Federal · Title 49 — Transportation

49 U.S.C. § 32307: Investigative powers

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

This statute grants the Secretary investigative powers to inspect records, order written reports, conduct hearings, subpoena witnesses, and enforce compliance through federal court, with confidentiality protections for certain information.

Read the full statutory text

inspect and copy records of any person at reasonable times; order a person to file written reports or answers to specific questions, including reports or answers under oath; and conduct hearings, administer oaths, take testimony, and require (by subpena or otherwise) the appearance and testimony of witnesses and the production of records the Secretary considers advisable. A witness summoned under subsection (a) of this section is entitled to the same fee and mileage the witness would have been paid in a court of the United States. A civil action to enforce a subpena or order of the Secretary under subsection (a) of this section may be brought in the United States district court for the judicial district in which the proceeding by the Secretary is conducted. The court may punish a failure to obey an order of the court to comply with the subpena or order of the Secretary as a contempt of court. Information obtained by the Secretary under this section related to a confidential matter referred to in section 1905 of title 18 may be disclosed only to another officer or employee of the United States Government for use in carrying out this chapter. This subsection does not authorize information to be withheld from a committee of Congress authorized to have the information.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.