§6381 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

The Comptroller General can look at the books, records, and papers of certain people and companies to check their energy data or related financial information. This power covers three groups: anyone who must send energy information to the Secretary, the Department of the Interior, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under those agencies’ rules; companies that make, process, refine, move by pipeline, or distribute energy (not retail) when they gave energy data to a federal agency (not the IRS) and the Comptroller General finds that agency used the data; and vertically integrated petroleum companies about money details tied to exploring, producing, transporting, refining, and selling petroleum. If a proper congressional committee that oversees energy or the laws run by the Department of the Interior, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or the Secretary asks for an examination, the Comptroller General must do it. Definitions: verification examination = checking books and documents to judge accuracy and reliability; energy information and person = as defined in another law; vertically integrated petroleum company = a company that, itself or through related companies it controls or is controlled by, does production, refining, and marketing.

Title 42, §6381

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Comptroller General may conduct verification examinations with respect to the books, records, papers, or other documents of—

(1)any person who is required to submit energy information to the Secretary, the Department of the Interior, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pursuant to any rule, regulation, order, or other legal process of such Secretary, Department or Commission;

(2)any person who is engaged in the production, processing, refining, transportation by pipeline, or distribution (at other than the retail level) of energy resources—

(A)if such person has furnished, directly or indirectly, energy information (without regard to whether such information was furnished pursuant to legal requirements) to any Federal agency (other than the Internal Revenue Service), and

(B)if the Comptroller General of the United States determines that such information has been or is being used or taken into consideration, in whole or in part, by a Federal agency in carrying out responsibilities committed to such agency; or

(3)any vertically integrated petroleum company with respect to financial information of such company related to energy resource exploration, development, and production and the transportation, refining and marketing of energy resources and energy products.

(b)The Comptroller General shall conduct verification examinations of any person or company described in subsection (a), if requested to do so by any duly established committee of the Congress having legislative or oversight responsibilities under the rules of the House of Representatives or of the Senate, with respect to energy matters or any of the laws administered by the Department of the Interior (or the Secretary thereof), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or the Secretary.

(c)For the purposes of this subchapter—

(1)The term “verification examination” means an examination of such books, records, papers, or other documents of a person or company as the Comptroller General determines necessary and appropriate to assess the accuracy, reliability, and adequacy of the energy information, or financial information, referred to in subsection (a).

(2)The term “energy information” has the same meaning as such term has in section 796(e)(1) of title 15.

(3)The term “person” has the same meaning as such term has in section 796(e)(2) of title 15.

(4)The term “vertically integrated petroleum company” means any person which itself, or through a person which is controlled by, controls, or is under common control with such person, is engaged in the production, refining, and marketing of petroleum products.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This subchapter, referred to in subsec. (c), was in the original “this title”, meaning title V of Pub. L. 94–163, Dec. 22, 1975, 89 Stat. 956, which is classified principally to this subchapter. For complete classification of title V to the Code, see Tables.

Amendments

1978—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95–619 purported to substitute “Secretary” for “Administrator”, meaning Administrator of the Federal Energy Administration. See

Transfer of Functions

note below.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Transfer of Functions

“Secretary, the Department of the Interior, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission” and “Secretary” substituted for “Federal Energy Administration, the Department of the Interior, or the Federal Power Commission” and “Administration”, respectively, in subsec. (a)(1), and “Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or the Secretary” substituted for “Federal Power Commission, or the Federal Energy Administration (or the Administrator)” in subsec. (b) pursuant to section 301, 402, 703, and 707 of Pub. L. 95–91, which are classified to section 7151, 7172, 7293, and 7297 of this title and which terminated the Federal Energy Administration and transferred its functions and functions of Administrator thereof (with certain exceptions) to the Secretary of Energy and terminated the Federal Power Commission and transferred its functions to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Secretary of Energy.

§6381 Verification examinations

Summary

Title 42, §6381

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Amendments

Transfer of Functions

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Transfer of Functions

Citations & Metadata