Title 46 — ShippingRelease 119-73not60
§50306 Requiring Testimony and Records in Investigations
Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle V— Merchant Marine › Part A— General › Chapter 503— ADMINISTRATIVE › § 50306
Summary
The Secretary of Transportation may take sworn testimony, gather evidence, and subpoena people to testify or hand over documents from anywhere in the United States. Subpoenaed witnesses get U.S. court fees and mileage. If someone disobeys, the Secretary may ask the local U.S. district court to enforce the subpoena and treat refusal as contempt.
Full Legal Text
Title 46, §50306
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(a)In conducting an investigation that the Secretary of Transportation considers necessary and proper to carry out this subtitle, the Secretary may administer oaths, take evidence, and subpoena persons to testify and produce documents relevant to the matter under investigation. Persons may be required to attend or produce documents from any place in the United States at any designated place of hearing.
(b)Persons subpoenaed by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall be paid the same fees and mileage paid to witnesses in the courts of the United States.
(c)If a person disobeys a subpoena issued under subsection (a), the Secretary may seek an order enforcing the subpoena from the district court of the United States for the district in which the person resides or does business. Process may be served in the judicial district in which the person resides or is found. The court may issue an order to obey the subpoena and punish a refusal to obey as a contempt of court.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 5030646 App.:1124.June 29, 1936, ch. 858, title II, § 214, 49 Stat. 1991; June 23, 1938, ch. 600, § 3, 52 Stat. 954; Pub. L. 91–452, title II, § 241, Oct. 15, 1970, 84 Stat. 930; Pub. L. 97–31, § 12(72), Aug. 6, 1981, 95 Stat. 159; Pub. L. 98–237, § 20(a), Mar. 20, 1984, 98 Stat. 89; Pub. L. 98–595, § 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 3132. In subsection (a), the word “affirmations” is omitted as unnecessary because of the definition of “oath” in 1 U.S.C. 1. The words “or any territory, district, or possession thereof” are omitted as unnecessary because of the definition of “United States” in chapter 1 of the revised title. Subsection (c) is substituted for the source provision to eliminate unnecessary words.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
46 U.S.C. § 50306
Title 46 — Shipping
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60