or to defraud the Commission by concealment of such a violation. Neither the Commission nor any court shall order any person to pay the difference between the amount billed and agreed upon in writing with a common carrier or its agent and the amount set forth in any tariff or service contract by that common carrier for the transportation service provided.

(2) Each proceeding to assess a civil penalty under this section shall be commenced within 5 years from the date the violation occurred.

SEC. 14. [46 App. U.S.C. 1713] COMMISSION ORDERS.

(a) IN GENERAL.-Orders of the Commission relating to a violation of this Act or a regulation issued thereunder shall be made, upon sworn complaint or on its own motion, only after opportunity for hearing. Each order of the Commission shall continue in force for the period of time specified in the order or until suspended, modified, or set aside by the Commission or a court of competent jurisdiction.

(b) REVERSAL OR SUSPENSION OF ORDERS.-The Commission may reverse, suspend, or modify any order made by it, and upon application of any party to a proceeding may grant a rehearing of the same or any matter determined therein. No rehearing may, except by special order of the Commission, operate as a stay of that order.

(c) ENFORCEMENT OF NONREPARATION ORDERS.-In case of violation of an order of the Commission, or for failure to comply with a Commission subpena, the Attorney General, at the request of the Commission, or any party injured by the violation, may seek enforcement by a United States district court having jurisdiction over the parties. If, after hearing, the court determines that the order was properly made and duly issued, it shall enforce the order by an appropriate injunction or other process, mandatory or otherwise.

(d) ENFORCEMENT OF REPARATION ORDERS.-(1) In case of violation of an order of the Commission for the payment of reparation, the person to whom the award was made may seek enforcement of the order in a United States district court having jurisdiction of the parties.

(2) In a United States district court the findings and order of the Commission shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated, and the petitioner shall not be liable for costs, nor for the costs of any subsequent stage of the proceedings, unless they accrue upon his appeal. A petitioner in a United States district court who prevails shall be allowed reasonable attorney's fees to be assessed and collected as part of the costs of the suit.

(3) All parties in whose favor the Commission has made an award of reparation by a single order may be joined as plaintiffs, and all other parties in the order may be joined as defendants, in a single suit in a district in which any one plaintiff could maintain a suit against any one defendant. Service of process against a defendant not found in that district may be made in a district in which is located any office of, or point of call on a regular route operated by, that defendant. Judgment may be entered in favor of any plaintiff against the defendant liable to that plaintiff.

(e) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.-An action seeking enforcement of a Commission order must be filed within 3 years after the date of the violation of the order.

SEC. 15. [46 App. U.S.C. 1714] REPORTS. 1

The Commission may require any common carrier, or any officer, receiver, trustee, lessee, agent, or employee thereof, to file with it any periodical or special report or any account, record, rate, or charge, or memorandum of any facts and transactions appertaining to the business of that common carrier. The report, account, record, rate, charge, or memorandum shall be made under oath whenever the Commission so requires, and shall be furnished in the form and within the time prescribed by the Commission. Conference minutes required to be filed with the Commission under this section shall not be released to third parties or published by the Commission. SEC. 16. [46 App. U.S.C. 1715] EXEMPTIONS.

The Commission, upon application or on its own motion, may by order or rule exempt for the future any class of agreements between persons subject to this Act or any specified activity of those persons from any requirement of this Act if it finds that the exemption will not result in substantial reduction in competition or be detrimental to commerce. The Commission may attach conditions to any exemption and may, by order, revoke any exemption. No order or rule of exemption or revocation of exemption may be issued unless opportunity for hearing has been afforded interested persons and departments and agencies of the United States.

SEC. 17. [46 App. U.S.C. 1716] REGULATIONS.

(a) The Commission may prescribe rules and regulations as necessary to carry out this Act.

(b) The Commission may prescribe interim rules and regulations necessary to carry out this Act. For this purpose, the Commission is excepted from compliance with the notice and comment requirements of section 553 of title 5, United States Code. All rules and regulations prescribed under the authority of this subsection that are not earlier superseded by final rules shall expire no later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

[Section 18 repealed by section 115 of Public Law 105–258 (112 Stat. 1912).] SEC. 19. [46 App. U.S.C. 1718] OCEAN TRANSPORTATION INTERMEDIARIES. 2

(a) LICENSE.—No person in the United States may act as an ocean transportation intermediary unless that person holds a license issued by the Commission. The Commission shall issue an intermediary's license to any person that the Commission determines to be qualified by experience and character to act as an ocean transportation intermediary.

(b) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.

1The amendment made by section 113 of Public Law 105–258 (112 Stat. 1912) was executed in accordance with the probable intent of Congress. The matter being stricken was not in the proper typeface.

2The amendment made by section 116(1) of Public Law 105-258 (112 Stat. 1912) was executed in accordance with the probable intent of Congress. The matter being stricken and inserted was not in the proper typeface.

(1) No person may act as an ocean transportation intermediary unless that person furnishes a bond, proof of insurance, or other surety in a form and amount determined by the Commission to insure financial responsibility that is issued by a surety company found acceptable by the Secretary of the Treasury.

