114 STAT. 1804 PUBLIC LAW 106-414 —NOV. 1, 2000 shall be subject to criminal penalties of a fine under title 18, or imprisoned for not more than 15 years, or both. "(2) SAFE HARBOR TO ENCOURAGE REPORTING AND FOR WHISTLE BLOWERS. — "(A) CORRECTION. —^A person described in paragraph (1) shall not be subject to criminal penalties under this subsection if: (1) at the time of the violation, such person does not know that the violation would result in an accident causing death or serious bodily injury; and (2) the person corrects any improper reports or failure to report within a reasonable time. "(B) REASONABLE TIME AND SUFFICIENCY OF CORREC- Rulesand TION. —^The Secretary shall establish by regulation what regulations. constitutes a reasonable time for the purposes of subparagraph (A) and what manner of correction is sufficient for Deadline. purposes of subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall issue a final rule under this subparagraph within 90 days of the date of the enactment of this section. "(C) EFFECTIVE DATE.— Subsection (a) shall not take effect before the final rule under subparagraph (B) takes effect. "(b) COORDINATION WITH DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—The Attorney General may bring an action, or initiate grand jury proceedings, for a violation of subsection (a) only at the request of the Secretary of Transportation.". (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The subchapter analysis for subchapter IV of chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: " 30170. Criminal penalties.". SEC. 6. ACCELERATION OF MANUFACTURER REMEDY PROGRAM. (a) REMEDY PROGRAM.— Section 30120(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end thereof the following: "(3) If the Secretary determines that a manufacturer's remedy program is not likely to be capable of completion within a reasonable time, the Secretary may require the manufacturer to accelerate the remedy program if the Secretary finds— "(A) that there is a risk of serious injury or death if the remedy program is not accelerated; and "(B) that acceleration of the remedy program can be reasonably achieved by expanding the sources of replacement parts, expanding the number of authorized repair facilities, or both. The Secretary may prescribe regulations to carry out this paragraph.". (b) REIMBURSEMENT PRIOR TO RECALL.— Section 30120(d) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by inserting at the end thereof the following: "A manufacturer's remedy program shall include a plan for reimbursing an owner or purchaser who incurred the cost of the remedy within a reasonable time in advance of the manufacturer's notification under subsection (b) or (c) of section 30118. The Secretary may prescribe regulations establishing what constitutes a reasonable time for purposes of the preceding sentence and other reasonable conditions for the reimbursement plan.".
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