I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5766 

To improve the security of public areas of transportation facilities, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 10, 2018 

Mr. PAYNE (for himself and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To improve the security of public areas of transportation 

facilities, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Securing Public Areas 

5 of Transportation Facilities Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR STAKE9 HOLDERS.—The term ‘‘public and private sector 


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1 stakeholders’’ has the meaning given such term in 

2 section 114(u)(1)(C) of title 49, United States Code. 

3 (2) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ASSET.—The 

4 term ‘‘surface transportation asset’’ includes facili5 ties, equipment, or systems used to provide transpor6 tation services by— 

7 (A) a public transportation agency (as 

8 such term is defined in section 1402(5) of the 

9 Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 

10 Commission Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–53; 

11 6 U.S.C. 1131(5))); 

12 (B) a railroad carrier (as such term is de13 fined in section 20102(3) of title 49, United 

14 States Code); 

15 (C) an owner or operator of— 

16 (i) an entity offering scheduled, fixed17 route transportation services by over-the 

18 road bus (as such term is defined in sec19 tion 1501(4) of the Implementing Rec20 ommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act 

21 of 2007 (Public Law 110–53; 6 U.S.C. 

22 1151(4))); or 

23 (ii) a bus terminal; or 


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1 (D) other transportation facilities, equip2 ment, or systems, as determined by the Sec3 retary. 

4 SEC. 3. PUBLIC AREA SECURITY WORKING GROUP. 

5 (a) WORKING GROUP.—The Secretary of Homeland 

6 Security shall establish a working group to promote col7 laborative engagement between the Department of Home8 land Security and public and private sector stakeholders 

9 to develop non-binding recommendations for enhancing se10 curity in public areas of transportation facilities (including 

11 facilities that are surface transportation assets), including 

12 recommendations regarding the following topics: 

13 (1) Information sharing and interoperable com14 munication capabilities among the Department of 

15 Homeland Security and public and private stake16 holders with respect to terrorist or other threats. 

17 (2) Coordinated incident response procedures. 

18 (3) The prevention of terrorist attacks and 

19 other incidents through strategic planning, security 

20 training, exercises and drills, law enforcement pa21 trols, worker vetting, and suspicious activity report22 ing. 

23 (4) Infrastructure protection through effective 

24 construction design barriers and installation of ad25 vanced surveillance and other security technologies. 


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1 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year after 

2 the establishment of the working group under subsection 

3 (a) and annually thereafter for five years, the Secretary 

4 of Homeland Security shall report to the Committee on 

5 Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and 

6 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

7 of the Senate on the working group’s organization, partici8 pation, activities, findings, and non-binding recommenda9 tions for the immediately preceding 12-month period. The 

10 Secretary may publish a public version of such report that 

11 describes the working group’s activities and such related 

12 matters as would be informative to the public, consistent 

13 with section 552(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

14 (c) INAPPLICABILITY OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY

15 COMMITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act 

16 (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the working group es17 tablished under subsection (a) or any subsidiary thereof. 

18 SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu20 rity shall— 

21 (1) inform owners and operators of surface 

22 transportation assets about the availability of tech23 nical assistance, including vulnerability assessment 

24 tools and cybersecurity guidelines, to help protect 


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1 and enhance the resilience of public areas of such 

2 assets; and 

3 (2) subject to the availability of appropriations, 

4 provide such technical assistance to requesting own5 ers and operators of surface transportation assets. 

6 (b) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than one year after 

7 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

8 Homeland Security shall publish on the Department of 

9 Homeland Security’s website and widely disseminate, as 

10 appropriate, best practices for protecting and enhancing 

11 the resilience of public areas of transportation facilities 

12 (including facilities that are surface transportation as13 sets), including associated frameworks or templates for 

14 implementation. Such best practices shall be updated peri15 odically. 

16 SEC. 5. REVIEW. 

17 (a) REVIEW.—Not later than one year after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

19 Transportation Security Administration shall submit to 

20 the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of 

21 Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 

22 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report that 

23 includes a review of regulations, directives, policies, and 

24 procedures issued by the Administrator regarding the 

25 transportation of a firearm and ammunition, and, as apVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:49 May 25, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5766.IH H5766

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1 propriate, information on plans to modify any such regula2 tion, directive, policy, or procedure based on such review. 

3 (b) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report re4 quired under subsection (a), the Administrator of the 

5 Transportation Security Administration shall consult with 

6 the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (established 

7 pursuant to section 44946 of title 49, United States Code) 

8 and appropriate public and private sector stakeholders. 

Æ 


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