NOTIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION.

SEC. 204. NOTIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION. (a) Prior Notification.—Subsection (a) of section 5902 (relating to prior notification) is amended— 110 STAT. 3454 (1) by striking “Before a person tenders to a first carrier for intermodal transportation a” and inserting “If the first carrier to which any”; (2) by striking “10,000 pounds (including packing material and pallets), the person shall give the carrier a written” and inserting “29,000 pounds is tendered for intermodal transportation is a motor carrier, the person tendering the container or trailer shall give the motor carrier a”; (3) by striking “trailer.” and inserting “trailer before the tendering of the container or trailer.”; (4) by striking “electronically.” and inserting “electronically or by telephone.”; and (5) by adding at the end thereof the following: “This subsection applies to any person within the United States who tenders a container or trailer subject to this chapter for intermodal transportation if the first carrier is a motor carrier.”. (b) Certification.—Subsection (b) of section 5902 (relating to certification) is amended to read as follows: “(b) Certification.— “(1) In general.—A person who tenders a loaded container or trailer with an actual gross cargo weight of more than 29,000 pounds to a first carrier for intermodal transportation shall provide a certification of the contents of the container or trailer in writing, or electronically, before or when the container or trailer is so tendered. “(2) Contents of certification—The certification required by paragraph (1) shall include— “(A) the actual gross cargo weight; “(B) a reasonable description of the contents of the container or trailer; “(C) the identity of the certifying party; “(D) the container or trailer number; and “(E) the date of certification or transfer of data to another document, as provided for in paragraph (3). “(3) Transfer of certification data.—A carrier who receives a certification may transfer the information contained in the certification to another document or to electronic format for forwarding to a subsequent carrier. The person transferring the information shall state on the forwarded document the date on which the data was transferred and the identity of the party who performed the transfer. “(4) Shipping documents.—For purposes of this chapter, a shipping document, prepared by the person who tenders a container or trailer to a first carrier, that contains the information required by paragraph (2) meets the requirements of paragraph (1). “(5) Use of ‘freight all kinds’ term.—The term ‘Freight All Kinds’ or ‘FAK’ may not be used for the purpose of certification under section 5902(b) after December 31, 2000, as a commodity description for a trailer or container if the weight of any commodity in the trailer or container equals or exceeds 20 percent of the total weight of the contents of the trailer or container. This subsection does not prohibit the use of the term after that date for rating purposes. “(6) Separate document marking.—If a separate document is used to meet the requirements of paragraph (1), it 110 STAT. 3455shall be conspicuously marked ‘INTERMODAL CERTIFICATION’. “(7) Applicability.—This subsection applies to any person, domestic or foreign, who first tenders a container or trailer subject to this chapter for intermodal transportation within the United States.”. (c) Forwarding Certifications.—Subsection (c) of section 5902 (relating to forwarding certifications to subsequent carriers) is amended— (1) by striking “transportation.” and inserting “transportation before or when the loaded intermodal container or trailer is tendered to the subsequent carrier. If no certification is received by the subsequent carrier before or when the container or trailer is tendered to it, the subsequent carrier may presume that no certification is required.”; and (2) by adding at the end thereof the following: “If a person inaccurately transfers the information on the certification, or fails to forward the certification to a subsequent carrier, then that person is liable to any person who incurs any bond, fine, penalty, cost (including storage), or interest for any such fine, penalty, cost (including storage), or interest incurred as a result of the inaccurate transfer of information or failure to forward the certification. A subsequent carrier who incurs a bond, fine, penalty, or cost (including storage), or interest as a result of the inaccurate transfer of the information, or the failure to forward the certification, shall have a lien against the con-tents of the container or trailer under section 5905 in the amount of the bond, fine, penalty, or cost (including storage), or interest and all court costs and legal fees incurred by the carrier as a result of such inaccurate transfer or failure.”. (d) Liability.—Section 5902 is amended by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e) and by inserting after subsection (c) the following: “(d) Liability to Owner or Beneficial Owner.—If— “(1) a person inaccurately transfers information on a certification required by subsection (b)(1), or fails to forward a certification to the subsequent carrier; “(2) as a result of the inaccurate transfer of such information or a failure to forward a certification, the subsequent carrier incurs a bond, fine, penalty, or cost (including storage), or interest; and “(3) that subsequent carrier exercises its rights to a lien under section 5905, then that person is liable to the owner or beneficial owner, or to any other person paying the amount of the lien to the subsequent carrier, for the amount of the lien and all costs related to the imposition of the lien, including court costs and legal fees incurred in connection with it.”. (e) Nonapplication.—Subsection (e) of section 5902, as redesignated, is amended— (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively, and by moving the text of paragraph (2), as so redesignated down 1 line and to the left, flush full measure and indenting such paragraph; and (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redesignated, the following: 110 STAT. 3456 “(1) The notification and certification requirements of subsections (a) and (b) of this section do not apply to any intermodal container or trailer containing consolidated shipments loaded by a motor carrier if that motor carrier— “(A) performs the highway portion of the intermodal movement; or “(B) assumes the responsibility for any weight-related fine or penalty incurred by any other motor carrier that performs a part of the highway transportation.”.