§ 5312. Research, development, demonstration, and training
projects
(a) RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—The
Secretary of Transportation (or the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment when required by section 5334(i) of this title) may undertake, or
make grants or contracts (including agreements with departments, agencies,
and instrumentalities of the United States Government) for, research, devel-
opment, and demonstration projects related to urban mass transportation
that the Secretary decides will help reduce urban transportation needs, im-
prove mass transportation service, or help mass transportation service meet
the total urban transportation needs at a minimum cost. The Secretary may
request and receive appropriate information from any source. This sub-
section does not limit the authority of the Secretary under another law.
(b) RESEARCH, INVESTIGATIONS, AND TRAINING.—(1) The Secretary of
Transportation (or the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development when
required by section 5334(i) of this title) may make grants to nonprofit insti-
tutions of higher learning—
(A) to conduct competent research and investigations into the theo-
retical or practical problems of urban transportation; and
(B) to train individuals to conduct further research or obtain em-
ployment in an organization that plans, builds, operates, or manages
an urban transportation system.
(2) Research and investigations under this subsection include—
(A) the design and use of urban mass transportation systems and
urban roads and highways;
(B) the interrelationship between various modes of urban and inter-
urban transportation;
(C) the role of transportation planning in overall urban planning;
(D) public preferences in transportation;
(E) the economic allocation of transportation resources; and
(F) the legal, financial, engineering, and esthetic aspects of urban
transportation.
(3) When making a grant under this subsection, the appropriate Sec-
retary shall give preference to an institution that brings together knowledge
and expertise in the various social science and technical disciplines related
to urban transportation problems.
(c) TRAINING FELLOWSHIPS AND INNOVATIVE TECHNIQUES AND METH-
ODS.—(1) The Secretary of Transportation may make grants to States,
local governmental authorities, and operators of mass transportation sys-
tems to provide fellowships to train personnel employed in managerial, tech-
nical, and professional positions in the mass transportation field.
(2) The Secretary of Transportation may make grants to State and local
governmental authorities for projects that will use innovative techniques and
methods in managing and providing mass transportation.
(3) A fellowship under this subsection may be for not more than one year
of training in an institution that offers a program applicable to the mass
transportation industry. The recipient of the grant shall select an individual
on the basis of demonstrated ability and for the contribution the individual
reasonably can be expected to make to an efficient mass transportation op-
eration. A grant for a fellowship may not be more than the lesser of
$24,000 or 75 percent of—
(A) tuition and other charges to the fellowship recipient;
(B) additional costs incurred by the training institution and billed
to the grant recipient; and
(C) the regular salary of the fellowship recipient for the period of
the fellowship to the extent the salary is actually paid or reimbursed
by the grant recipient.
§ 5313. State planning and research programs
(a) COOPERATIVE
RESEARCH
PROGRAM.—(1) Fifty percent of the
amounts made available under section 5338(g)(3) of this title are available
for a mass transportation cooperative research program. The Secretary of
Transportation shall establish an independent governing board for the pro-
gram. The board shall recommend mass transportation research, develop-
ment, and technology transfer activities the Secretary considers appropriate.
(2) The Secretary may make grants to, and cooperative agreements with,
the National Academy of Sciences to carry out activities under this sub-
section that the Secretary decides are appropriate.
(b) STATE PLANNING AND RESEARCH.—(1) Fifty percent of the amounts
made available under section 5338(g)(3) of this title shall be apportioned
to States for grants and contracts consistent with the purposes of sections
5303–5306, 5312, 5315, 5317, and 5322 of this title. The amounts shall
be apportioned so that each State receives an amount equal to the popu-
lation in urbanized areas in the State, divided by the population in urban-
ized areas in all States, as shown by the latest available decennial census.
However, a State must receive at least .5 percent of the amount apportioned
under this subsection.
(2) A State, as the State considers appropriate, may authorize part of
the amount made available under this subsection to be used to supplement
amounts available under subsection (a) of this section.
(3) An amount apportioned under this subsection—
(A) remains available for 3 years after the fiscal year in which the
amount is apportioned; and
(B) that is unobligated at the end of the 3-year period shall be
reapportioned among the States for the next fiscal year.
(c) GOVERNMENT’S SHARE.—When there would be a clear and direct fi-
nancial benefit to an entity under a grant or contract financed under sub-
section (a) of this section, the Secretary shall establish a United States Gov-
ernment share consistent with the benefit.
§ 5314. National planning and research programs
(a) PROGRAM.—(1) The amounts made available under section
5338(g)(4) of this title are available to the Secretary of Transportation for
grants and contracts for the purposes of sections 5303–5306, 5312, 5315,
5317, and 5322 of this title, as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(2) Of the amounts made available under paragraph (1) of this sub-
section, the Secretary shall make available at least $2,000,000 to provide
mass transportation-related technical assistance, demonstration programs,
research, public education, and other activities the Secretary considers ap-
propriate to help mass transportation providers comply with the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). To the extent prac-
ticable, the Secretary shall carry out this paragraph through a contract with
a national nonprofit organization serving individuals with disabilities that
has a demonstrated capacity to carry out the activities.
(3) Not more than 25 percent of the amounts available under paragraph
(1) of this subsection is available to the Secretary for special demonstration
initiatives, subject to terms the Secretary considers consistent with this
chapter, except that section 5323(a)(1)(D) of this title applies to an oper-
ational grant financed in carrying out section 5312(a) of this title. For a
nonrenewable grant of not more than $100,000, the Secretary shall provide
expedited procedures on complying with the requirements of this chapter.
(4)(A) The Secretary may undertake a program of mass transportation
technology development in coordination with affected entities.
(B) The Secretary shall establish an Industry Technical Panel composed
of representatives of transportation suppliers and operators and others in-
volved in technology development. A majority of the Panel members shall
represent the supply industry. The Panel shall assist the Secretary in identi-
fying priority technology development areas and in establishing guidelines
for project development, project cost sharing, and project execution.
(C) The Secretary shall develop guidelines for cost sharing in technology
development projects financed under this paragraph. The guidelines shall be
flexible and reflect the extent of technical risk, market risk, and anticipated
supplier benefits and payback periods.
