURES FOR CORRECTING INFORMA- TION.—Not later than 60 days after the effective date of this section, the Secretary shall pre- scribe regulations establishing procedures that enable a motor carrier to correct erroneous in- formation contained in any part of the Unified Carrier Registration System. (d) FEE SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall estab- lish, under section 9701 of title 31, a fee system for the Unified Carrier Registration System ac- cording to the following guidelines: (1) REGISTRATION AND FILING EVIDENCE OF FI- NANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—The fee for new reg- istrants shall as nearly as possible cover the costs of processing the registration. (2) EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.— The fee for filing evidence of financial respon- sibility pursuant to this section shall not ex- ceed $10 per filing. No fee shall be charged for a filing for purposes of designating an agent for service of process or the filing of other in- formation relating to financial responsibility. (3) ACCESS AND RETRIEVAL FEES.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the fee system shall in- clude a nominal fee for the access to or re- trieval of information from the Unified Car- rier Registration System to cover the costs of operating and upgrading the System, in- cluding the personnel costs incurred by the Department and the costs of administration of the unified carrier registration agree- ment. (B) EXCEPTIONS.—There shall be no fee charged under this paragraph— (i) to any agency of the Federal Govern- ment or a State government or any polit- ical subdivision of any such government for the access to or retrieval of informa- tion and data from the Unified Carrier Registration System for its own use; or (ii) to any representative of a motor car- rier, motor private carrier, leasing com- pany, broker, or freight forwarder (as each is defined in section 14504a) for the access to or retrieval of the individual informa- tion related to such entity from the Uni- fied Carrier Registration System for the individual use of such entity. (e) USE OF FEES FOR UNIFIED CARRIER REG- ISTRATION SYSTEM.—Fees collected under this section may be credited to the Department of Transportation appropriations account for pur- poses for which such fees are collected and shall be available for expenditure for such purposes until expended. (f) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN INTRASTATE OPER- ATIONS.—Nothing in this section requires the registration of a motor carrier, a motor private carrier of property, or a transporter of waste or recyclable materials operating exclusively in intrastate transportation not otherwise required to register with the Secretary under another provision of this title. (Added Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 103, Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 888; amended Pub. L. 104–287, § 5(36), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3392; Pub. L. 109–59, title IV, § 4304, Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1763; Pub. L. 110–244, title III, § 301(l), June 6, 2008, 122 Stat. 1617; Pub. L. 112–141, div. C, title II, § 32106, July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 781.) HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES PUB. L. 104–287, § 5(36)(A) This amends 49:13908(d)(1) for clarity and consistency. PUB. L. 104–287, § 5(36)(B) This sets out the effective date of 49:13908. Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The date of enactment of the Unified Carrier Reg- istration Act of 2005, referred to in subsec. (a), is the date of enactment of subtitle C of title IV of Pub. L. 109–59, which was approved Aug. 10, 2005. Section 14504, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), was re- pealed by Pub. L. 109–59, title IV, § 4305(a), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1764; Pub. L. 110–53, title XV, § 1537(a), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 467, effective Jan. 1, 2008. The effective date of this section, referred to in sub- sec. (c), probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 109–59, which amended this section generally and was approved Aug. 10, 2005. AMENDMENTS 2012—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 112–141 struck out ‘‘but shall not exceed $300’’ after ‘‘registration’’.