I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4643 

To amend chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, to establish a public 

transportation safety program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 22, 2010 

Mr. OBERSTAR (for himself, Mr. DEFAZIO, and Ms. EDWARDS of Maryland) 

(all by request) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, to 

establish a public transportation safety program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Transportation 

5 Safety Program Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SAFETY PROGRAM. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5329 of title 49, United 

8 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘§ 5329. Public transportation safety program 

10 ‘‘(a) RAIL FIXED GUIDEWAY SAFETY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall, as soon 

2 as practicable, establish and implement a public 

3 transportation safety program to improve the safety 

4 of, and reduce the number and severity of accidents 

5 involving, the design, construction, and revenue serv6 ice operation of rail fixed guideway public transpor7 tation systems that receive financial assistance 

8 under this chapter. 

9 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSION.—This section shall not apply 

10 to rail fixed guideway public transportation systems 

11 subject to regulation by the Federal Railroad Ad12 ministration under subtitle V of this title and the 

13 Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008. 

14 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY

15 BOARD.—When promulgating public safety transpor16 tation regulations, the Secretary shall, to the extent 

17 practicable, take into consideration relevant rec18 ommendations of the National Transportation Safe19 ty Board. 

20 ‘‘(b) BUS SAFETY.—The Secretary may establish and 

21 implement a public transportation safety program to im22 prove the safety of, and reduce the number and severity 

23 of accidents involving, public transportation bus systems 

24 that receive financial assistance under this chapter in ac25 cordance with the provisions of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS AND ORDERS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pro3 mulgate regulations and issue orders for rail fixed 

4 guideway public transportation systems to ensure 

5 the safe operation of such systems, and when pro6 mulgating regulations, shall provide appropriate con7 sideration of costs and benefits. The secretary shall 

8 ensure that the regulations establish a Federal cer9 tification program for employees and contractors 

10 who carry out a State public transportation safety 

11 program in compliance with this section and oversee 

12 the performance of employees or contractors respon13 sible for performing safety activities identified in 

14 such program. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION BY DHS SECRETARY.—Be16 fore prescribing a security regulation or issuing a se17 curity order that affects the safety of public trans18 portation design, construction or operations, the Sec19 retary of Homeland Security shall consult with the 

20 Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(3) WAIVERS.—The Secretary may waive com22 pliance with any part of a regulation promulgated or 

23 order issued under this section if the waiver is in the 

24 public interest, or a regulation or order issued under 

25 this section. The Secretary shall not issue a waiver 


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1 and shall immediately revoke a waiver if the waiver 

2 would not be consistent with the goals and objectives 

3 of this section. The Secretary shall make public the 

4 reasons for granting or revoking the waiver. 

5 ‘‘(d) PREEMPTION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may adopt or con7 tinue in force a law, regulation, or order related to 

8 public transportation safety until the Secretary pro9 mulgates a regulation or issues an order covering 

10 the subject matter of the State requirement. A State 

11 may adopt or continue in force an additional or 

12 more stringent law, regulation, or order related to 

13 public transportation safety only if the law, regula14 tion, or order— 

15 ‘‘(A) has a safety benefit; 

16 ‘‘(B) is not incompatible with a law, regu17 lation, or order of the United States Govern18 ment; and 

19 ‘‘(C) does not unreasonably burden inter20 state commerce. 

21 ‘‘(2) DAMAGES.—Nothing in this section shall 

22 be construed to preempt an action under State law 

23 seeking damages for personal injury, death, or prop24 erty damage alleging that a party— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has failed to comply with the Federal 

2 standard of care established by a regulation or 

3 order issued by the Secretary under this sec4 tion; 

5 ‘‘(B) has failed to comply with its own pro6 gram, rule, or standard that it created under a 

7 regulation or order issued by the Secretary; or 

8 ‘‘(C) has failed to comply with a State law, 

9 regulation, or order that is not incompatible 

10 with paragraph (1) of this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

12 apply to all State law causes of action arising from 

13 events or activities occurring on or after the enact14 ment of this section. 

