Mariah's Act
Latest action. By Senator Rockefeller from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 112-261.
Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety Improvement Act of 2011 [ sic ] or Mariah's Act - Title I: Highway Safety - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) (other than the Mass Transit Account) for FY2012 and FY2013 for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety programs, including: (1) highway safety research and development, (2) the combined occupant protection incentive grants program, (3) state traffic safety information system improvements, (4) the impaired driving countermeasures incentive grants program, (5) the distracted driving incentive grants program, (6) the National Register, (7) the high visibility enforcement program, (8) the motorcyclist safety grant program, (9) NHTSA administrative expenses, (10) driver alcohol detection system for safety research, and (11) state graduated driver licensing laws.
Requires use of such funds for such programs only, and prohibits their use by a state or local government for construction purposes.
(102) Revises NHTSA highway safety programs requirements.
Requires state highway safety programs to comply with certain uniform guidelines that meet specified criteria, including requirements for an effective accident record system.
Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) from approving a state highway program which does not, beginning FY2013, provide for a robust, data-driven traffic safety enforcement program in areas most at risk for accidents.
Lowers from 50% to 20% the minimum amount of any reduction in the apportionment to a state that does not have an approved highway safety program, or is not implementing one, until the Secretary approves such a program or determines that the state is implementing one. Revises the dates for: (1) apportionment to a state of withheld funds upon compliance with the highway safety program requirement, or (2) reapportionment to other states of such withheld funds if the state does not correct its failure to comply by a certain deadline.
Repeals authority for a grant to states that use a comprehensive computerized safety recordkeeping system designed to correlate data regarding traffic accidents, drivers, motor vehicles, and roadways.
The summary continues for 53 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on November 14, 2012. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 21, 2012: By Senator Rockefeller from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 112-261.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Mark Pryor (D-AR) introduced it on July 29, 2011, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 5 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 29, 2011, 5522 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5011 days ago, on December 21, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers