Cruise Passenger Protection Act
Latest action · Jul 23, 2014 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-488.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 23, 2013
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Cruise Passenger Protection Act - Amends federal shipping law to direct the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to develop standards for passenger vessel owners to provide passengers with a summary of key terms of passage contracts upfront and before they are binding.
Requires such standards to include recommendations that ensure that the summary is conspicuous and unambiguous.
Requires vessel owners, no later than 180 days after the standards are developed, to: (1) provide each passenger vessel with a summary meeting those standards, (2) include a link to each website the owner maintains for passengers to purchase or book passage on a passenger vessel, and (3) include the summary in promotional literature or advertising.
Applies this Act to passenger vessels that: (1) carry at least 250 passengers, (2) have sleeping facilities for each passenger, (3) are on a voyage that embarks or disembarks passengers in the United States, (4) are not engaged in coastwise trade, and (5) are not federal- or state-owned.
Directs the Secretary to establish a toll-free hotline and website for passenger complaints.
Prescribes both civil and criminal penalties for persons who violate the requirements of this Act.
Directs the Secretary to determine whether any of the enumerated rights in the international cruise line passenger bill of rights (adopted by the members of the Cruise Lines International Association) is enforceable under federal law.
Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee for passenger vessel consumer protection.
Revises passenger vessel security and safety requirements concerning: (1) log book entries and reporting of deaths, missing individuals, thefts, and other crimes; and (2) placement, access to records, and notice of video surveillance equipment to monitor crime.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) designate a director of victim support services to act as primary point of contact within the federal government for vessel passengers who are victims of crime, (2) establish a 24-hour toll-free telephone number for crime victims to obtain support services, and (3) develop a summary of rights for victims of crime.
Directs the Secretary to maintain on a website a statistical compilation of reported incidents of missing persons, crimes, and other information for vessel passengers.
Directs the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating, the Attorney General, and heads of other relevant federal agencies, to study the feasibility of having an individual on board each passenger vessel to provide victim support and related safety and security services.
Requires the Administrator of the Maritime Administration (who, currently, is merely authorized) to certify organizations in the United States and abroad that offer the curriculum for training and certification of passenger vessel security personnel, crewmembers, and law enforcement officials on the appropriate methods for prevention, detection, evidence preservation, and reporting of crimes in international waters.
Revises vessel design, equipment, construction, and retrofitting requirements.
Requires the peep hole or other means of visual identification in the entry door of a passenger stateroom or crew cabin to provide an unobstructed view of the area outside the stateroom or crew cabin.
Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to withhold or revoke the clearance of, and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to deny entry into the United States to, any vessel owner that: (1) commits an act or omission for which a penalty is imposed under this Act, or (2) fails to pay the penalty.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 23, 2013 to Oct 29, 2013, with 1 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Jul 23, 2013 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Jul 25, 2013 | |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Oct 29, 2013 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 23, 2014Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-488.
- Jul 23, 2013Introduced in Senate
- Jul 23, 2013Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2800 | Cruise Passenger Protection Act | Related bill | Jul 24, 2013 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Transportation and Public Works.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Advisory bodies
- Assault and harassment offenses
- Business records
- Civil actions and liability
- Coast guard
- Congressional oversight
- Consumer affairs
- Contracts and agency
- Crime prevention
- Crime victims
- Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Transportation
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Evidence and witnesses
- Federal preemption
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Health personnel
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Marine and inland water transportation
- Marketing and advertising
- Sex offenses
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Telephone and wireless communication
- Transportation and Public Works
- Transportation costs
- Transportation employees
- Transportation safety and security
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 23, 2013Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.