(5) The Secretary may use amounts appropriated under this subsection
to supplement amounts available under section 5313(a) of this title, as the
Secretary considers appropriate.
(b) GOVERNMENT’S SHARE.—When there would be a clear and direct fi-
nancial benefit to an entity under a grant or contract financed under sub-
section (a) of this section, the Secretary shall establish a United States Gov-
ernment share consistent with the benefit.
§ 5315. National mass transportation institute
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
AND DUTIES.—The Secretary of Transportation
shall make grants to Rutgers University to establish a national mass trans-
portation institute. In cooperation with the Federal Transit Administration,
State transportation departments, public mass transportation authorities,
and national and international entities, the institute shall develop and con-
duct training programs of instruction for United States Government, State,
and local transportation employees, United States citizens, and foreign na-
tionals engaged or to be engaged in Government-aid mass transportation
work. The programs may include courses in recent developments, tech-
niques, and procedures related to—
(1) mass transportation planning;
(2) management;
(3) environmental factors;
(4) acquisition and joint use of rights of way;
(5) engineering;
(6) procurement strategies for mass transportation systems;
(7) turnkey approaches to carrying out mass transportation systems;
(8) new technologies;
(9) emission reduction technologies;
(10) ways to make mass transportation accessible to individuals with
disabilities;
(11) construction;
(12) maintenance;
(13) contract administration; and
(14) inspection.
(b) RELATED EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.—The Secretary
shall delegate to the institute the authority of the Secretary to develop and
conduct educational and training programs related to mass transportation.
(c) PROVIDING EDUCATION AND TRAINING.—Education and training of
Government, State, and local transportation employees under this section
shall be provided—
(1) by the Secretary at no cost to the States and local governments
for subjects that are a Government program responsibility; or
(2) when the education and training are paid under subsection (d)
of this section, by the State, with the approval of the Secretary,
through grants and contracts with public and private agencies, other
institutions, individuals, and the institute.
(d) AVAILABILITY
OF AMOUNTS.—Not more than .5 percent of the
amounts made available for a fiscal year beginning after September 30,
1991, to a State or public mass transportation authority in the State to
carry out sections 5304 and 5306 of this title is available for expenditure
by the State and public mass transportation authorities in the State, with
the approval of the Secretary, to pay not more than 80 percent of the cost
of tuition and direct educational expenses related to educating and training
State and local transportation employees under this section.
§ 5316. University research institutes
(a) INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION POLICY.—
The Secretary of Transportation shall make grants to San Jose State Uni-
versity to establish and operate an institute for national surface transpor-
tation policy studies. The institute shall—
(1) include male and female students of diverse socioeconomic and
ethnic backgrounds who are seeking careers in developing and operat-
ing surface transportation programs; and
(2) conduct research and development activities to analyze ways of
improving aspects of developing and operating surface transportation
programs of the United States.
(b) INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE.—The Secretary shall
make grants to Northwestern University to establish and operate an insti-
tute to study techniques—
(1) to evaluate and monitor infrastructure conditions;
(2) to improve information systems for infrastructure construction
and management; and
(3) to study advanced materials and automated processes for con-
structing and rehabilitating public works facilities.
(c) URBAN TRANSIT INSTITUTE.—The Secretary shall make grants to
North Carolina A. and T. State University through the Institute for Trans-
portation Research and Education, the University of South Florida, and a
consortium of Florida A. and M., Florida State University, and Florida
International University to establish and operate an interdisciplinary insti-
tute to study and disseminate techniques on the diverse transportation prob-
lems of urban areas experiencing significant and rapid growth.
(d) INSTITUTE FOR INTELLIGENT VEHICLE-HIGHWAY CONCEPTS.—The
Secretary shall make grants to the University of Minnesota, Center for
Transportation Studies, to establish and operate a national institute for in-
telligent vehicle-highway concepts. The institute shall conduct research and
recommend development activities that focus on methods to increase road-
way capacity, enhance safety, and reduce negative environmental effects of
transportation facilities by using intelligent vehicle-highway systems tech-
nologies.
(e) INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH AND EDUCATION.—The
Secretary shall make grants to the University of North Carolina to conduct
research and development and to direct technology transfer and training for
State and local transportation authorities to improve the overall surface
transportation infrastructure.
(f) APPLICABILITY
OF
TITLE
23.—Amounts authorized by section
5338(d) of this title may be obligated in the same way as amounts are ap-
portioned under chapter 1 of title 23.
§ 5317. Transportation centers
(a) GRANTS FOR REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION CENTERS.—(1) The Sec-
retary of Transportation shall make grants to nonprofit institutions of high-
er learning to establish and operate regional transportation centers in each
of the 10 United States Government regions that comprise the Standard
Federal Regional Boundary System.
(2) A nonprofit institution of higher learning interested in receiving a
grant under this subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary in
the way and containing the information the Secretary prescribes. The Sec-
retary shall select each recipient on the basis of the following:
(A) the regional transportation center is located in a State that is
representative of the needs of the Government region for improved
transportation and facilities.
(B) the demonstrated research and extension resources available to
the recipient to carry out this subsection.
(C) the capability of the recipient to provide leadership in making
national and regional contributions to the solution of immediate and
long-range transportation problems.
(D) the recipient has an established transportation program encom-
passing several modes of transportation.
(E) the recipient has a demonstrated commitment of at least
$200,000 in regularly budgeted institutional amounts each year to sup-
port ongoing transportation research programs.
(F) the recipient has a demonstrated ability to disseminate results
of transportation research and educational programs through a state-
wide or regionwide continuing educational program.
(G) the projects the recipient proposes to carry out under the grant.
(3)(A) At each regional transportation center, the following shall be car-
ried out:
(i) infrastructure research on transportation.
(ii) research and training on transportation safety and the transpor-
tation of passengers and property and the interpretation, publication,
and dissemination of the results of the research.
(B) Each transportation center—
(i) should carry out research on more than one mode of transpor-
tation; and
(ii) should consider the proportion of amounts for this subsection
from amounts available to carry out urban mass transportation projects
under this chapter and from the Highway Trust Fund.
(C) At one of the transportation centers, research may be carried out on
the testing of new bus models.
