[House Report 112-591]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 112-591
======================================================================
TO REPEAL AN OBSOLETE PROVISION IN TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE,
REQUIRING MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE COST REPORTING
_______
July 10, 2012.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Upton, from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5859]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Commerce, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5859) to repeal an obsolete provision in title
49, United States Code, requiring motor vehicle insurance cost
reporting, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do
pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearings......................................................... 3
Committee Consideration.......................................... 4
Committee Votes.................................................. 4
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 4
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............ 4
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority and Tax Expenditures. 4
Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits............................. 4
Committee Cost Estimate.......................................... 4
Congressional Budget Office Estimate............................. 4
Federal Mandates Statement....................................... 5
Advisory Committee Statement..................................... 5
Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................. 5
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation................... 5
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............ 6
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. REPEAL.
Subsection (c) of section 32302 of title 49, United States Code, is
repealed, and any regulations promulgated under such subsection shall
have no force or effect.
SEC. 2. DETERMINATION REGARDING PROVISION OF DAMAGE SUSCEPTIBILITY
INFORMATION TO CONSUMERS.
(a) In General.--Section 32302(b) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following: ``The Secretary, after
providing an opportunity for public comment, shall study and report to
Congress the most useful data, format, and method for providing simple
and understandable damage susceptibility information to consumers.''.
(b) Deadline.--The Secretary of Transportation shall carry out the
last sentence of section 32302(b) of title 49, United States Code, as
added by subsection (a), not later than the date that is 2 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act.
Purpose and Summary
H.R. 5859 is bipartisan legislation to repeal an outdated
provision of law that imposes unnecessary burdens on the
Federal government and the private sector. Consistent with the
goals of Executive Order 13563 to identify the least burdensome
tools to achieve regulatory ends and to consider the costs and
benefits of regulations, H.R. 5859 repeals an obsolete
provision in Title 49 requiring the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) to produce, and automobile
dealers to provide a booklet of collision cost information.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce,
Manufacturing, and Trade convened a legislative hearing on H.R.
5859 on June 1, 2012. The Subcommittee received testimony from
private-sector and consumer advocate witnesses. The
Subcommittee also received testimony from the Honorable Mike
Kelly, Member of Congress.
The 1972 Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act
directed NHTSA to promulgate regulations requiring new-car
dealers to give prospective buyers information comparing
insurance rates for different makes and models of passenger
motor vehicles based on their differences in damage
susceptibility and crashworthiness. NHTSA issued a final rule
on April 5, 1993. The rule requires new-car dealers to make
available to buyers, upon request, a booklet containing the
latest information on insurance costs. NHTSA annually updates
the information based on data from the Highway Loss Data
Institute.
The information required by the regulation is rarely sought
by consumers and its value to consumers in estimating insurance
premiums is questionable. The insurance cost data is general,
averaging repair costs from incidents ranging from a low-speed
fender collision to a vehicle rollover. Insurance premiums are
based on a number of factors that are unrelated to a vehicle's
damage susceptibility, including the driver's age, driving
record, location, and miles driven.
New car dealers face civil penalties if they do not provide
the booklet to consumers upon request. The Subcommittee
received testimony from two experienced car dealers,
Representative Mike Kelly from Pennsylvania and Mr. Jack
Fitzgerald of Maryland, recalling no customer requesting a copy
of the collision information document in all their years as
either salesmen or dealership owners. Mr. Kelly also testified
that in the combined 250-plus years of his sales staff, none
recalled a single customer, out of the 10,000 car buyers
visiting his showroom floor annually, requesting the document.
Mr. Fitzgerald further testified that a recent survey of 815
members of the National Automobile Dealers Association reported
96 percent of its dealers had never been asked by a customer to
see the insurance cost booklet.
In addition to testimony that consumers rarely request the
document, the Administration also determined the information is
not useful to consumers in accurately determining insurance
premiums. In its proposal to Congress, the ``Transportation
Opportunities Act,'' the Administration recommended that
subsection (c) of Section 32302, among others, be repealed:
The publication of the insurance information obtained
under section 32303 consists of data generated by the
Highway Loss Data Institute, which ranks new cars by
their relative collision loss payments by insurance
companies. This information is provided to each new car
dealer for customer reference in making purchase
decisions. However, the data are rarely used and not
useful because the differences in rates due to loss
payments are overshadowed by differences in premiums
due to driver demographics, geographic location and the
relative prices of the vehicles. Though these rankings
provide an indication that one model will have a higher
collision insurance premium than another, a prospective
buyer still must consult an insurance agent to
determine how much the premium will differ according to
that person's specific personal information (e.g., age,
driving record, miles driven, home location). A
prospective buyer does not need a brochure from the
Federal government to obtain this information, since
insurance agents are trained to provide advice on how
model selection affects insurance premiums.
The Committee finds the continued requirement to provide
the collision information booklet to automobile dealers, and
the continuing threat of civil penalties to dealers that fail
to produce the document upon request, to be outdated,
unjustified and a waste of resources. The Committee finds H.R.
