Cruise Passenger Protection Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 5096 To improve passenger vessel security and safety, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 14, 2019 Ms. MATSUI (for herself and Mr. FORTENBERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To improve passenger vessel security and safety, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Cruise Passenger Protection Act’’. 5 (b) REFERENCES TO TITLE 46, UNITED STATES 6 CODE.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever 7 in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 8 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi- 9 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 10 section or other provision of title 46, United States Code. 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 5096 IH SEC. 2. CRUISE VESSEL SUBCHAPTER. 1 Chapter 35 is amended— 2 (1) by inserting before section 3501 the fol- 3 lowing: 4 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS’’; 5 (2) by inserting before section 3507 the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—CRUISE VESSELS’’; 8 and 9 (3) by redesignating sections 3507 and 3508 as 10 sections 3523 and 3524, respectively. 11 SEC. 3. APPLICATION. 12 Chapter 35, as amended by section 2 of this Act, is 13 further amended by inserting before section 3523 the fol- 14 lowing: 15 ‘‘§ 3521. Application 16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This subchapter applies to a 17 passenger vessel that— 18 ‘‘(1) is authorized to carry at least 250 pas- 19 sengers; 20 ‘‘(2) has on board sleeping facilities for each 21 passenger; 22 ‘‘(3) is on a voyage that embarks or disembarks 23 passengers in the United States; and 24 ‘‘(4) is not engaged on a coastwise voyage. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 5096 IH ‘‘(b) FEDERAL AND STATE VESSELS.—This sub- 1 chapter does not apply to a vessel of the United States 2 operated by the Federal Government or a vessel owned 3 and operated by a State.’’. 4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 5 Chapter 35, as amended by sections 2 and 3 of this 6 Act, is further amended by inserting after section 3521 7 the following: 8 ‘‘§ 3522. Definitions 9 ‘‘In this subchapter, the following definitions apply: 10 ‘‘(1) COMMANDANT.—The term ‘Commandant’ 11 means the Commandant of the Coast Guard. 12 ‘‘(2) OWNER.—The term ‘owner’ means the 13 owner, charterer, managing operator, master, or 14 other individual in charge of a vessel.’’. 15 SEC. 5. BILL OF RIGHTS. 16 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 17 of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall deter- 18 mine whether any of the enumerated rights in the inter- 19 national cruise line passenger bill of rights, that was 20 adopted by the members of the Cruise Lines International 21 Association, are enforceable under Federal law. 22 SEC. 6. CRIME REPORTING AND PUBLIC NOTICE. 23 (a) AVAILABILITY OF LOG BOOK AND ENTRIES TO 24 FBI AND OTHER INVESTIGATORS.—Section 3523(g)(1), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 5096 IH as redesignated under section 2 of this Act, is further 1 amended— 2 (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘in a cen- 3 tralized location readily accessible to law enforce- 4 ment personnel,’’; and 5 (2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘make 6 such log book available’’ and inserting ‘‘make the 7 Captain’s log, the security log, and the engine room 8 log and all others available, whether the log book 9 and entries are maintained on board the vessel or at 10 a centralized location off the vessel,’’. 11 (b) DEADLINE TO NOTIFY FEDERAL BUREAU OF IN- 12 VESTIGATION REGARDING CERTAIN INCIDENTS.—Section 13 3523(g)(3)(A)(i), as redesignated under section 2 of this 14 Act, is further amended— 15 (1) by striking ‘‘shall contact’’ and inserting 16 ‘‘subject to subparagraph (C), shall contact’’; and 17 (2) by striking ‘‘after the occurrence on board 18 the vessel of an incident involving’’ and inserting ‘‘, 19 but not later than 4 hours, after an employee of the 20 vessel is notified of an incident on board the vessel 21 allegedly involving’’. 22 (c) REPORTS BEFORE DEPARTURE.—Section 23 3523(g)(3), as redesignated under section 2 of this Act, 24 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 5096 IH ‘‘(C) REPORTS BEFORE DEPARTURE.