(4) Before making a grant under this subsection, the Secretary may re-
quire the recipient to make an agreement with the Secretary to ensure that
the recipient will maintain total expenditures from all other sources to es-
tablish and operate a regional transportation center and related research ac-
tivities at a level at least equal to the average level of those expenditures
in its 2 fiscal years prior to April 2, 1987.
(5) A grant under this subsection is for 50 percent of the cost of estab-
lishing and operating the regional transportation center and related research
activities the recipient carries out.
(b) GRANTS FOR UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION CENTERS.—(1) To ac-
celerate the involvement and participation of minority individuals and
women in transportation-related professions, particularly in the science,
technology, and engineering disciplines, the Secretary shall make grants to
Morgan State University to establish a national center for transportation
management, research, and development. The center shall give special atten-
tion to designing, developing, and carrying out research, training, and tech-
nology transfer activities to increase the number of highly skilled minority
individuals and women entering the transportation workforce.
(2) The Secretary shall make grants to the New Jersey Institute of Tech-
nology to establish and operate a center for transportation and industrial
productivity. The center shall conduct research and development activities
that focus on ways to increase surface transportation capacity, reduce con-
gestion, and reduce costs for transportation system users and providers
through the use of transportation management systems.
(3) The Secretary shall make a grant to Monmouth College, West Long
Branch, New Jersey, to modify and rebuild Building Number 500 at Mon-
mouth College. Before making the grant, the Secretary shall receive assur-
ances from Monmouth College that the building will be known and des-
ignated as the James and Marlene Howard Transportation Information
Center and that transportation-related instruction and research in computer
science, electronic engineering, mathematics, and software engineering con-
ducted at the building will be coordinated with the Center for Transpor-
tation and Industrial Productivity at the New Jersey Institute of Tech-
nology.
(4) The Secretary shall make grants to the University of Arkansas to es-
tablish a national rural transportation center. The center shall conduct re-
search, training, and technology transfer activities in the development, man-
agement, and operation of intermodal transportation systems in rural areas.
(5)(A) The Secretary shall make grants to the University of Idaho to es-
tablish a National Center for Advanced Transportation Technology. The
Center shall be established and operated in partnership with private indus-
try and shall conduct industry-driven research and development activities
that focus on transportation-related manufacturing and engineering proc-
esses, materials, and equipment.
(B) The Secretary shall make grants to the University of Idaho to plan,
design, and construct a building in which to conduct the research and devel-
opment activities of the Center.
(C) Amounts authorized by section 5338(e)(2) of this title may be obli-
gated in the same way as amounts apportioned under chapter 1 of title 23
(except that the Government share of the cost of the activities conducted
under this paragraph is 80 percent and the amounts remain available until
expended) and are not subject to an obligational limitation.
(D) A grant made under this paragraph is not subject to the require-
ments of this section (except this paragraph).
(c) PROGRAM COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall provide for coordinat-
ing research, education, training, and technology transfer activities that
grant recipients carry out under this section, the dissemination of the re-
sults of the research, and the establishment and operation of a clearing-
house between the centers and the transportation industry. At least annu-
ally, the Secretary shall review and evaluate programs the grant recipients
carry out. The Secretary may use not more than one percent of amounts
made available from Government sources to carry out this section to carry
out this subsection.
(d) OBLIGATION CEILING.—Amounts authorized to carry out this section
(except subsection (b)(3)) are subject to obligational limitations established
under section 1002 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
of 1991 (Public Law 102–240, 105 Stat. 1916).
(e) AMOUNTS AVAILABLE FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER ACTIVITIES.—At
least 5 percent of the amounts made available to carry out this section in
a fiscal year are available to carry out technology transfer activities.
(f) ALLOCATION AMONG GOVERNMENT REGIONS.—The Secretary shall
allocate amounts available to carry out this section equitably among the
Government regions.
§ 5318. Bus testing facility
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transportation shall establish
one facility for testing a new bus model for maintainability, reliability, safe-
ty, performance (including braking performance), structural integrity, fuel
economy, emissions, and noise. The facility shall be established by renovat-
ing a facility built with assistance of the United States Government to train
rail personnel.
(b) OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE.—The Secretary shall make a con-
tract with a qualified person to operate and maintain the facility. The con-
tract may provide for the testing of rail cars and other vehicles at the facil-
ity.
(c) FEES.—The person operating and maintaining the facility shall estab-
lish and collect fees for the testing of vehicles at the facility. The Secretary
must approve the fees.
(d) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS TO PAY FOR TESTING.—The Secretary
shall make a contract with the operator of the facility under which the Sec-
retary shall pay 80 percent of the cost of testing a vehicle at the facility
from amounts available under section 5338(j)(5) of this title. The entity
having the vehicle tested shall pay 20 percent of the cost.
(e) REVOLVING LOAN FUND.—The Secretary has a bus testing revolving
loan fund consisting of amounts authorized for the fund under section
317(b)(5) of the Surface Transportation and Relocation Assistance Act of
1987. The Secretary shall make available as repayable advances from the
fund to the person operating and maintaining the facility amounts to oper-
ate and maintain the facility.
§ 5319. Bicycle facilities
A project to provide access for bicycles to mass transportation facilities,
to provide shelters and parking facilities for bicycles in or around mass
transportation facilities, or to install equipment for transporting bicycles on
mass transportation vehicles is a capital project eligible for assistance under
sections 5307, 5309, and 5311 of this title. Notwithstanding sections
5307(e), 5309(h), and 5311(g) of this title, a grant of the United States
Government under this chapter for a project under this section is for 90
percent of the cost of the project.
§ 5320. Suspended light rail system technology pilot project
(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to provide for the construc-
tion by a public entity of a suspended light rail system technology pilot
project—
(1) to assess the state of new technology for a suspended light rail
system; and
(2) to establish the feasibility, costs, and benefits of using the system
to transport passengers.
(b) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—The project shall—
(1) use new rail technology with individual vehicles on a prefab-
ricated elevated steel guideway;
(2) be stability-seeking with a center of gravity for the detachable
passenger vehicles located below the point of wheel-rail contact; and
(3) use vehicles that are driven by overhead bogies with high effi-
ciency, low maintenance electric motors for each wheel, operating in a
slightly sloped plane from vertical for the wheels and the running rails,
to further increase stability, acceleration, and braking performance.
