Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 3124 To improve passenger vessel security and safety, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 19, 2019 Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 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. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2019’’. 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3124 IS sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 1 section or other provision of title 46, United States Code. 2 SEC. 2. CRUISE VESSEL SUBCHAPTER. 3 Chapter 35 is amended— 4 (1) by inserting before section 3501 the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘Subchapter I—General Provisions’’; 7 (2) by inserting before section 3507 the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘Subchapter II—Cruise Vessels’’; 10 and 11 (3) by redesignating sections 3507 and 3508 as 12 sections 3523 and 3524, respectively. 13 SEC. 3. APPLICATION. 14 Chapter 35, as amended by section 2 of this Act, is 15 further amended by inserting before section 3523 the fol- 16 lowing: 17 ‘‘§ 3521. Application 18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This subchapter applies to a ves- 19 sel that— 20 ‘‘(1) is authorized to carry at least 250 pas- 21 sengers; 22 ‘‘(2) has onboard sleeping facilities for each 23 passenger; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3124 IS ‘‘(3) is on a voyage that embarks or disembarks 1 passengers in the United States; and 2 ‘‘(4) is not engaged on a coastwise voyage. 3 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL AND STATE VESSELS.—This sub- 4 chapter does not apply to— 5 ‘‘(1) a vessel of the United States operated by 6 the Federal Government; or 7 ‘‘(2) a vessel owned and operated by a State.’’. 8 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 9 Chapter 35, as amended by sections 2 and 3 of this 10 Act, is further amended by inserting after section 3521, 11 as added by section 3, the following: 12 ‘‘§ 3522. Definitions 13 ‘‘In this subchapter: 14 ‘‘(1) EXTERIOR DECK.—The term ‘exterior 15 deck’ means any exterior weather deck on which a 16 passenger may be present, including passenger state- 17 room balconies, exterior promenades on passenger 18 decks, muster stations, and similar exterior weather 19 deck areas. 20 ‘‘(2) KEY TERMS.—The term ‘key terms’ in- 21 cludes terms related to undisclosed costs and fees, 22 indemnification, waivers, limitations on liability, no- 23 tice of claim and actions, time limitations, arbitra- 24 tion, forum, and jurisdiction. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3124 IS ‘‘(3) OWNER.—The term ‘owner’ means the 1 owner, charterer, managing operator, master, or 2 other individual in charge of a vessel. 3 ‘‘(4) PASSAGE CONTRACT.—The term ‘passage 4 contract’ means a binding agreement for passage on 5 a passenger vessel. 6 ‘‘(5) PASSENGER.—Notwithstanding section 7 2101 of this title, the term ‘passenger’ means a cit- 8 izen of the United States carried on a passenger ves- 9 sel. 10 ‘‘(6) PASSENGER VESSEL.—The term ‘pas- 11 senger vessel’ means a passenger vessel to which this 12 subchapter applies.’’. 13 SEC. 5. PASSENGER VESSEL CONSUMER SERVICE IM- 14 PROVEMENTS. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 35, as amended by this 16 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the fol- 17 lowing: 18 ‘‘§ 3525. Passenger vessel consumer service improve- 19 ments 20 ‘‘(a) PASSAGE CONTRACTS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 22 the date of enactment of the Cruise Passenger Pro- 23 tection Act of 2019, the Secretary of Transportation 24 shall develop standards for use by an owner of a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3124 IS passenger vessel to provide a prospective passenger 1 with a summary that highlights key terms in the 2 passage contract and before such terms are binding. 3 In developing the standards, the Secretary of Trans- 4 portation may consult with other Federal agencies, 5 persons with expertise on admiralty and maritime 6 law, consumer advocates, industry representatives, 7 and such other persons as the Secretary of Trans- 8 portation considers necessary. 9 ‘‘(2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—The statute 10 of limitations for filing a lawsuit against the owner 11 of a passenger vessel, which shall not be shorter 12 than 3 years, shall be clearly identified in the pas- 13 sage contract described in paragraph (1). 