PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jun 26, 2014
Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2014 - Revises early warning reporting requirements for manufacturers of motor vehicles regarding possible defects of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment.
Requires the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to issue regulations establishing categories of information that must be made available to the public. Requires the public disclosure of possible defects of motor vehicles or related equipment reported to the Secretary by motor vehicle manufacturers (Early Warning data).
Directs the Secretary to: (1) take specified actions to improve public accessibility to information on National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) vehicle safety databases, and (2) promulgate rules requiring the senior senior official for safety for a corporation to be responsible for requests for information in NHTSA safety or compliance investigations.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of the Inspector General to study NHTSA use of Early Warning data.
Prohibits certain vehicle safety officials, for the two-year period after termination of NHTSA employment, from knowingly making any communication to or appearance before NHTSA on behalf of a manufacturer subject to NHTSA regulation in connection with any matter involving vehicle safety on which such person seeks official action by a NHTSA officer or employee.
Prohibits a motor vehicle manufacturer or any other person subject to federal motor vehicle safety regulation from employing NHTSA employees for the two-year period following the employee's termination of employment with NHTSA. Prescribes civil penalties for violations of such prohibition.
Establishes the Vehicle Safety Fund to meet U.S. obligations in carrying out NHTSA vehicle safety programs. Requires the Secretary to assess and collect, for deposit in the Fund, a vehicle safety user fee from the manufacturer for each motor vehicle certified compliant with applicable motor vehicle safety standards.
Increases civil penalties for persons who violate federal motor vehicle safety requirements. Eliminates the maximum civil penalty for a related series of daily violations.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify manufacturers of motor vehicles or replacement equipment whose defect or noncompliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards presents an imminent hazard of serious injury or death; and (2) order such manufacturers to notify immediately the owners, purchasers, and dealers of the vehicle or equipment of such hazard, and to remedy the defect or noncompliance.
Prohibits a dealer from selling or leasing a used passenger motor vehicle unless: (1) the dealer clearly and conspicuously notifies the purchaser or lessee in writing of any unremedied defects or noncompliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards, and (2) the purchaser or lessee acknowledges in writing receipt of such notification.
People & committees
Sen. Rockefeller, John D., IV [D-WV] · D–WV
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.2559 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.2559 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.2559 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.2559 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.