(c) COMPETITION.—(1) The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a
national competition to select a public entity with which to make a full fi-
nancing grant agreement to construct the project. Not later than April 16,
1992, the Secretary shall select 3 public entities to be finalists in the com-
petition. In conducting the competition and selecting public entities, the
Secretary shall consider—
(A) the public entity’s demonstrated understanding and knowledge of
the project and its technical, managerial, and financial capacity to con-
struct, manage, and operate the project; and
(B) maximizing potential contributions to the cost of the project by
State, local, and private sector entities, including donation of in-kind
services and materials.
(2) The Secretary shall award a grant to each finalist to be used to par-
ticipate in the final phase of the competition under procedures the Secretary
prescribes. A grant may not be more than 80 percent of the cost of partici-
pating. A finalist may not receive more than one-third of the amount made
available under subsection (h)(1)(A) of this section.
(3) Not later than July 15, 1992, the Secretary shall select from among
the 3 finalists a public entity with which to make a full financing grant
agreement.
(d) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.—Not later than 270 days after a public
entity is selected under subsection (c) of this section, the Secretary shall
approve and publish in the Federal Register a notice announcing either a
finding of no significant impact or a draft environmental impact statement
for the project. The alternatives analysis for the project shall include a deci-
sion on whether to construct the project. If a draft statement is published,
the Secretary, not later than 180 days after publication, shall approve and
publish in the Federal Register a notice of completion of a final environ-
mental impact statement.
(e) FULL FINANCING GRANT AGREEMENT.—Not later than 60 days after
carrying out the requirements of subsection (d) of this section, the Secretary
shall make a full financing grant agreement under section 5309 of this title
with the public entity selected under subsection (c) of this section to con-
struct the project. The agreement shall provide that the system vendor for
the project shall finance—
(1) 100 percent of any deficit incurred in operating the project in
the first 2 years of revenue operations of the project; and
(2) 50 percent of any deficit incurred in operating the project in the
3d year of revenue operations of the project.
(f) NOTICE TO PROCEED.—Not later than 30 days after making the full
financing grant agreement, the Secretary shall issue a notice to proceed
with construction.
(g) Option Not To Construct and Reawarding the Grant.—(1) Not later
than 30 days after completing preliminary engineering and design, the se-
lected public entity shall decide whether to proceed to constructing the
project. If the entity decides not to proceed—
(A) the Secretary shall not make the full financing grant agreement;
(B) remaining amounts received shall be returned to the Secretary
and credited to the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund;
and
(C) the Secretary shall use the credited amount and other amounts
to be provided under this section to award to another entity selected
under subsection (c)(1) of this section a grant under section 5309 of
this title to construct the project.
(2) Not later than 60 days after a decision is made under paragraph (1)
of this subsection, a grant shall be awarded under paragraph (1)(C) of this
section after completing a competitive process for selecting the grant recipi-
ent.
(h) FINANCING.—(1) The Secretary shall pay from amounts provided
under section 5309 of this title the following:
(A) at least $1,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30,
1992, for grants under subsection (c)(2) of this section.
(B) at least $4,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30,
1993, for the United States Government share of the costs (as deter-
mined under section 5309 of this title) if the systems planning, alter-
natives analysis, preliminary engineering, and design and environ-
mental impact statement are required by law for the project.
(C) at least $30,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30,
1994, as provided in the grant agreement under subsection (e) of this
section, for the Government share of the construction costs of the
project.
(2) The grant agreement under subsection (e) of this section shall provide
that for the 3d year of revenue operations of the project, the Secretary shall
pay from amounts provided under this section the Government share of op-
erating costs in an amount equal to the lesser of 50 percent of the deficit
incurred in operating the project in that year or $300,000.
(3) Amounts not expended under paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection are
available for the Government share of costs described in paragraph (1)(B)
and (C) of this subsection.
(4) Amounts under paragraph (1)(B) and (C) of this subsection remain
available until expended.
(i) GOVERNMENT’S SHARE OF COSTS.—The Government share of the
cost of constructing the project is 80 percent of the net cost of the project.
(j) PROJECT NOT SUBJECT TO MAJOR CAPITAL INVESTMENT POLICY.—
The project is not subject to the major capital investment policy of the Fed-
eral Transit Administration.
(k) REPORT.—Not later than January 30, 1993, and each year after that
date, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the progress and
results of the project.
§ 5321. Crime prevention and security
The Secretary of Transportation may make capital grants from amounts
available under section 5338 of this title to mass transportation systems for
crime prevention and security. This chapter does not prevent the financing
of a project under this section when a local governmental authority other
than the grant applicant has law enforcement responsibilities.
§ 5322. Human resource programs
The Secretary of Transportation may undertake, or make grants and con-
tracts for, programs that address human resource needs as they apply to
mass transportation activities. A program may include—
(1) an employment training program;
(2) an outreach program to increase minority and female employ-
ment in mass transportation activities;
(3) research on mass transportation personnel and training needs;
and
(4) training and assistance for minority business opportunities.
§ 5323. General provisions on assistance
(a) INTERESTS IN PROPERTY.—(1) Financial assistance provided under
this chapter to a State or a local governmental authority may be used to
acquire an interest in, or buy property of, a private mass transportation
company, for a capital project for property acquired from a private mass
transportation company after July 9, 1964, or to operate mass transpor-
tation equipment or a mass transportation facility in competition with, or
in addition to, transportation service provided by an existing mass transpor-
tation company, only if—
(A) the Secretary of Transportation finds the assistance is essential
to a program of projects required under sections 5303–5306 of this
title;
(B) the Secretary of Transportation finds that the program, to the
maximum extent feasible, provides for the participation of private mass
transportation companies;
(C) just compensation under State or local law will be paid to the
company for its franchise or property; and
(D) the Secretary of Labor certifies that the assistance complies with
section 5333(b) of this title.
(2) A governmental authority may not use financial assistance of the
United States Government to acquire land, equipment, or a facility used in
mass transportation from another governmental authority in the same geo-
graphic area.