14 ‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The standards de- 15 veloped under paragraph (1) shall include rec- 16 ommendations regarding— 17 ‘‘(A) style, formatting, and placement that 18 ensures that the summary is conspicuous; and 19 ‘‘(B) terminology that ensures that the 20 summary is— 21 ‘‘(i) clear, unambiguous, and unmis- 22 takable; and 23 ‘‘(ii) to the greatest extent possible, 24 uniform, concise, and not complex. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3124 IS ‘‘(4) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Secretary of 1 Transportation shall periodically review and update, 2 as appropriate, the standards developed under para- 3 graph (1). 4 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS.—Beginning on the date 5 that is 180 days after the date on which the stand- 6 ards are developed under paragraph (1), an owner of 7 a passenger vessel shall— 8 ‘‘(A) provide each prospective passenger 9 with a summary in accordance with those 10 standards; 11 ‘‘(B) include a prominently accessible link 12 to the summary on each Internet website that 13 the owner maintains for prospective passengers 14 to purchase or book passage on the passenger 15 vessel; and 16 ‘‘(C) include the summary in any pro- 17 motional literature or advertising, through any 18 medium of communication in the United States 19 offering passage or soliciting passengers for 20 ocean voyages anywhere in the world, that the 21 Secretary of Transportation considers necessary 22 to adequately notify a prospective passenger of 23 the key terms in the passage contract before 24 such terms are binding. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3124 IS ‘‘(6) PREEMPTION.—The standards developed 1 under paragraph (1) shall preempt any related State 2 standards that require a summary that provides less 3 information to a prospective passenger than the in- 4 formation required to be provided under this sub- 5 section, as determined by the Secretary of Transpor- 6 tation. 7 ‘‘(b) CONSUMER COMPLAINTS.— 8 ‘‘(1) TOLL-FREE HOTLINE; INTERNET WEBSITE 9 LINK.—The Secretary of Transportation shall— 10 ‘‘(A) establish a consumer complaints toll- 11 free hotline telephone number for passenger 12 use; 13 ‘‘(B) establish a consumer complaints link 14 for passenger use on the Internet website main- 15 tained under section 3526(i); and 16 ‘‘(C) notify the public of— 17 ‘‘(i) the telephone number established 18 under subparagraph (A); and 19 ‘‘(ii) the Internet website maintained 20 under section 3526(i). 21 ‘‘(2) WEBSITE.—The Secretary of Transpor- 22 tation shall— 23 ‘‘(A) maintain a statistical compilation of 24 all consumer complaints on the Internet website 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3124 IS under section 3526(i) that provides a numerical 1 accounting of each category of consumer com- 2 plaint; 3 ‘‘(B) update the data referred to in sub- 4 paragraph (A) not less frequently than quar- 5 terly; 6 ‘‘(C) aggregate such data by passenger 7 vessel; and 8 ‘‘(D) identify each passenger vessel by 9 name. 10 ‘‘(3) INVESTIGATIONS OF CONSUMER COM- 11 PLAINTS.—The Secretary of Transportation, in co- 12 ordination with other relevant Federal agencies, may 13 investigate consumer complaints from passengers, 14 including— 15 ‘‘(A) cancellations, delays, and port skip- 16 ping; 17 ‘‘(B) lost, damaged, and delayed baggage; 18 ‘‘(C) conditions on board the passenger 19 vessel; 20 ‘‘(D) problems in obtaining refunds for un- 21 used or lost tickets or fare adjustments; 22 ‘‘(E) incorrect or incomplete information 23 about fares, discount fare conditions and avail- 24 ability, overcharges, and fare increases; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3124 IS ‘‘(F) deceptive or misleading advertising; 1 and 2 ‘‘(G) compliance with Federal regulations. 3 ‘‘(4) REFERRAL TO FEDERAL AGENCY.—The 4 Secretary of Transportation may refer any complaint 5 received under this subsection to the Attorney Gen- 6 eral or relevant Federal agency for action, as appro- 7 priate. 8 ‘‘(5) NOTICE TO PASSENGERS.— 9 ‘‘(A) INTERNET WEBSITES.—Each owner 10 of a passenger vessel shall include in a con- 11 spicuous location on each Internet website that 12 the owner of a passenger vessel maintains for 13 passengers to purchase or book passage on a 14 passenger vessel— 15 ‘‘(i) the telephone number established 16 under paragraph (1); and 17 ‘‘(ii) any other information necessary 18 for a passenger to submit a consumer com- 19 plaint for resolution. 20 ‘‘(B) BOARDING DOCUMENTATION.