Registered Agents Bill Approved by House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee
On June 30, 2010, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Subcommittee held a markup and approved for full committee action the Foreign Manufacturer Legal Accountability Act of 2010 (H.R. 4678).
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H.R. 4678, which was introduced on February 24, 2010, would require foreign manufacturers of certain products that are imported into the U.S. to establish registered U.S. agents who are authorized to accept service of process against such manufacturers.
Subcommittee Adopts Revised Version of Bill
At markup, the Subcommittee adopted Chairman Rush’s amendment in the nature of a substitute that makes several substantive and technical changes to the bill. According to the Subcommittee, the new version of the bill:
- clarifies the Act’s applicability to component part manufacturers;
- includes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration among the agencies that would require foreign manufacturers to meet the requirements of H.R. 4678;
- sets certain minimum requirements to be eligible to serve as the registered agent for a foreign manufacturer or producer and also sets certain minimum requirements for documenting the designation of a registered agent;
- requires foreign manufacturers and producers to report to the applicable agency any safety campaigns or recalls in other countries, for products also sold in the U.S.
- provides additional guidance to applicable agencies on setting the minimum size that foreign manufacturers or producers must exceed in order to trigger the Act’s requirements;
- limits the breadth of the consent to personal jurisdiction by making clear that it does not include wholly foreign law suits; and
- calls on all the agencies with responsibilities under the Act to cooperate with each other to establish consistent regulations to carry out the Act in an effective and efficient manner and extends the timeframe for implementation of the Act to one year.
New version addresses some of the issues raised at hearing. The new version of the measure appears to address some of the of the issues raised by witnesses at the Subcommittee’s June 16, 2010 hearing, such as including NHTSA and providing additional guidance to agencies on minimum size.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 06/25/10 news, 10062541, for BP summary of notice on NCBFAA concerns with H.R. 4678.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 06/17/10 news, 100617100, for BP summary of Subcommittee’s June 16, 2010 hearing on H.R. 4678.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 03/25/10 news, 10032515, for BP summary of the introduction of H.R. 4678.)
(Mark up briefing memo, dated 06/28/10)