(b) NOTICE AND PUBLIC HEARING.—(1) An application for a grant or
loan under this chapter (except section 5307) for a capital project that will
affect substantially a community, or the mass transportation service of a
community, must include a certificate of the applicant that the applicant
has—
(A) provided an adequate opportunity for a public hearing with ade-
quate prior notice;
(B) held that hearing unless no one with a significant economic, so-
cial, or environmental interest requested one;
(C) considered the economic, social, and environmental effects of the
project; and
(D) found that the project is consistent with official plans for devel-
oping the urban area.
(2) Notice of a hearing under this subsection shall include a concise de-
scription of the proposed project and shall be published in a newspaper of
general circulation in the geographic area the project will serve. If a hearing
is held, a copy of the transcript of the hearing shall be submitted with the
application.
(c) ACQUIRING NEW BUS MODELS.—Amounts appropriated or made
available under this chapter (except section 5307) after September 30,
1989, may be obligated or expended to acquire a new bus model only if a
bus of the model has been tested at the facility established under section
5318 of this title.
(d) BUYING AND OPERATING BUSES.—(1) Financial assistance under
this chapter may be used to buy or operate a bus only if the applicant, gov-
ernmental authority, or publicly owned operator that receives the assistance
agrees that, except as provided in the agreement, the governmental author-
ity or an operator of mass transportation for the governmental authority
will not provide charter bus transportation service outside the urban area
in which it provides regularly scheduled mass transportation service. An
agreement shall provide for a fair arrangement the Secretary of Transpor-
tation considers appropriate to ensure that the assistance will not enable a
governmental authority or an operator for a governmental authority to fore-
close a private operator from providing intercity charter bus service if the
private operator can provide the service.
(2) On receiving a complaint about a violation of an agreement, the Sec-
retary of Transportation shall investigate and decide whether a violation has
occurred. If the Secretary decides that a violation has occurred, the Sec-
retary shall correct the violation under terms of the agreement. In addition
to a remedy specified in the agreement, the Secretary may bar a recipient
under this subsection or an operator from receiving further assistance when
the Secretary finds a continuing pattern of violations of the agreement.
(e) BUS PASSENGER SEAT FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATIONS.—The initial
advertising by a State or local governmental authority for bids to acquire
buses using financial assistance under this chapter (except section 5307)
may include passenger seat functional specifications that are at least equal
to performance specifications the Secretary of Transportation prescribes.
The specifications shall be based on a finding by the State or local govern-
mental authority of local requirements for safety, comfort, maintenance, and
life cycle costs.
(f) SCHOOLBUS TRANSPORTATION.—(1) Financial assistance under this
chapter may be used for a capital project, or to operate mass transportation
equipment or a mass transportation facility, only if the applicant agrees not
to provide schoolbus transportation that exclusively transports students and
school personnel in competition with a private schoolbus operator. This sub-
section does not apply—
(A) to an applicant that operates a school system in the area to be
served and a separate and exclusive schoolbus program for the school
system;
(B) unless a private schoolbus operator can provide adequate trans-
portation that complies with applicable safety standards at reasonable
rates; and
(C) to a State or local governmental authority if it or a direct prede-
cessor in interest from which it acquired the duty of transporting
school children and personnel, and facilities to transport them, provided
schoolbus transportation at any time after November 25, 1973, but be-
fore November 26, 1974.
(2) An applicant violating an agreement under this subsection may not
receive other financial assistance under this chapter.
(g) BUYING BUSES UNDER OTHER LAWS.—Subsections (d) and (f) of
this section apply to financial assistance to buy a bus under sections
103(e)(4) and 142(a) or (c) of title 23. However, subsection (f)(1)(C) of
this section applies to sections 103(e)(4) and 142(a) or (c) only if schoolbus
transportation was provided at any time after August 12, 1972, but before
August 13, 1973.
(h) GRANT AND LOAN PROHIBITIONS.—A grant or loan may not be used
to—
(1) pay ordinary governmental or nonproject operating expenses; or
(2) support a procurement that uses an exclusionary or discrimina-
tory specification.
(i) GOVERNMENT’S SHARE OF COSTS FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.—A Gov-
ernment grant for a project to be assisted under this chapter that involves
acquiring vehicle-related equipment required by the Clean Air Act (42
U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) or the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) is for 90 percent of the net project cost of the equip-
ment that is attributable to complying with those Acts. The Secretary of
Transportation, through practicable administrative procedures, may deter-
mine the costs attributable to that equipment.
(j) BUY AMERICAN.—(1) The Secretary of Transportation may obligate
an amount that may be appropriated to carry out this chapter for a project
only if the steel, iron, and manufactured goods used in the project are pro-
duced in the United States.
(2) The Secretary of Transportation may waive paragraph (1) of this sub-
section if the Secretary finds that—
(A) applying paragraph (1) would be inconsistent with the public in-
terest;
(B) the steel, iron, and goods produced in the United States are not
produced in a sufficient and reasonably available amount or are not of
a satisfactory quality;
(C) when procuring rolling stock (including train control, commu-
nication, and traction power equipment) under this chapter—
(i) the cost of components and subcomponents produced in the
United States is more than 60 percent of the cost of all compo-
nents of the rolling stock; and
(ii) final assembly of the rolling stock has occurred in the Unit-
ed States; or
(D) including domestic material will increase the cost of the overall
project by more than 25 percent.
(3) In this subsection, labor costs involved in final assembly are not in-
cluded in calculating the cost of components.
(4) The Secretary of Transportation may not make a waiver under para-
graph (2) of this subsection for goods produced in a foreign country if the
Secretary, in consultation with the United States Trade Representative, de-
cides that the government of that foreign country—
(A) has an agreement with the United States Government under
which the Secretary has waived the requirement of this subsection; and
(B) has violated the agreement by discriminating against goods to
which this subsection applies that are produced in the United States
and to which the agreement applies.
(5) A person is ineligible under subpart 9.4 of chapter 1 of title 48, Code
of Federal Regulations, to receive a contract or subcontract made with
amounts authorized under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency
Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–240, 105 Stat. 1914) if a court or depart-
ment, agency, or instrumentality of the Government decides the person in-
tentionally—
(A) affixed a ‘‘Made in America’’ label, or a label with an inscription
having the same meaning, to goods sold in or shipped to the United
States that are used in a project to which this subsection applies but
not produced in the United States; or
(B) represented that goods described in clause (A) of this paragraph
were produced in the United States.
