As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on April 9, 2014
Based on information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), CBO estimates that implementing S. 1925 would cost about $1 million over the 2015-2019 period, assuming the availability of appropriated funds. Enacting S. 1925 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
S. 1925 would establish that any data collected by event data recorders (EDRs) in motor vehicles are owned by the owner or lessee of the vehicle and would set broad conditions under which such data could be retrieved by others for purposes such as judicial proceedings, investigations, and traffic safety research. The bill also would require NHTSA to complete a study and a rulemaking about the data collected by EDRs. Based on information from NHTSA, CBO estimates that work would take about 18 months to complete and would require two or three staff members.
S. 1925 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
By requiring NHTSA to issue regulations that establish the appropriate period for EDRs to capture and record information, the bill could impose a mandate on automobile manufacturers if those regulations require changes in the design of motor vehicles. Because the cost of that mandate would depend on future regulations, CBO cannot determine whether the aggregate cost of the mandates would exceed the annual threshold established in UMRA ($152 million in 2014, adjusted annually for inflation).