15 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL JURISDICTION.—Nothing in this 

16 section creates a Federal cause of action on behalf 

17 of an injured party or confers Federal question ju18 risdiction for State law causes of action. 

19 ‘‘(e) SAFETY PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec21 tion, the Secretary may take actions the Secretary 

22 considers necessary, including— 

23 ‘‘(A) conducting inspections, investigations, 

24 audits, examinations, and testing of a public 

25 transportation system’s equipment, facilities, 


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1 rolling stock, operations, and persons engaged 

2 in the business of a public transportation sys3 tem; 

4 ‘‘(B) delegating to a public entity or other 

5 qualified person the conduct of inspections, in6 vestigations, audits, examinations, and testing 

7 of a public transportation system’s equipment, 

8 facilities, rolling stock, operations, and persons 

9 engaged in the business of a public transpor10 tation system; 

11 ‘‘(C) making reports, issuing subpoenas, 

12 requiring the production of documents, taking 

13 depositions, and prescribing recordkeeping and 

14 reporting requirements; and 

15 ‘‘(D) making grants or entering into agree16 ments— 

17 ‘‘(i) for research, development, testing 

18 and training of every area of public trans19 portation safety; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) to assist a public entity or quali21 fied person in carrying out the delegated 

22 activities set forth in subparagraph (B) of 

23 this paragraph. 

24 ‘‘(2) ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS.—Activities 

25 authorized under this subsection may be engaged in 


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1 for safety purposes, including accident and incident 

2 prevention and investigation. 

3 ‘‘(3) COST SHARING.—The Federal share of a 

4 grant awarded or an agreement entered into under 

5 paragraph (1)(D) of this section may be up to 100 

6 percent. 

7 ‘‘(4) ENTRY.—In carrying out this subsection, 

8 an officer or employee of the Secretary, or agent 

9 designated by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(B) 

10 of this subsection, at reasonable times and in a rea11 sonable way, may enter and inspect public transpor12 tation equipment, facilities, rolling stock, operations, 

13 and relevant records. When requested, the officer, 

14 employee, or the designated agent shall display prop15 er credentials. During an inspection, the officer, em16 ployee, or designated agent of the Secretary qualifies 

17 as an employee of the United States Government 

18 under chapter 171 of title 28. 

19 ‘‘(f) STATE PARTICIPATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) SAFETY PROGRAM.—A State may establish 

21 and implement a State public transportation safety 

22 program through statute and regulation that re23 quires, at a minimum, compliance with the regula24 tions and policies issued by the Secretary under this 


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1 section and complies with subsection (d) of this sec2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(2) GRANTS.—The Secretary may make 

4 grants or enter into agreements under this sub5 section to carry out a State public transportation 

6 safety program, including to train employees nec7 essary to administer and manage the program, and 

8 to enforce Federal and State public transportation 

9 safety laws, regulations and orders, provided that— 

10 ‘‘(A) employees responsible for carrying 

11 out the safety oversight functions of a State 

12 public transportation safety program meet the 

13 safety certification criteria established through 

14 regulations issued under subsection (c)(1) of 

15 this section; 

16 ‘‘(B) a State submits its public transpor17 tation safety program, which shall provide a 

18 right of entry and inspection to carry out the 

19 program, to the Secretary for review and writ20 ten approval prior to implementing the pro21 gram; and 

22 ‘‘(C) a State submits each amendment to 

23 its public transportation safety program to the 

24 Secretary for review and written decision at 

25 least 60 days before the amendment becomes 


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1 effective. If a State does not receive a written 

2 response from the Secretary by the end of the 

3 60-day period, the amendment shall be deemed 

4 to be approved. 