(6) The Secretary of Transportation may not impose any limitation on
assistance provided under this chapter that restricts a State from imposing
more stringent requirements than this subsection on the use of articles, ma-
terials, and supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in foreign countries
in projects carried out with that assistance or restricts a recipient of that
assistance from complying with those State-imposed requirements.
(7) Not later than January 1, 1995, the Secretary of Transportation shall
submit to Congress a report on purchases from foreign entities waived
under paragraph (2) of this subsection in the fiscal years ending September
30, 1992, and September 30, 1993. The report shall indicate the dollar
value of items for which waivers were granted.
(k) APPLICATION OF SECTION 135 OF TITLE 23—The planning and pro-
gramming requirements of section 135 of title 23 apply to a grant made
under sections 5307–5311 of this title.
§ 5324. Limitations on discretionary and special needs
grants and loans
(a) RELOCATION PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Financial assistance may
be provided under section 5309 of this title only if the Secretary of Trans-
portation decides that—
(1) an adequate relocation program is being carried out for families
displaced by a project; and
(2) an equal number of decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings are
being, or will be, provided to those families in the same area or in an-
other area generally not less desirable for public utilities and public and
commercial facilities, at rents or prices within the financial means of
those families, and with reasonable access to their places of employ-
ment.
(b) ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL INTERESTS.—(1) In car-
rying out section 5301(e) of this title, the Secretary of Transportation shall
cooperate and consult with the Secretaries of Agriculture, Health and
Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and the Interior and
the Council on Environmental Quality on each project that may have a sub-
stantial impact on the environment.
(2) In carrying out section 5309 of this title, the Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall review each transcript of a hearing submitted under section
5323(b) of this title to establish that an adequate opportunity to present
views was given to all parties with a significant economic, social, or environ-
mental interest and that the project application includes a statement on—
(A) the environmental impact of the proposal;
(B) adverse environmental effects that cannot be avoided;
(C) alternatives to the proposal; and
(D) irreversible and irretrievable impacts on the environment.
(3)(A) The Secretary of Transportation may approve an application for
financial assistance under section 5309 of this title only if the Secretary
makes written findings, after reviewing the application and any hearings
held before a State or local governmental authority under section 5323(b)
of this title, that—
(i) an adequate opportunity to present views was given to all parties
with a significant economic, social, or environmental interest;
(ii) the preservation and enhancement of the environment, and the
interest of the community in which a project is located, were consid-
ered; and
(iii) no adverse environmental effect is likely to result from the
project, or no feasible and prudent alternative to the effect exists and
all reasonable steps have been taken to minimize the effect.
(B) If a hearing has not been conducted or the Secretary of Transpor-
tation decides that the record of the hearing is inadequate for making the
findings required by this subsection, the Secretary shall conduct a hearing
on an environmental issue raised by the application after giving adequate
notice to interested persons.
(C) A finding of the Secretary of Transportation under subparagraph (A)
of this paragraph shall be made a matter of public record.
(c) PROHIBITIONS AGAINST REGULATING OPERATIONS AND CHARGES.—
The Secretary of Transportation may not regulate the operation of a mass
transportation system for which a grant is made under section 5309 of this
title and, after a grant is made, may not regulate any charge for the system.
However, the Secretary may require the local governmental authority, cor-
poration, or association to comply with any undertaking provided by it relat-
ed to its grant application.
§ 5325. Contract requirements
(a) NONCOMPETITIVE BIDDING.—A capital project or improvement con-
tract for which a grant or loan is made under this chapter, if the contract
is not made through competitive bidding, shall provide that records related
to the contract shall be made available to the Secretary of Transportation
and the Comptroller General, or an officer or employee of the Secretary or
Comptroller General, when conducting an audit and inspection.
(b) ACQUIRING ROLLING STOCK.—A recipient of financial assistance of
the United States Government under this chapter may make a contract to
expend that assistance to acquire rolling stock—
(1) based on—
(A) initial capital costs; or
(B) performance, standardization, life cycle costs, and other fac-
tors; or
(2) with a party selected through a competitive procurement process.
(c) PROCURING ASSOCIATED CAPITAL MAINTENANCE ITEMS.—A recipi-
ent of a grant under section 5307 of this title procuring an associated cap-
ital maintenance item under section 5307(b) may make a contract directly
with the original manufacturer or supplier of the item to be replaced, with-
out receiving prior approval of the Secretary, if the recipient first certifies
in writing to the Secretary that—
100
(1) the manufacturer or supplier is the only source for the item; and
(2) the price of the item is no more than the price similar customers
pay for the item.
(d) MANAGEMENT, ARCHITECTURAL, AND ENGINEERING CONTRACTS.—
A contract for program management, construction management, a feasibility
study, and preliminary engineering, design, architectural, engineering, sur-
veying, mapping, or related services for a project for which a grant or loan
is made under this chapter shall be awarded in the same way as a contract
for architectural and engineering services is negotiated under title IX of the
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 541
et seq.) or an equivalent qualifications-based requirement of a State. This
subsection does not apply to the extent a State has adopted or adopts by
law a formal procedure for procuring those services.
§ 5326. Special procurements
(a) TURNKEY SYSTEM PROJECTS.—(1) In this subsection, ‘‘turnkey sys-
tem project’’ means a project under which a recipient makes a contract with
a seller, firm, or consortium of firms to construct a mass transportation sys-
tem that meets specific performance criteria and that the seller operates for
a period of time.
(2) To advance new technologies and lower the cost of a capital project
for a new mass transportation system, the Secretary of Transportation shall
allow solicitation for a turnkey system project to be financed under this
chapter to be awarded conditionally before United States Government re-
quirements have been met on the project if the award is made without prej-
udice to carrying out those requirements. Government financial assistance
under this chapter may be made available for the project after the recipient
complies with Government requirements.
(3) To develop regulations applying generally to turnkey system projects,
the Secretary may approve at least 2 projects for an initial demonstration
phase. The results of the demonstration projects (and other projects using
this procurement method on December 18, 1991) shall be considered in de-
veloping guidelines to carry out this subsection.