—If 1 an employee of a vessel to which this sub- 2 chapter applies is notified of an incident de- 3 scribed under subparagraph (A)(i) while the 4 vessel is within the admiralty and maritime ju- 5 risdiction of the United States and en route to 6 a United States port or at a United States port, 7 the owner of the vessel (or the owner’s des- 8 ignee) shall contact the nearest Federal Bureau 9 of Investigation Field Office or Legal Attache 10 within the time period specified under subpara- 11 graph (A)(i) or before the vessel departs port, 12 whichever is earlier.’’. 13 (d) REPORTS TO UNITED STATES CONSULATES.— 14 Section 3523(g)(3), as redesignated under section 2 of 15 this Act and as amended by subsection (c) of this section, 16 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 17 ‘‘(D) REPORTS TO UNITED STATES CON- 18 SULATES.—If an incident described under sub- 19 paragraph (A)(i) allegedly involves an offense 20 by or against a United States national, in addi- 21 tion to contacting the nearest Federal Bureau 22 of Investigation Field Office or Legal Attache 23 under that subparagraph, the owner of a vessel 24 to which this subchapter applies (or the owner’s 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 5096 IH designee) shall contact the United States con- 1 sulate at the next port of call within the time 2 period specified under subparagraph (A)(i).’’. 3 (e) AVAILABILITY OF SECURITY GUIDE VIA INTER- 4 NET.—Section 3523(c)(1), as redesignated under section 5 2 of this Act, is further amended— 6 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 7 (A) by striking ‘‘a guide (referred to in 8 this subsection as the ‘security guide’)’’ and in- 9 serting ‘‘a security guide’’; and 10 (B) by striking ‘‘English, which’’ and in- 11 serting ‘‘English, that’’; and 12 (2) in subparagraph (C) by striking ‘‘on the 13 website of the vessel owner’’ and inserting ‘‘via a 14 prominently accessible link on each Internet website 15 that the vessel owner maintains for passengers to 16 purchase or book trips on any vessel that the vessel 17 owner owns or operates, and to which this sub- 18 chapter applies’’. 19 (f) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Section 20 3523(g)(3), as redesignated under section 2 of this Act 21 and as amended by subsections (c) and (d) of this section, 22 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 23 ‘‘(E) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—All re- 24 ports required under subparagraphs (B), (C), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 5096 IH and (D) shall be reported to the State Fusion 1 Center where the ship originally embarked from 2 or disembarks, whichever is the sooner.’’. 3 SEC. 7. CRIME PREVENTION, DOCUMENTATION, AND RE- 4 SPONSE REQUIREMENTS. 5 (a) MAINTENANCE AND PLACEMENT OF VIDEO SUR- 6 VEILLANCE EQUIPMENT.—Section 3523(b)(1), as redesig- 7 nated under section 2 of this Act, is further amended— 8 (1) by striking ‘‘The owner’’ and inserting the 9 following: 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The owner’’; 11 (2) by striking ‘‘, as determined by the Sec- 12 retary’’; and 13 (3) by adding at the end, the following: 14 ‘‘(B) PLACEMENT OF VIDEO SURVEIL- 15 LANCE EQUIPMENT.—With regard to the place- 16 ment of video surveillance equipment on a ves- 17 sel under subparagraph (A), the owner shall— 18 ‘‘(i) place video surveillance equipment 19 in each passenger common area where a 20 person has no reasonable expectation of 21 privacy; 22 ‘‘(ii) place video surveillance equip- 23 ment in other areas where a person has no 24 reasonable expectation of privacy; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 5096 IH ‘‘(iii) place video surveillance equip- 1 ment in each area identified under clause 2 (i) or (ii) in a manner that provides opti- 3 mum surveillance of that area.’’. 4 (b) ACCESS TO VIDEO RECORDS.—Section 3523(b), 5 as redesignated under section 2 of this Act, is further 6 amended— 7 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para- 8 graph (3); and 9 (2) in paragraph (3), as redesignated— 10 (A) by striking ‘‘The owner’’ and inserting 11 the following: 12 ‘‘(A) LAW ENFORCEMENT.—The owner’’; 13 and 14 (B) by adding at the end, the following: 15 ‘‘(B) CIVIL ACTIONS.—The owner of a ves- 16 sel to which this subchapter applies shall pro- 17 vide to any individual or the individual’s legal 18 representative, upon written request, a copy of 19 all records of video surveillance— 20 ‘‘(i) in which the individual is a sub- 21 ject of the video surveillance; and 22 ‘‘(ii) that may provide evidence in a 23 civil action. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 5096 IH ‘‘(C) LIMITED ACCESS.—Except as pro- 1 vided under subparagraphs (A) and (B), the 2 owner of a vessel to which this subchapter ap- 3 plies shall ensure that access to records of video 4 surveillance is limited to the purposes described 5 under this section.’’. 