II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3015 

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

transportation safety program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 22, 2010 

Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MIKULSKI, and Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

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

establish a public transportation safety program, 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 ‘‘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: 


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1 ‘‘§ 5329. Public transportation safety program 

2 ‘‘(a) RAIL FIXED GUIDEWAY SAFETY.— 

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

4 as practicable, establish and implement a public 

5 transportation safety program to improve the safety 

6 of, and reduce the number and severity of accidents 

7 involving, the design, construction, and revenue serv8 ice operation of rail fixed guideway public transpor9 tation systems that receive financial assistance 

10 under this chapter. 

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

12 to rail fixed guideway public transportation systems 

13 subject to regulation by the Federal Railroad Ad14 ministration under subtitle V of this title and the 

15 Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 

16 110–432; 122 Stat. 4848). 

17 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY

18 BOARD.—When promulgating public safety transpor19 tation regulations, the Secretary shall, to the extent 

20 practicable, take into consideration relevant rec21 ommendations of the National Transportation Safe22 ty Board. 

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

24 implement a public transportation safety program to im25 prove the safety of, and reduce the number and severity 

26 of accidents involving, public transportation bus systems 


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1 that receive financial assistance under this chapter in ac2 cordance with the provisions of this section. 

3 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS AND ORDERS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pro5 mulgate regulations and issue orders for the safe op6 eration of rail fixed guideway public transportation 

7 systems, after appropriate consideration of costs and 

8 benefits. The Secretary shall ensure that the regula9 tions establish a Federal certification program for 

10 employees and contractors who carry out a State 

11 public transportation safety program in compliance 

12 with this section and oversee the performance of em13 ployees or contractors responsible for performing 

14 safety activities identified in 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 23:08 Feb 22, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3015.IS S3015

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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, United States Code. 

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 

24 or other tangible things, or request for testiVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:08 Feb 22, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3015.IS S3015

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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, United States Code, 

17 imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both; ex18 cept that the maximum amount of imprisonment 

19 shall be 10 years in any case in which the violation 

20 results in death or bodily injury to any person. For 

21 purposes of this subparagraph— 

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, United States 

19 Code, that may be necessary to abate the emergency 

20 situation. 

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

22 The order shall describe the condition or practice, or 

23 a combination of conditions and practices, that 

24 causes the emergency situation and promulgate 

25 standards and procedures for obtaining relief from 


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1 the order. This paragraph does not affect the Sec2 retary’s discretion under this subsection to maintain 

3 the order in effect for as long as the emergency situ4 ation exists. 

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

6 order under this subsection, the Secretary shall pro7 vide an opportunity for review of the order under 

8 section 554 of title 5, United States Code. If a peti9 tion for review is filed and the review is not com10 pleted by the end of the 30-day period beginning on 

11 the date the order was issued, the order stops being 

12 effective at the end of that period unless the Sec13 retary decides in writing that the emergency situa14 tion still exists. 

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

16 ORDERS.—An employee of a rail fixed guideway pub17 lic transportation system provider who may be ex18 posed to imminent physical injury during that em19 ployment because of the Secretary’s failure, without 

20 any reasonable basis, to issue an order under para21 graph (1) of this subsection, or the employee’s au22 thorized representative, may bring a civil action 

23 against the Secretary in a district court of the 

24 United States to compel the Secretary to issue an 

25 order. The action shall be brought in the judicial 


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1 district in which the emergency situation is alleged 

2 to exist, in which the employing provider has its 

3 principal executive office, or in the District of Co4 lumbia. The Secretary’s failure to issue an order 

5 under paragraph (1) of this subsection may be re6 viewed only under section 706 of title 5, United 

7 States Code. 

8 ‘‘(i) EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE QUALIFICATIONS AND

9 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—This section does not— 

10 ‘‘(1) authorize the Secretary to promulgate reg11 ulations and issue orders related to qualifications of 

12 employees, except qualifications specifically related 

13 to safety; or 

14 ‘‘(2) prohibit collective bargaining agreements 

15 between public transportation agencies and public 

16 transportation employees or their representatives, in17 cluding agreements related to qualifications of the 

18 employees that are not inconsistent with regulations 

19 and orders promulgated under this section. 

20 ‘‘(j) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYEE PROTEC21 TIONS.—Applicable provisions of the public transportation 

22 employee protection provisions under section 1413 of the 

23 Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission 

24 Act of 2007 (6 U.S.C. 1142) apply to direct and indirect 

25 recipients of Federal transit assistance under this chapter. 


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

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

3 section or under section 5331 of this title may petition 

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

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

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

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

8 Judicial procedures require— 

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

10 after the Secretary’s action becomes final; 

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

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

13 section to the Secretary; 

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

15 of any proceeding in which the final action was 

16 issued as provided in section 2112 of title 28, 

17 United States Code; and 

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

19 final action of the Secretary only if the objection was 

20 made in the course of the proceeding or review con21 ducted by the Secretary or if there was a reasonable 

22 ground for not making the objection in the pro23 ceeding.’’. 

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

25 United States Code, is amended— 


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

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

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(e) SAFETY PROGRAM.—There are authorized to be 

6 appropriated such amounts in each fiscal year as nec7 essary to administer section 5329 and to make grants or 

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

9 (3) in subsection (h), as redesignated, by strik10 ing ‘‘and (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d) and (e)’’. 

11 (c) PROHIBITIONS AGAINST REGULATING OPER12 ATIONS AND CHARGES.—Section 5334(b)(I) of title 49, 

13 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or for pur14 poses of establishing and enforcing programs to improve 

15 the safety of the nation’s public transportation systems, 

16 and reducing accidents on rail fixed guideway and bus sys17 tems for public transportation,’’ after ‘‘emergency,’’. 

18 (d) ALCOHOL AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES TEST19 ING.—Section 5331(b)(2) of title 49, United States Code, 

20 is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

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

23 (2) by inserting before subparagraph (B), as so 

24 redesignated, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall establish and implement an enforce2 ment program, including the imposition of penalties 

3 for failure to comply with this section;’’. 

4 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT; REPEAL.— 

5 (1) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The analysis for 

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

7 amended by striking the item relating to section 

8 5329 and inserting the following: 

‘‘5329. Public Transportation Safety Program.’’. 

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

10 States Code, is repealed 3 years after the effective 

11 date of final regulations issued by the Secretary 

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

13 section. 

Æ 


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