(b) MULTIYEAR ROLLING STOCK.—(1) A recipient procuring rolling stock
with Government financial assistance under this chapter may make a
multiyear contract to buy the rolling stock and replacement parts under
which the recipient has an option to buy additional rolling stock or replace-
ment parts for not more than 5 years after the date of the original contract.
(2) The Secretary shall allow at least 2 recipients to act on a cooperative
basis to procure rolling stock in compliance with this subsection and other
Government procurement requirements.
101
(c) EFFICIENT PROCUREMENT.—A recipient may award a procurement
contract under this chapter to other than the lowest bidder when the award
furthers an objective consistent with the purposes of this chapter, including
improved long-term operating efficiency and lower long-term costs. Not later
than March 17, 1992, the Secretary shall—
(1) make appropriate changes in existing procedures to make the
policy stated in this subsection readily practicable for all mass trans-
portation authorities; and
(2) prescribe guidance that clarifies and carries out the policy.
§ 5327. Project management oversight
(a) PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—To receive United
States Government financial assistance for a major capital project under
this chapter or the National Capital Transportation Act of 1969 (Public
Law 91–143, 83 Stat. 320), a recipient must prepare and carry out a
project management plan approved by the Secretary of Transportation. The
plan shall provide for—
(1) adequate recipient staff organization with well-defined reporting
relationships, statements of functional responsibilities, job descriptions,
and job qualifications;
(2) a budget covering the project management organization, appro-
priate consultants, property acquisition, utility relocation, systems dem-
onstration staff, audits, and miscellaneous payments the recipient may
be prepared to justify;
(3) a construction schedule for the project;
(4) a document control procedure and recordkeeping system;
(5) a change order procedure that includes a documented, systematic
approach to the handling of construction change orders;
(6) organizational structures, management skills, and staffing levels
required throughout the construction phase;
(7) quality control and quality assurance functions, procedures, and
responsibilities for construction, system installation, and integration of
system components;
(8) material testing policies and procedures;
(9) internal plan implementation and reporting requirements;
(10) criteria and procedures to be used for testing the operational
system or its major components;
(11) periodic updates of the plan, especially related to project budget
and project schedule, financing, ridership estimates, and the status of
local efforts to enhance ridership where ridership estimates partly de-
pend on the success of those efforts; and
102
(12) the recipient’s commitment to submit a project budget and
project schedule to the Secretary each month.
(b) PLAN APPROVAL.—(1) The Secretary shall approve a plan not later
than 60 days after it is submitted. If the approval cannot be completed
within 60 days, the Secretary shall notify the recipient, explain the reasons
for the delay, and estimate the additional time that will be required.
(2) The Secretary shall inform the recipient of the reasons when a plan
is disapproved.
(c) LIMITATIONS ON USE OF AVAILABLE AMOUNTS.—(1) The Secretary
may use not more than .5 percent of amounts made available for a fiscal
year to carry out section 5307, 5309, or 5311 of this title, an interstate
transfer mass transportation project under section 103(e)(4) of title 23 as
in effect on September 30, 1991, or a project under the National Capital
Transportation Act of 1969 (Public Law 91–143, 83 Stat. 320) to make
a contract to oversee the construction of a major project under section
5307, 5309, 5311, or 103(e)(4) or that Act. The Secretary may use when
necessary not more than an additional .25 percent of amounts made avail-
able in a fiscal year to carry out a major project under section 5307 to
make a contract to oversee the construction of the project.
(2) The Secretary may use amounts available under paragraph (1) of this
subsection to make contracts for safety, procurement, management, and fi-
nancial compliance reviews and audits of a recipient of amounts under para-
graph (1). Subsections (a), (b), and (e) of this section do not apply to con-
tracts under this paragraph.
(3) The Government shall pay the entire cost of carrying out a contract
under this subsection.
(d) ACCESS TO SITES AND RECORDS.—Each recipient of assistance under
this chapter or section 14(b) of the National Capital Transportation Act of
1969 (Public Law 91–143, 83 Stat. 320), as added by section 2 of the Na-
tional Capital Transportation Amendments of 1979 (Public Law 96–184, 93
Stat. 1320), shall provide the Secretary and a contractor the Secretary
chooses under subsection (c) of this section with access to the construction
sites and records of the recipient when reasonably necessary.
(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe regulations necessary
to carry out this section. The regulations shall include—
(1) a definition of ‘‘major capital project’’ for subsection (c) of this
section that excludes a project to acquire rolling stock or to maintain
or rehabilitate a vehicle; and
(2) a requirement that oversight begin during the preliminary engi-
neering stage of a project, unless the Secretary finds it more appro-
priate to begin the oversight during another stage of the project, to
103
maximize the transportation benefits and cost savings associated with
project management oversight.
§ 5328. Project review
(a) SCHEDULE.—(1) When the Secretary of Transportation allows a new
fixed guideway project to advance into the alternatives analysis stage of
project review, the Secretary shall cooperate with the applicant in alter-
natives analysis and in preparing a draft environmental impact statement
and shall approve the draft for circulation not later than 45 days after the
applicant submits the draft to the Secretary.
(2) After the draft is circulated and not later than 30 days after the ap-
plicant selects a locally preferred alternative, the Secretary shall allow the
project to advance to the preliminary engineering stage if the Secretary
finds the project is consistent with section 5309(e)(1)–(6) of this title.
(3) The Secretary shall issue a record of decision and allow a project to
advance to the final design stage of construction not later than 120 days
after the final environmental impact statement for the project is completed.
(4) The Secretary shall make a full financing grant agreement under sec-
tion 5309 of this title for a project not later than 120 days after the project
enters the final design stage of construction. The agreement shall provide
for a United States Government share of the construction cost at least equal
to the Government share estimated in the Secretary’s most recent report re-
quired under section 5309(m)(2) of this title or an update of the report un-
less the applicant requests otherwise.
(b) ALLOWED DELAYS.—(1) Advancement of a project under the time re-
quirements of subsection (a) of this section may be delayed only—
(A) for the time the applicant may request; or
(B) during the time the Secretary finds, after reasonable notice and
an opportunity for comment, that the applicant, for reasons attrib-
utable only to the applicant, has not complied substantially with the
provisions of this chapter applicable to the project.