5 ‘‘(3) MULTI-STATE REQUIREMENTS.—When a 

6 single public transportation authority operates in 

7 more than one State, the affected States, if estab8 lishing and implementing a public transportation 

9 safety program as authorized under this subsection, 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) establish and implement the program 

12 jointly to ensure uniform safety standards and 

13 enforcement procedures that shall be, at a min14 imum, in compliance with this section and the 

15 regulations and policies issued by the Secretary 

16 under this section; or 

17 ‘‘(B) designate an entity (other than the 

18 public transportation authority) to carry out the 

19 activities and requirements specified by sub20 paragraph (A) of this paragraph. 

21 ‘‘(4) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—A State may 

22 not— 

23 ‘‘(A) allocate grant funds awarded under 

24 paragraph (1) of this subsection to a State 

25 agency or local entity that operates a public 


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1 transportation system that receives Federal 

2 transit assistance; 

3 ‘‘(B) allow a State agency or local entity 

4 that operates a public transportation system to 

5 provide funds to a State agency or an entity 

6 designated by the State that is responsible for 

7 establishing, implementing, or maintaining a 

8 State public transportation safety program; or 

9 ‘‘(C) allow a State agency or local entity 

10 that operates a public transportation system to 

11 participate in the oversight of establishing, im12 plementing, or maintaining a State public 

13 transportation safety program. 

14 ‘‘(5) COST SHARING.—In the case of a State 

15 that implements a safety program under this sec16 tion, the following applies: 

17 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall reimburse the 

18 State from a grant made or agreement entered 

19 into under this section, an amount that is up to 

20 100 percent of the costs incurred by the State 

21 in a fiscal year for developing, implementing 

22 and enforcing a State public transportation 

23 safety program. 

24 ‘‘(B) The Secretary, through regulations 

25 promulgated under this section, shall establish 


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1 a schedule of reimbursable costs that the Sec2 retary shall use to assist the State in defraying 

3 the State’s costs of developing, implementing 

4 and enforcing a State public transportation 

5 safety program. 

6 ‘‘(C) To help defray the costs of devel7 oping, implementing and enforcing a State pub8 lic transportation safety program, the State 

9 may submit to the Secretary a voucher that 

10 does not exceed the amount identified on the 

11 schedule of reimbursable costs for an eligible 

12 activity. 

13 ‘‘(D) The Secretary shall pay the State an 

14 amount not more than the Federal Govern15 ment’s share of costs incurred as of the date of 

16 the voucher. 

17 ‘‘(6) NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL.—The Secretary 

18 shall ensure that the State is carrying out the State 

19 public transportation safety program, as follows: 

20 ‘‘(A) If the Secretary finds, after notice 

21 and opportunity to comment, that the State 

22 transportation safety program previously ap23 proved is not being followed or has become in24 adequate to ensure enforcement of the regulaVerDate Nov 24 2008 07:08 Feb 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4643.IH H4643

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1 tions or orders, the Secretary shall withdraw 

2 approval of the program and notify the State. 

3 ‘‘(B) A State public transportation safety 

4 program shall no longer be in effect upon the 

5 State’s receipt of the Secretary’s notice of with6 drawal of approval. 

7 ‘‘(C) A State receiving notice under sub8 paragraph (A) of this paragraph may seek judi9 cial review of the Secretary’s decision under 

10 chapter 7 of title 5. 

11 ‘‘(D) Notwithstanding the withdrawal, a 

12 State may retain jurisdiction in administrative 

13 and judicial proceedings begun before the with14 drawal if the issues involved are not related di15 rectly to the reasons for the withdrawal. 

16 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary has the au18 thority— 

19 ‘‘(A) to establish, impose and compromise 

20 a civil penalty for a violation of a public trans21 portation safety regulation promulgated or 

22 order issued under this section; 

23 ‘‘(B) to establish, impose and compromise 

24 a civil penalty for violation of the alcohol and 


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1 controlled substances testing provisions under 

2 section 5331 of this chapter; 

3 ‘‘(C) to request an injunction for a viola4 tion of a public transportation safety regulation 

5 promulgated or order issued under this section; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(D) to notify the Attorney General when 

8 the Secretary receives evidence of a possible 

9 criminal violation under paragraph (5). 

