42 U.S.C. § 5413 : US Code - Section 5413: Inspections and investigations for promulgation or enforcement of standards or execution of other duties

Search 42 U.S.C. § 5413 : US Code - Section 5413: Inspections and investigations for promulgation or enforcement of standards or execution of other duties

(a) Authority of Secretary; results furnished to Attorney General
and Secretary of the Treasury for appropriate action
The Secretary is authorized to conduct such inspections and
investigations as may be necessary to promulgate or enforce Federal
manufactured home construction and safety standards established
under this chapter or otherwise to carry out his duties under this
chapter. He shall furnish the Attorney General and, when
appropriate, the Secretary of the Treasury any information obtained
indicating noncompliance with such standards for appropriate
action.
(b) Designation by Secretary of persons to enter and inspect
factories, etc.; presentation of credentials; reasonableness and
scope of inspection
(1) For purposes of enforcement of this chapter, persons duly
designated by the Secretary, upon presenting appropriate
credentials to the owner, operator, or agent in charge, are
authorized -
(A) to enter, at reasonable times and without advance notice,
any factory, warehouse, or establishment in which manufactured
homes are manufactured, stored, or held, for sale; and
(B) to inspect, at reasonable times and within reasonable
limits and in a reasonable manner, any such factory, warehouse,
or establishment, and to inspect such books, papers, records, and
documents as are set forth in subsection (c) of this section.
Each such inspection shall be commenced and completed with
reasonable promptness.
(2) The Secretary is authorized to contract with State and local
governments and private inspection organizations to carry out his
functions under this subsection.
(c) Powers of Secretary
For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter,
the Secretary is authorized -
(1) to hold such hearings, take such testimony, sit and act at
such times and places, administer such oaths, and require, by
subpena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of such
witnesses and the production of such books, papers,
correspondence, memorandums, contracts, agreements, or other
records, as the Secretary or such officer or employee deems
advisable. Witnesses summoned pursuant to this subsection shall
be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the
courts of the United States;
(2) to examine and copy any documentary evidence of any person
having materials or information relevant to any function of the
Secretary under this chapter;
(3) to require, by general or special orders, any person to
file, in such form as the Secretary may prescribe, reports or
answers in writing to specific questions relating to any function
of the Secretary under this chapter. Such reports and answers
shall be made under oath or otherwise, and shall be filed with
the Secretary within such reasonable period as the Secretary may
prescribe;
(4) to request from any Federal agency any information he deems
necessary to carry out his functions under this chapter, and each
such agency is authorized and directed to cooperate with the
Secretary and to furnish such information upon request made by
the Secretary, and the head of any Federal agency is authorized
to detail, on a reimbursable basis, any personnel of such agency
to assist in carrying out the duties of the Secretary under this
chapter; and
(5) to make available to the public any information which may
indicate the existence of a defect which relates to manufactured
home construction or safety or of the failure of a manufactured
home to comply with applicable manufactured home construction and
safety standards. The Secretary shall disclose so much of other
information obtained under this subsection to the public as he
determines will assist in carrying out this chapter; but he shall
not (under the authority of this sentence) make available or
disclosure to the public any information which contains or
relates to a trade secret or any information the disclosure of
which would put the person furnishing such information at a
substantial competitive disadvantage, unless he determines that
it is necessary to carry out the purpose of this chapter.
(d) Refusal to obey subpena or order of Secretary; order of
compliance by district court; failure to obey order of compliance
punishable as contempt
Any of the district courts of the United States within the
jurisdiction of which an inquiry is carried on may, in the case of
contumacy or refusal to obey a subpena or order of the Secretary
issued under paragraph (1) or paragraph (3) of subsection (c) of
this section, issue an order requiring compliance therewith; and
any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by such
court as a contempt thereof.
(e) Submission by manufacturer of building plans for manufactured
homes; certification by manufacturer of conformity of building
plans to standards
Each manufacturer of manufactured homes shall submit the building
plans for every model of such manufactured homes to the Secretary
or his designee for the purpose of inspection under this section.
The manufacturer must certify that each such building plan meets
the Federal construction and safety standards in force at that time
before the model involved is produced.
(f) Records, reports and information from manufacturers,
distributors and retailers of manufactured homes; inspection and
examination of relevant books, papers, records and documents by
designated person
Each manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of manufactured
homes shall establish and maintain such records, make such reports,
and provide such information as the Secretary may reasonably
require to enable him to determine whether such manufacturer,
distributor, or retailer has acted or is acting in compliance with
this chapter and Federal manufactured home construction and safety
standards prescribed pursuant to this chapter and shall, upon
request of a person duly designated by the Secretary, permit such
person to inspect appropriate books, papers, records, and documents
relevant to determining whether such manufacturer, distributor, or
retailer has acted or is acting in compliance with this chapter and
manufactured home construction and safety standards prescribed
pursuant to this chapter.
(g) Performance and technical data from manufacturer; persons
required to receive notification of data
Each manufacturer of manufactured homes shall provide to the
Secretary such performance data and other technical data related to
performance and safety as may be required to carry out the purposes
of this chapter. These shall include records of tests and test
results which the Secretary may require to be performed. The
Secretary is authorized to require the manufacturer to give
notification of such performance and technical data to -
(1) each prospective purchaser of a manufactured home before
its first sale for purposes other than resale, at each location
where any such manufacturer's manufactured homes are offered for
sale by a person with whom such manufacturer has a contractual,
proprietary, or other legal relationship and in a manner
determined by the Secretary to be appropriate, which may include,
but is not limited to, printed matter (A) available for retention
by such prospective purchaser, and (B) sent by mail to such
prospective purchaser upon his request; and
(2) the first person who purchases a manufactured home for
purposes other than resale, at the time of such purchase or in
printed matter placed in the manufactured home.
(h) Disclosure of confidential information and trade secrets
All information reported to or otherwise obtained by the
Secretary or his representative pursuant to subsection (b), (c),
(f), or (g) of this section which contains or relates to a trade
secret, or which, if disclosed, would put the person furnishing
such information at a substantial competitive disadvantage, shall
be considered confidential, except that such information may be
disclosed to other officers or employees concerned with carrying
out this chapter or when relevant in any proceeding under this
chapter. Nothing in this section shall authorize the withholding of
information by the Secretary or any officer or employee under his
control from the duly authorized committees of the Congress.