Bill Summary
This bill, called the Promoting Auto Recalls Toward Safety Act of 2020 or the PARTS Act of 2020, aims to amend title 49 of the United States Code to establish a motor vehicle recall assistance program and improve the notification and completion of vehicle recalls. The Secretary of Transportation will be responsible for creating this program and providing grants and other assistance to states to help inform vehicle owners and lessees of any open recalls on their vehicles at the time of registration. The bill also requires manufacturers to submit quarterly and annual reports on their recall campaigns, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will create an annual scorecard to track recall completion rates.
Possible Impacts
1. This legislation could affect people by requiring car manufacturers to establish a program that informs owners and lessees of motor vehicles about open recalls at the time of registration. This could affect people by potentially preventing accidents or injuries caused by unrepaired recalls.
2. The legislation could also affect people by requiring states to submit performance reports to the Secretary of Transportation on the extent to which open recalls have been remedied. This could lead to increased accountability and potentially expedite the recall process, ensuring the safety of drivers and passengers.
3. The scorecard provision in the legislation could affect people by providing them with information on recall completion rates for different manufacturers. This could potentially influence their purchasing decisions and encourage manufacturers to prioritize timely recall completion.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4121 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4121
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the Secretary of
Transportation to establish a motor vehicle recall assistance program,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 1, 2020
Mr. Blumenthal (for Mr. Markey (for himself and Mr. Blumenthal))
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the Secretary of
Transportation to establish a motor vehicle recall assistance program,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Auto Recalls Toward Safety
Act of 2020'' or the ``PARTS Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. MOTOR VEHICLE RECALL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 301 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 30129. Motor vehicle recall assistance program
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Open recall.--The term `open recall' means a motor
vehicle recall--
``(A) for which a notification by a manufacturer
has been provided under section 30119; and
``(B) that has not been remedied under section
30120.
``(2) Registration.--The term `registration' means the
process for registering a motor vehicle in a State (including
registration renewal).
``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Transportation.
``(b) Program.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a
program under which the Secretary shall provide grants and
other assistance, including technical assistance, to States in
informing owners and lessees of a motor vehicle about open
recalls on the motor vehicle at the time of registration of the
motor vehicle in the State.
``(2) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive assistance
under this subsection, a State shall--
``(A) submit to the Secretary an application at
such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Secretary may require; and
``(B) agree--
``(i) to notify each owner or lessee of a
motor vehicle presented for registration in the
State of any open recall on that motor vehicle;
and
``(ii) to provide to each owner or lessee
of the motor vehicle presented for
registration--
``(I) the open recall information
for the motor vehicle at no cost; and
``(II) such other information as
the Secretary may require.
``(3) Factors for consideration.--In selecting recipients
for assistance under this subsection, the Secretary shall take
into consideration the methodology of a State for--
``(A) identifying open recalls on a motor vehicle;
``(B) informing the owner or lessee of a motor
vehicle of an open recall; and
``(C) measuring performance in--
``(i) informing owners and lessees about
open recalls; and
``(ii) remedying open recalls.
``(4) Grants.--
``(A) Limitation.--A State may receive not more
than 1 grant under this subsection.
``(B) Performance period.--A grant provided under
this subsection shall require a performance period of 2
years.
``(5) Report to the secretary.--Not later than 90 days
after the date of completion of the performance period under
paragraph (4)(B), each State that receives a grant under this
subsection shall submit to the Secretary a performance report
that contains such information as the Secretary considers to be
necessary--
``(A) to evaluate the extent to which open recalls
have been remedied in the State; and
``(B) to enable a comparison of--
``(i) recall completion under this
subsection; and
``(ii) existing recall completion data.
``(6) Evaluation and report to congress.--Not later than
180 days after the date on which the Secretary receives from a
State a performance report under paragraph (5), the Secretary
shall--
``(A) evaluate the extent to which open recalls
have been remedied in the State; and
``(B) submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of
Representatives and make publicly available a report
describing the results of the evaluation under
subparagraph (A).''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for subchapter II of chapter
301 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking the item
relating to section 30128 and inserting the following:
``30128. Vehicle rollover prevention and crash mitigation.
``30129. Motor vehicle recall assistance program.''.
SEC. 3. RECALL COMPLETION REPORTS AND SCORECARD.
(a) Reports on Notification Campaigns.--Section 30118 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Reports on Notification Campaigns.--
``(1) In general.--Each manufacturer that is conducting a
campaign under subsection (b) or (c), or any other law
(including regulations), to notify manufacturers, distributors,
owners, purchasers, or dealers of a defect or noncompliance
shall submit to the Administrator of the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration--
``(A) by the applicable date described in section
573.7(d) of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or a
successor regulation), a quarterly report on the
campaign for each of 8 consecutive quarters, beginning
with the quarter in which the campaign was initiated;
and
``(B) an annual report for each of the 3 years
following completion of the last quarter for which a
quarterly report is submitted under subparagraph (A).
``(2) Requirements.--Except as otherwise provided in this
subsection, each report under this subsection shall comply with
the requirements of section 573.7 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations (or a successor regulation).''.
(b) Scorecard and Notification to Owners and Lessees of Unremedied
Vehicles.--Section 30120 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(k) Recall Remedy Scorecard.--
``(1) In general.--The Administrator of the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration shall publish an annual
scorecard of recall completion rates for each manufacturer
submitting a report under section 30118(f) during the year
covered by the scorecard.
``(2) Requirement.--The annual scorecard under paragraph
(1) shall include--
``(A) for each manufacturer submitting a report
under section 30118(f) during the year covered by the
scorecard--
``(i) the total number of--
``(I) recalls issued by the
manufacturer during the year covered by
the scorecard; and
``(II) vehicles of the manufacturer
subject to a recall during the year
covered by the scorecard; and
``(ii) the percentage of vehicles of the
manufacturer that--
``(I) were subject to a recall at
any time during the year covered by the
scorecard; and
``(II) have been remedied under
this section; and
``(B) for each campaign that is the subject of a
report submitted under section 30118(f) during the year
covered by the scorecard--
``(i) the total number of recalls issued by
the manufacturer pursuant to the campaign--
``(I) during the year covered by
the scorecard; and
``(II) since the date on which the
campaign was initiated;
``(ii) the total number of vehicles of the
manufacturer subject to the campaign--
``(I) during the year covered by
the scorecard; and
``(II) since the date on which the
campaign was initiated; and
``(iii) the percentage of vehicles subject
to the campaign that have been remedied under
this section--
``(I) during the year covered by
the scorecard; and
``(II) since the date on which the
campaign was initiated.''.
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