10 ‘‘(2) DEPOSIT OF CIVIL PENALTIES.—An 

11 amount collected by the Secretary under this section 

12 shall be deposited into the General Fund of the 

13 United States Treasury. 

14 ‘‘(3) ENFORCEMENT BY THE ATTORNEY GEN15 ERAL.—At the request of the Secretary, the Attor16 ney General shall bring a civil action— 

17 ‘‘(A) for appropriate injunctive relief to en18 sure compliance with this section; 

19 ‘‘(B) to collect a civil penalty imposed or 

20 an amount agreed upon in a compromise under 

21 paragraph (1) of this subsection; or 

22 ‘‘(C) to enforce a subpoena, request for ad23 missions, request for production of documents 

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1 mony by deposition issued by the Secretary 

2 under this section. 

3 ‘‘(4) JURISDICTION.—An action under para4 graph (3) of this subsection may be brought in a 

5 district court of the United States in any State in 

6 which the relief is required. On a proper showing, 

7 the court shall issue a temporary restraining order 

8 or preliminary or permanent injunction. An injunc9 tion under this section may order a public transpor10 tation agency receiving assistance under this chapter 

11 to comply with this section, or a regulation promul12 gated under this section. 

13 ‘‘(5) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—A person who know14 ingly violates this section or a public transportation 

15 safety regulation or order issued under this section 

16 shall be fined under title 18 imprisoned for not more 

17 than 5 years, or both; except that the maximum 

18 amount of imprisonment shall be 10 years in any 

19 case in which the violation results in death or bodily 

20 injury to any person. For purposes of this subpara21 graph— 

22 ‘‘(A) a person acts knowingly when— 

23 ‘‘(i) the person has actual knowledge 

24 of the facts giving rise to the violation; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a reasonable person acting in the 

2 circumstances and exercising reasonable 

3 care would have that knowledge; and 

4 ‘‘(B) actual knowledge of the existence of 

5 a statutory provision, or a regulation or a re6 quirement required by the Secretary is not an 

7 element of an offense under this paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(h) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ORDERING RESTRICTIONS AND PROHIBI10 TIONS.—If, through testing, inspection, investiga11 tion, or research carried out under this section, the 

12 Secretary decides that an unsafe condition or prac13 tice, or a combination of unsafe conditions and prac14 tices, causes an emergency situation involving a haz15 ard of death, personal injury, or significant harm to 

16 the environment, the Secretary immediately may 

17 order restrictions and prohibitions, without regard to 

18 section 553 and section 554 of title 5 that may be 

19 necessary to abate the emergency situation. 

20 ‘‘(2) EMERGENCY CONDITION OR PRACTICE.— 

21 The order shall describe the condition or practice, or 

22 a combination of conditions and practices, that 

23 causes the emergency situation and promulgate 

24 standards and procedures for obtaining relief from 

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1 retary’s discretion under this subsection to maintain 

2 the order in effect for as long as the emergency situ3 ation exists. 

4 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF ORDERS.—After issuing an 

5 order under this subsection, the Secretary shall pro6 vide an opportunity for review of the order under 

7 section 554 of title 5. If a petition for review is filed 

8 and the review is not completed by the end of the 

9 30-day period beginning on the date the order was 

10 issued, the order stops being effective at the end of 

11 that period unless the Secretary decides in writing 

12 that the emergency situation still exists. 

13 ‘‘(4) CIVIL ACTIONS TO COMPEL ISSUANCE OF

14 ORDERS.—An employee of a rail fixed guideway pub15 lic transportation system provider who may be ex16 posed to imminent physical injury during that em17 ployment because of the Secretary’s failure, without 

18 any reasonable basis, to issue an order under para19 graph (1) of this subsection, or the employee’s au20 thorized representative, may bring a civil action 

21 against the Secretary in a district court of the 

22 United States to compel the Secretary to issue an 

23 order. The action shall be brought in the judicial 

24 district in which the emergency situation is alleged 

25 to exist, in which the employing provider has its 


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1 principal executive office, or in the District of Co2 lumbia. The Secretary’s failure to issue an order 

3 under paragraph (1) of this subsection may be re4 viewed only under section 706 of title 5. 

