H.R. 880 — Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act

This section authorizes the Secretary of Transportation, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, to assess civil penalties for violations of motor carrier transportation regulations (part B, subtitle IV, title 49, U.S. Code) or related regulations or orders, in addition to the existing authority of the Surface Transportation Board. It also expands the applicability of administrative civil penalty assessment procedures under 49 U.S.C. § 501 to chapters 5 (investigations), 311 (commercial motor vehicle safety), and 313 (commercial motor vehicle operators) of title 49, U.S. Code.

This section authorizes states to use Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) grant funds for enforcement of federal household goods statutes and regulations applicable to interstate transportation by household goods motor carriers and brokers, and to intrastate transportation by such carriers if state laws or regulations are compatible with federal requirements. The section further specifies that such enforcement counts toward a state's maintenance-of-effort expenditures under MCSAP and clarifies that these activities are optional at state discretion and not a condition for receiving grant funds.

This section requires that any fine or penalty imposed on a motor carrier or broker in a state enforcement proceeding under 49 U.S.C. 14711 (i.e., for violations of federal motor carrier registration and insurance requirements) be paid to and retained by the imposing state, notwithstanding any other provision of law.

This section defines in 49 U.S.C. §13102(28)-(29) a "principal place of business" as a single physical location where an entity's management reports, it conducts significant transportation-related business, and it maintains required records; and a "specified entity" as an employer, person, motor carrier (including foreign), broker, or freight forwarder. It requires, for registration with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), motor carriers to designate a principal place of business (§13902(a)(1)(E)); and freight forwarders (§13903(a)(3)) and brokers (§13904(a)(3)) to do the same and disclose any common ownership, management, control, or familial relationships with other such entities or applicants in the prior three years (§13903(a)(4), §13904(a)(4)). It further authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to withhold, suspend, amend, or revoke registrations of motor carriers (including foreign), brokers, or freight forwarders for failure to designate a valid principal place of business (§13905(d)(2)(E)); and requires such designation to obtain a USDOT number (§31134(b)(4), with a conforming change in §31134(c)(2)). (Thus, these requirements enhance FMCSA oversight of interstate freight and passenger transportation entities by mandating a verifiable U.S. physical presence and transparency on affiliations to aid enforcement against safety violations or fraud.)