5859 reduces unnecessary burdens on both the Federal government
and the private sector without harming consumers.
Hearings
The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held
a legislative hearing on Friday, June 1, 2012, entitled ``H.R.
5865, the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2012,
and H.R. 5859, a Bill to Repeal an Obsolete Provision in Title
49, United States Code, Requiring Motor Vehicle Insurance Cost
Reporting.'' Testimony regarding H.R. 5859 was received from
the Honorable Mike Kelly, Member of Congress; the Honorable
Joan Claybrook, President Emeritus, Public Citizen; and Mr.
Jack Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald Auto Mall.
Committee Consideration
On Thursday, June 7, 2012, the Subcommittee on Commerce,
Manufacturing, and Trade met in open markup session and
favorably forwarded H.R. 5859 to the full Committee by a voice
vote. On Tuesday, June 19, 2012, the full Committee met in open
markup session and considered H.R. 5859. The Committee
reconvened on Wednesday, June 20, 2012, to continue
consideration of H.R. 5859. The Committee ordered H.R. 5859, as
amended, favorably reported to the House by a voice vote.
Committee Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the record votes
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. No
recorded votes were requested.
Committee Oversight Findings
Regarding clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the oversight findings of the
Committee regarding H.R. 5859 are reflected in this report.
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives
The purpose of H.R. 5859 is to repeal an outdated provision
of law that imposes unnecessary burdens on the Federal
government and the private sector.
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority and Tax Expenditures
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its
own the estimate of budget authority and revenues prepared by
the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. The
Committee finds that H.R. 5859 would result in no new or
increased entitlement authority or tax expenditures.
Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits
Regarding compliance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules
of the House of Representatives, H.R. 5859 does not contain any
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff
benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), or 9(f) of rule XXI.
Committee Cost Estimate
The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate on H.R.
5859 prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974.
Congressional Budget Office Estimate
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate
provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974:
H.R. 5859--A bill to repeal an obsolete provision in title 49, United
States Code, requiring motor vehicle insurance cost reporting
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5859 would have no
significant effect on the federal budget. Enacting the bill
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
Under current law, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) requires dealers of motor vehicles to
make available to prospective buyers information it prepares
that compares the cost to insure different makes and models,
based on a number of characteristics. H.R. 5859 would repeal
that requirement. The bill also would require NHTSA to complete
a study about the best way to get information to consumers
about the likelihood of a vehicle being damaged in an accident.
Based on information from the agency, CBO estimates that NHTSA
spends less than $100,000 annually to prepare and distribute
insurance information to dealers and that the costs to complete
the study would also be small.
H.R. 5859 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Sarah Puro. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Federal Mandates Statement
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates regarding H.R. 5859 prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act would be created by H.R.
5859.
Applicability to Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation
Section 1. Repeal
Section 1 repeals subsection (c) of section 32302 of title
49, United States Code, and nullifies its implementing
regulations. Section 32302 required the Secretary of
Transportation to issue rules requiring motor vehicle dealers
to distribute information on damage susceptibility and
crashworthiness of new passenger motor vehicles upon the
request of prospective buyers.
Section 2. Study regarding provision of damage susceptibility
information to consumers
Section 2 calls for the Secretary of Transportation to
study and, after public comment, to report to Congress his
findings regarding the most useful data, format, and method for
providing damage susceptibility information to consumers. The
language of this provision is intended to leave open the
possibility that the Secretary will find no damage
susceptibility data that he regards as useful to consumers or
that no useful format or method exists for providing damage
susceptibility information to consumers. The section sets a
deadline for completion at 2 years after the date of enactment
of the Act.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE
* * * * * * *
SUBTITLE VI--MOTOR VEHICLE AND DRIVER PROGRAMS
* * * * * * *
PART C--INFORMATION, STANDARDS, AND REQUIREMENTS
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 323--CONSUMER INFORMATION
* * * * * * *
Sec. 32302. Passenger motor vehicle information
(a) * * *
(b) Motor Vehicle Information.--To assist a consumer in
buying a passenger motor vehicle, the Secretary shall provide
to the public information developed under subsection (a) of
this section. The information shall be in a simple and
understandable form that allows comparison of the
characteristics referred to in subsection (a)(1)-(3) of this
section among the makes and models of passenger motor vehicles.
The Secretary may require passenger motor vehicle dealers to
distribute the information to prospective buyers. The
Secretary, after providing an opportunity for public comment,
shall study and report to Congress the most useful data,
format, and method for providing simple and understandable
damage susceptibility information to consumers.
[(c) Insurance Cost Information.--The Secretary shall
prescribe regulations that require passenger motor vehicle
dealers to distribute to prospective buyers information the
Secretary develops and provides to the dealers that compares
insurance costs for different makes and models of passenger
motor vehicles based on damage susceptibility and
crashworthiness.]
* * * * * * *