(2) A bond, insurance, or other surety obtained pursuant to this section

(A) shall be available to pay any order for reparation issued pursuant to section 11 or 14 of this Act, or any penalty assessed pursuant to section 13 of this Act;

(B) may be available to pay any claim against an ocean transportation intermediary arising from its transportation-related activities described in section 3(17) of this Act with the consent of the insured ocean transportation intermediary and subject to review by the surety company, or when the claim is deemed valid by the surety company after the ocean transportation intermediary has failed to respond to adequate notice to address the validity of the claim; and

(C) shall be available to pay any judgment for damages against an ocean transportation intermediary arising from its transportation-related activities under section 3(17) of this Act, provided the claimant has first attempted to resolve the claim pursuant to subparagraph (B) of this paragraph and the claim has not been resolved within a reasonable period of time.

(3) The Commission shall prescribe regulations for the purpose of protecting the interests of claimants, ocean transportation intermediaries, and surety companies with respect to the process of pursuing claims against ocean transportation intermediary bonds, insurance, or sureties through court judgments. The regulations shall provide that a judgment for monetary damages may not be enforced except to the extent that the damages claimed arise from the transportation-related activities of the insured ocean transportation intermediary, as defined by the Commission.

(4) An ocean transportation intermediary not domiciled in the United States shall designate a resident agent in the United States for receipt of service of judicial and administrative process, including subpoenas.

(c) SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION.-The Commission shall, after notice and hearing, suspend or revoke a license if it finds that the ocean transportation intermediary is not qualified to render intermediary services or that it willfully failed to comply with a provision of this Act or with a lawful order, rule, or regulation of the Commission. The Commission may also revoke an intermediary's license for failure to maintain a bond, proof of insurance, or other surety in accordance with subsection (b)(1).

(d) EXCEPTION.-A person whose primary business is the sale of merchandise may forward shipments of the merchandise for its own account without a license.

(e) COMPENSATION OF FORWARDERS 1 BY CARRIERS.

(1) A common carrier may compensate an ocean transportation intermediary, as defined in section 3(17)(A) of this Act, in connection with a shipment dispatched on behalf of others only when the ocean transportation intermediary has certified in writing that it holds a valid license, if required by subsection (a), and has performed the following services:

(A) Engaged, booked, secured, reserved, or contracted directly with the carrier or its agent for space aboard a vessel or confirmed the availability of that space.

(B) Prepared and processed the ocean bill of lading, dock receipt, or other similar document with respect to the shipment.

(2) No common carrier may pay compensation for services described in paragraph (1) more than once on the same shipment.

(3) No ocean transportation intermediary may receive compensation from a common carrier with respect to a shipment in which the imtermediary has a direct or indirect beneficial interest nor shall a common carrier knowingly pay compensation on that shipment.

(4) No conference or group of 2 or more ocean common carriers in the foreign commerce of the United States that is authorized to agree upon the level of compensation paid to an ocean transportation intermediary, as defined in section 3(17)(A) of this Act, may—

(A) deny to any member of the conference or group the right, upon notice of not more than 5 calendar days, to take independent action on any level of compensation paid to an ocean transportation intermediary, as so defined; or

(B) agree to limit the payment of compensation to an ocean transportation intermediary, as so defined, to less than 1.25 percent of the aggregate of all rates and charges which are applicable under a tariff and which are assessed against the cargo on which the intermediary services are provided.

SEC. 20. [46 App. U.S.C. 1719] REPEALS AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

*

[Subsection (a) repealed by section 307(11) of Public Law 101–225 (103 Stat. 1925).]

[Subsections (b) and (c) made conforming amendments to other laws]

(d) EFFECTS ON CERTAIN AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS.—All agreements, contracts, modifications, licenses, and exemptions previously issued, approved, or effective under the Shipping Act, 1916, or the Shipping Act of 1984, shall continue in force and effect as if issued or effective under this Act, as amended by the Ocean

1 The amendment made by section 116(7) of Public Law 105-258 (112 Stat. 1913) could not be executed. The amendment is as follows:

(7) striking "FORWARDERS.—" in the caption of subsection (e), as redesignated, and inserting "INTERMEDIARIES.—";

Shipping Reform Act of 1998, and all new agreements, contracts, and modifications to existing, pending, or new contracts or agreements shall be considered under this Act, as amended by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998.

(e) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

(1) Each service contract entered into by a shipper and an ocean common carrier or conference before the date of enactment of this Act may remain in full force and effect and need not comply with the requirements of section 8(c) of this Act until 15 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

(2) This Act and the amendments made by it shall not affect any suit

(A) filed before the date of enactment of this Act; or (B) with respect to claims arising out of conduct engaged in before the date of enactment of this Act, filed within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act. (3) The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998 shall not affect any suit

(A) filed before the effective date of that Act; or

(B) with respect to claims arising out of conduct engaged in before the effective date of that Act filed within 1 year after the effective date of that Act.

(4) Regulations issued by the Federal Maritime Commission shall remain in force and effect where not inconsistent with this Act, as amended by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998.

[Sections 21 and 22 repealed by section 307(11) of Public Law 101–225 (103 Stat. 1925).]

[Section 23 repealed by section 118 of Public Law 105–258 (112 Stat. 1914).]