,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #cfbh  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,july #i1 #bjai,mr4  
,thompson of ,mississippi 7for himself1 
,mr4 ,mc,eachin1 ,mr4 ,carson of        
,indiana1 ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman1 ,ms4  
,wilson of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,fudge1 ,ms4  
,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,johnson of 
,texas1 ,mr4 ,payne1 ,ms4 ,adams1 ,ms4  
,norton1 ,mr4 ,clay1 ,ms4 ,kelly of     
,illinois1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia1    
,mrs4 ,lawrence1 ,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,danny
 ,k4 ,davis of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,johnson 
of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,hastings1 ,mr4       
,richmond1 ,mrs4 ,beatty1 ,mr4          
,butterfield1 ,ms4 ,bass1 ,mr4 ,lawson  
of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1  
and ,ms4 ,pressley7 introduced the      
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,transportation and   
,infrastructure  ,a ,,bill  ,to require 
motor carriers to mitigate hardships due
 to unwarranted and excessive passenger 
delays and to assess fines to bolster   
motor carriers' accountability to       

consumers1 and for other purposes4  #a4 
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,motor ,carriers ,accountability    
,act4  #b4 ,passenger delays in         
interstate motor carrier transportation 
7a7 ,in ,general ,subchapter ,i of      
chapter #ada of title #di1 ,united      
,states ,code1 is amended by adding at  
the end the following3  #adaje4         
,passenger delays in interstate motor   
carrier transportation  7a7 ,in general 
,not later than the date on which a     
motor carrier operates a covered trip1  
each such motor carrier shall adopt a   
contingency plan for excessive passenger
 delays on covered trips4  7b7          
,compliance ,each motor carrier         
operating a covered trip shall adhere to
 the terms of the plan adopted pursuant 
to subsection 7a74  7c7 ,contents ,a    
contingency plan described in subsection
 7a7 shall include the following        
conditions3 7#a7 ,a motor carrier will  
not let passengers undergo a covered    
delay unless there are safety-related or

 security-related issues4  7#b7 ,a motor
 carrier will provide adequate food and 
water if passengers undergo a covered   
delay4  7#c7 ,a motor carrier will      
ensure there are operable lavatory      
facilities at stations4  7#d7 ,a motor  
carrier will provide a full refund of   
the price of a passenger's ticket if a  
passenger undergoes a covered delay and 
will provide the remainder of the trip  
to the passenger without charge4  7#e7  
,for a period of #b years after the date
 of any covered delay1 a motor carrier  
will retain any records containing the  
following information3  7,a7 ,the length
 of such delay4  7,b7 ,the cause of such
 delay4  7,c7 ,actions taken to minimize
 hardships for passengers1 including the
 provision of food and water and the    
maintenance and servicing of lavatories4
  7#f7 ,a motor carrier will include in 
the contingency plan a statement about  
its compliance with section #cgd4caa of 
title #di1 ,code of ,federal            
,regulations4  7d7 ,required            

notifications  7#a7 ,in general ,a motor
 carrier operating a covered trip shall 
notify passengers of-- 7,a7 a known     
delayed arrival of #a or more hours     
after the scheduled arrival time on a   
single one-way ticket2  7,b7            
cancellations2 and  7,c7 diversions4    
7#b7 ,travel status ,a motor carrier    
operating a covered trip shall notify   
passengers of travel status             
information-- 7,a7 in the boarding area 
of the station2  7,b7 on the website of 
such motor carrier2  7,c7 on the mobile 
application of such motor carrier2 and  
7,d7 through the telephone reservation  
system of such motor carrier1 upon      
inquiry by any person4  7#c7 ,update ,in
 the case of a covered delay1 a motor   
carrier shall provide passengers an     
update on the delay at a frequency of   
not less than once every #cj minutes4   
7e7 ,penalties ,notwithstanding any     
other provision of law1 the following   
penalties apply with respect to this    
section3  7#a7 ,a motor carrier is      

liable to the ,united ,states for a     
civil penalty1 in an amount to be       
determined by the ,secretary1 for a     
covered delay that is unwarranted and   
unannounced4  7#b7 ,a motor carrier     
shall pay a penalty described in        
paragraph 7#a7 not later than the date  
that is #ad days after the date on which
 a covered delay occurs4  7#c7 ,the     
penalty described in paragraph 7#a7     
shall be not less than #ej1jjj4  7f7    
,definitions ,in this section1 the      
following definitions apply3  7#a7      
,covered delay ,the term covered delay  
means a delayed arrival of #c or more   
hours after the scheduled arrival time  
on a single one-way ticket of a covered 
trip4  7#b7 ,covered trip ,the term     
covered trip means a trip on a motor    
carrier that is operating such trip     
pursuant to scheduled passenger services
 on a standard coach bus with #ej or    
more seats4  7#c7 ,diversion ,the term  
diversion means any unknown delays1     
including mechanical issues1 involvement

 in a car accident1 or passenger        
emergencies4  7#d7 ,passenger ,the term 
passenger means a passenger on a covered
 trip4  4  7b7 ,conforming ,amendment   
,the table of chapters for chapter #ada 
of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 is 
amended by adding at the end the        
following new item3  #adaje4 ,passenger 
delays in interstate motor carrier      
transportation4  4