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Title 46, ShippingRelease 119-110

§50306 Requiring Testimony and Records in Investigations

Title 46 › Subtitle V — Merchant Marine › Part A — General › CHAPTER 503 — ADMINISTRATIVE › § 50306

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Transportation may require people to testify and hand over documents during investigations needed to carry out this subtitle. The Secretary can put witnesses under oath, gather evidence, and issue official orders to appear or produce records at a hearing anywhere in the United States. People who are called get the same witness fees and travel pay as in federal courts. If someone refuses an order, the Secretary can ask the U.S. district court where that person lives or works to enforce it. The court can make them comply and punish refusal as contempt.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §50306

Shipping, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In General.—
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)Fees and Mileage.—
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)Enforcement of Subpoenas.—
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

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110