—The 21 owner of a passenger vessel shall include the 22 telephone number and Internet address for con- 23 sumer complaints established under paragraph 24 (1) on— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3124 IS ‘‘(i) any promotional literature or ad- 1 vertising, through any medium of commu- 2 nication in the United States offering pas- 3 sage or soliciting passengers for ocean voy- 4 ages on passenger vessels, that the Sec- 5 retary of Transportation considers nec- 6 essary to adequately notify a prospective 7 passenger of the telephone number and 8 Internet address; and 9 ‘‘(ii) any electronic confirmation of 10 the purchase of passage on a passenger 11 vessel. 12 ‘‘(c) PENALTIES.— 13 ‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTY.—The Secretary of Trans- 14 portation may impose on any person that violates 15 this section or a regulation under this section a civil 16 penalty of not more than $25,000 for each day dur- 17 ing which the violation continues, except that the 18 maximum penalty for a continuing violation shall be 19 $50,000. 20 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Any person that 21 willfully violates this section or a regulation under 22 this section shall be fined not more than $250,000 23 or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3124 IS ‘‘(d) RULEMAKING.—The Secretary of Transpor- 1 tation shall issue such regulations as are necessary to im- 2 plement this section.’’. 3 (b) BILL OF RIGHTS.— 4 (1) ENFORCEABILITY.—Not later than 180 5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 6 Secretary of Transportation shall determine whether 7 any of the enumerated rights in the international 8 cruise line passenger bill of rights, which was adopt- 9 ed in 2013 by the members of the Cruise Lines 10 International Association, are enforceable under 11 Federal law. 12 (2) REQUIRED STATEMENT.—The Secretary of 13 Transportation shall include in the standards devel- 14 oped under section 3525(a) of title 46, United 15 States Code, a statement informing a prospective 16 passenger— 17 (A) which rights referred to in paragraph 18 (1) are legally enforceable; 19 (B) that the passenger has a private right 20 of action to enforce such rights; and 21 (C) of any legal action that a prospective 22 passenger may take to enforce such rights. 23 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR PASSENGER VESSEL 24 CONSUMER PROTECTION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3124 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor- 1 tation shall establish an advisory committee for pas- 2 senger vessel consumer protection (referred to in 3 this subsection as the ‘‘advisory committee’’) to ad- 4 vise the Secretary in carrying out activities relating 5 to passenger vessel customer service improvements. 6 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary of Transpor- 7 tation shall appoint the members of the advisory 8 committee, which shall be comprised of 1 representa- 9 tive each of— 10 (A) owners of passenger vessels; 11 (B) international industry-related associa- 12 tions; 13 (C) State or local governments with exper- 14 tise in consumer protection matters; 15 (D) nonprofit public interest groups with 16 expertise in consumer protection matters; 17 (E) nonprofit public interest groups with 18 expertise in victim assistance; and 19 (F) relevant Federal agencies, as deter- 20 mined by the Secretary of Transportation. 21 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the advisory 22 committee shall be filled in the manner in which the 23 original appointment was made. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:07 Dec 28, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3124.IS S3124 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 3124 IS (4) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of the advi- 1 sory committee shall serve without pay, but shall re- 2 ceive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 3 subsistence, in accordance with subchapter I of 4 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 5 (5) CHAIR.—The Secretary of Transportation 6 shall designate, from among the individuals ap- 7 pointed under paragraph (2), an individual to serve 8 as chair of the advisory committee. 9 (6) DUTIES.—The advisory committee shall— 10 (A) evaluate existing passenger vessel con- 11 sumer protection programs or services; 12 (B) recommend improvements to the pro- 13 grams or services under subparagraph (A), as 14 necessary; 15 (C) recomm [Text truncated for display. 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