5 ‘‘(i) EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE QUALIFICATIONS AND

6 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—This section does not— 

7 ‘‘(1) authorize the Secretary to promulgate reg8 ulations and issue orders related to qualifications of 

9 employees, except qualifications specifically related 

10 to safety; or 

11 ‘‘(2) prohibit collective bargaining agreements 

12 between public transportation agencies and public 

13 transportation employees or their representatives, in14 cluding agreements related to qualifications of the 

15 employees that are not inconsistent with regulations 

16 and orders promulgated under this section. 

17 ‘‘(j) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYEE PROTEC18 TIONS.—Applicable provisions of the public transportation 

19 employee protection provisions under section 1142 of title 

20 6 apply to direct and indirect recipients of Federal transit 

21 assistance under this chapter. 

22 ‘‘(k) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A person adversely affected 

23 or aggrieved by a final action of the Secretary under this 

24 section or under section 5331 of this title may petition 

25 for review of the final action in the United States Court 


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1 of Appeals for the District of Columbia or in the court 

2 of appeals for the United States for the circuit in which 

3 the person resides and has its principal place of business. 

4 Judicial procedures require— 

5 ‘‘(1) the petition be filed not more than 60 days 

6 after the Secretary’s action becomes final; 

7 ‘‘(2) the clerk of the court immediately send a 

8 copy of the petition filed under paragraph (3) of this 

9 subsection to the Secretary; 

10 ‘‘(3) the Secretary file with the court a record 

11 of any proceeding in which the final action was 

12 issued as provided in section 2112 of title 28; and 

13 ‘‘(4) the court to consider an objection to a 

14 final action of the Secretary only if the objection was 

15 made in the course of the proceeding or review con16 ducted by the Secretary or if there was a reasonable 

17 ground for not making the objection in the pro18 ceeding.’’. 

19 (b) AUTHORIZATIONS.—Section 5338 of title 49, 

20 United States Code, is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), and 

22 (g) as subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively; and 

23 (2) by inserting a new subsection (e) to read of 

24 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(e) SAFETY PROGRAM.—There is authorized to be 

2 appropriated such amounts in each fiscal year as nec3 essary to administer section 5329 and to make grants or 

4 enter into agreements to carry out section 5329.’’; and 

5 (3) in subsection (h), as redesignated, by strik6 ing ‘‘and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d) and (e)’’. 

7 (c) PROHIBITIONS AGAINST REGULATING OPER8 ATIONS AND CHARGES.—Section 5334(b)(1) of title 49, 

9 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or for pur10 poses of establishing and enforcing programs to improve 

11 the safety of the Nation’s public transportation systems, 

12 and reducing accidents on rail fixed guideway and bus sys13 tems for public transportation,’’ after ‘‘emergency,’’. 

14 (d) ALCOHOL AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES TEST15 ING.—Section 5331(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code, 

16 is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

18 (B) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively; and 

19 (2) by inserting a new subparagraph (A) fol20 lowing ‘‘Secretary of Transportation—’’ to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(A) shall establish and implement an en23 forcement program, including the imposition of 

24 penalties for failure to comply with this sec25 tion;’’. 


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1 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT; REPEAL.— 

2 (1) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for 

3 chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is 

4 amended by striking the item relating to section 

5 5329 and inserting the following: 

‘‘5329. Public transportation safety program.’’. 

6 (2) REPEAL.—Section 5330 of title 49, United 

7 States Code, is repealed 3 years after the effective 

8 date of final regulations issued by the Secretary 

9 under section 5329 of title 49, as amended by this 

10 section. 

Æ 


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