120 STAT. 500
PUBLIC LAW 109–236—JUNE 15, 2006 ‘‘(6) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the establishment of the Office under this subsection, and annually thereafter, the Director of the Institute shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives a report that, with respect to the year involved, describes the new mine safety technologies and equipment that have been studied, tested, and certified for use, and with respect to those instances of technologies and equipment that have been considered but not yet certified for use, the reasons therefore. ‘‘(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to enable the Institute and the Office of Mine Safety and Health to carry out this subsection.’’.
30 USC 801 note.
SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT CONCERNING FAMILY LIAISONS.
The Secretary of Labor shall establish a policy that— (1) requires the temporary assignment of an individual Department of Labor official to be a liaison between the Department and the families of victims of mine tragedies involving multiple deaths; (2) requires the Mine Safety and Health Administration to be as responsive as possible to requests from the families of mine accident victims for information relating to mine accidents; and (3) requires that in such accidents, that the Mine Safety and Health Administration shall serve as the primary communicator with the operator, miners’ families, the press and the public. SEC. 8. PENALTIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 110 of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 820) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after the subsection designation; and (B) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(2) Any operator who willfully violates a mandatory health or safety standard, or knowingly violates or fails or refuses to comply with any order issued under section 104 and section 107, or any order incorporated in a final decision issued under this title, except an order incorporated in a decision under paragraph (1) or section 105(c), shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than $250,000, or by imprisonment for not more than one year, or by both, except that if the conviction is for a violation committed after the first conviction of such operator under this Act, punishment shall be by a fine of not more than $500,000, or by imprisonment for not more than five years, or both. ‘‘(3)(A) The minimum penalty for any citation or order issued under section 104(d)(1) shall be $2,000. ‘‘(B) The minimum penalty for any order issued under section 104(d)(2) shall be $4,000. ‘‘(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prevent an operator from obtaining a review, in accordance with section 106, of an order imposing a penalty described in this subsection. If a court, in making such review, sustains the order, the court
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