6 (c) NOTICE OF VIDEO SURVEILLANCE.—Section 7 3523(b), as redesignated under section 2 of this Act and 8 as amended by subsection (b) of this section, is further 9 amended by inserting before paragraph (3) the following: 10 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF VIDEO SURVEILLANCE.—The 11 owner of a vessel to which this subchapter applies 12 shall provide clear and conspicuous signs on board 13 the vessel notifying the public of the presence of 14 video surveillance equipment.’’. 15 (d) RETENTION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 3523(b), 16 as redesignated under section 2 of this Act and as amend- 17 ed by subsections (b) and (c) of this section, is further 18 amended by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(4) RETENTION REQUIREMENTS.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The owner of a vessel 21 to which this subchapter applies shall retain all 22 records of video surveillance for a voyage for 23 not less than 1 year after completion of the voy- 24 age. If an incident described in subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 5096 IH (g)(3)(A)(i) is alleged and reported to law en- 1 forcement, all records of video surveillance from 2 the voyage that the Federal Bureau of Inves- 3 tigation determines are relevant shall— 4 ‘‘(i) be provided to the Federal Bu- 5 reau of Investigation; and 6 ‘‘(ii) be preserved by the vessel owner 7 for not less than 5 years from the date of 8 the alleged incident. 9 ‘‘(B) INTERIM STANDARDS.—Not later 10 than 180 days after the date of enactment of 11 the Cruise Passenger Protection Act, the Com- 12 mandant, in consultation with the Federal Bu- 13 reau of Investigation, shall promulgate interim 14 standards for the retention of records of video 15 surveillance. 16 ‘‘(C) FINAL STANDARDS.—Not later than 17 1 year after the date of enactment of the Cruise 18 Passenger Protection Act, the Commandant, in 19 consultation with the Federal Bureau of Inves- 20 tigation, shall promulgate final standards for 21 the retention of records of video surveillance. 22 ‘‘(D) CONSIDERATIONS.—In promulgating 23 standards under subparagraphs (B) and (C), 24 the Commandant shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 5096 IH ‘‘(i) consider factors that would aid in 1 the investigation of serious crimes, includ- 2 ing crimes that go unreported until after 3 the completion of a voyage; 4 ‘‘(ii) consider the different types of 5 video surveillance systems and storage re- 6 quirements in creating standards both for 7 vessels currently in operation and for ves- 8 sels newly built; 9 ‘‘(iii) consider privacy, including 10 standards for permissible access to and 11 monitoring and use of the records of video 12 surveillance; and 13 ‘‘(iv) consider technological advance- 14 ments, including requirements to update 15 technology.’’. 16 (e) AVAILABILITY OF INCIDENT DATA VIA INTER- 17 NET.—Section 3523(g)(4)(A)(ii), as redesignated under 18 section 2 of this Act, is further amended— 19 (1) by redesignating subclauses (V) and (VI) as 20 subclauses (VI) and (VII), respectively; and 21 (2) by inserting after subclause (IV) the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘(V) identify whether each crime 24 or alleged crime identified under sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:22 Nov 22, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5096.IH H5096 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 5096 IH clause (IV) was committed or alleg- 1 edly committed against a minor;’’. 2 (f) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 3 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, 4 in coordination with the Secretary of the department in 5 which the Coast Guard is operating, the Attorney General, 6 and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies, shall 7 conduct a study to determine the feasibility of having an 8 individual on board each passenger vessel to which sub- 9 chapter II of chapter 35 of title 46, United States Code, 10 applies to provide victim support services and related safe- 11 ty and security services, and shall report the findings of 12 such study to Congress. The study shall include consider- 13 ation of costs, benefits to passengers, jurisdiction, and lo- 14 gistics. 15 (g) CRIMINAL ACTIVITY PREVENTION AND RE- 16 SPONSE GUIDE.—Section 3523(c)(1), as redesignated by 17 section 2 of this Act and as amended by section 6(e) of 18 this Act, is further amended by amending subparagraph 19 (B) to read as follows: 20 ‘‘(B) provide a copy of the security guide 21 to— 22 ‘‘(i) the [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]