(2) Not more than 10 days after imposing a delay under paragraph
(1)(B) of this subsection, the Secretary shall give the applicant a written
statement explaining the reasons for the delay and describing actions the
applicant must take to end the delay.
(3) At least once every 6 months, the Secretary shall report to the Com-
mittee on Public Works and Transportation of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs of the Senate
on each situation in which the Secretary has not met a time requirement
of subsection (a) of this section or delayed a time requirement under para-
graph (1)(B) of this subsection. The report shall explain the reasons for the
104
delay and include a plan for achieving timely completion of the Secretary’s
review.
(c) PROGRAM OF INTERRELATED PROJECTS.—(1) In this subsection, a
program of interrelated projects includes the following:
(A) the New Jersey Urban Core Project (as defined in title III of
the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public
Law 102–240, 105 Stat. 2087)).
(B) the San Francisco Bay Area Rail Extension Program, consisting
of at least an extension of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit
District to the San Francisco International Airport (Phase 1a to Colma
and Phase 1b to San Francisco Airport), the Santa Clara County
Transit District Tasman Corridor Project, a program element des-
ignated by a change to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Resolution No. 1876, and a program element financed completely with
non-Government amounts, including the BART Warm Springs Exten-
sion, Dublin Extension, and West Pittsburg Extension.
(C) the Los Angeles Metro Rail Minimum Operable Segment-3 Pro-
gram, consisting of 7 stations and approximately 11.6 miles of heavy
rail subway on the following lines:
(i) one line running west and northwest from the Hollywood/
Vine station to the North Hollywood station, with 2 intermediate
stations.
(ii) one line running west from the Wilshire/Western station to
the Pico/San Vicente station, with one intermediate station.
(iii) the East Side Extension, consisting of an initial line of ap-
proximately 3 miles, with at least 2 stations, beginning at Union
Station and running generally east.
(D) the Baltimore-Washington Transportation Improvement Pro-
gram, consisting of 3 extensions of the Baltimore Light Rail to Hunt
Valley, Penn Station, and Baltimore-Washington Airport, MARC exten-
sions to Frederick and Waldorf, Maryland, and an extension of the
Washington Subway system to Largo, Maryland.
(E) the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon
Westside Light Rail Program, consisting of the locally preferred alter-
native for the Westside Light Rail Project, including system related
costs, contained in the Department of Transportation and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1991 (Public Law 101–516, 104 Stat.
2155), and defined in House Report 101–584, and the Hillsboro exten-
sion to the Westside Light Rail Project contained in that Act.
(F) the Queens Local/Express Connector Program, consisting of the
locally preferred alternative for the connection of the 63d Street tunnel
105
extension to the Queens Boulevard lines, the bell-mouth part of the
connector that will allow for future access by commuter rail trains and
other subway lines to the 63d Street tunnel extension, planning ele-
ments for connecting the upper and lower levels to commuter and sub-
way lines in Long Island City, and planning elements for providing a
connector for commuter rail transportation to the East side of Manhat-
tan and subway lines to the proposed Second Avenue subway.
(G) the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority light rail elements of
the New System Plan, consisting of the locally preferred alternative for
the South Oak Cliff corridor, the South Oak Cliff corridor extension-
Camp Wisdom, the West Oak Cliff corridor-Westmoreland, the North
Central corridor-Park Lane, the North Central corridor-Richardson,
Plano, and Garland extensions, the Pleasant Grove corridor-Buckner,
and the Carrollton corridors-Farmers Branch and Las Colinas termi-
nal.
(H) other programs designated by law or the Secretary.
(2) Consistent with the time requirements of subsection (a) of this section
or as otherwise provided by law, the Secretary shall make at least one full
financing grant agreement for each program described in paragraph (1) of
this subsection. The agreement shall include commitments to advance each
of the applicant’s program elements (in the program of interrelated
projects) through the appropriate program review stages as provided in sub-
section (a) or as otherwise provided by law and to provide Government fi-
nancing for each element. The agreement may be changed to include design
and construction of a particular element.
(3) When reviewing a project in a program of interrelated projects, the
Secretary shall consider the local financial commitment, transportation ef-
fectiveness, and other assessment factors of all program elements to the ex-
tent consideration expedites carrying out the project.
(4) Including a program element not financed by the Government in a
program of interrelated projects does not impose Government requirements
that otherwise would not apply to the element.
§ 5329. Investigation of safety hazards
(a) GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation may investigate a condi-
tion in equipment, a facility, or an operation financed under this chapter
that the Secretary believes causes a serious hazard of death or injury to es-
tablish the nature and extent of the condition and how to eliminate or cor-
rect it. If the Secretary establishes that a condition causes a hazard, the
Secretary shall require the local governmental authority receiving amounts
under this chapter to submit a plan for correcting it. The Secretary may
106
withhold further financial assistance under this chapter until a plan is ap-
proved and carried out.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than June 15, 1992, the Secretary shall submit
to Congress a report containing—
(1) a description of actions taken to identify and investigate condi-
tions in a facility, equipment, or way of operating as part of the find-
ings and decisions required of the Secretary in providing a grant or
loan under this chapter;
(2) a description of actions of the Secretary to correct or eliminate,
as a requirement for making an amount available through a grant or
loan under this chapter, a condition found to create a serious hazard
of death or injury;
(3) a summary of all passenger-related deaths and injuries resulting
from an unsafe condition in a facility, equipment, or way of operating
a facility or equipment at least partly financed under this chapter;
(4) a summary of all employee-related deaths and injuries resulting
from an unsafe condition in a facility, equipment, or way of operating
a facility or equipment at least partly financed under this chapter;
(5) a summary of action of the Secretary to correct or eliminate the
unsafe condition to which the deaths and injuries referred to in clauses
(3) and (4) of this subsection were attributed;
(6) a summary of actions of the Secretary to alert mass transpor-
tation operators of the nature of the unsafe condition found to create
a serious hazard of death or injury; and
(7) recommendations of the Secretary to Congress of any legislative
or administrative actions necessary to ensure that all recipients of
amounts under this chapter will undertake the best way available to
correct or eliminate hazards of death or injury, including—
(A) a timetable for undertaking actions;
(B) an estimate of the capital and operating cost to take the
actions; and
(C) minimum standards for establishing and carrying out safety
plans by recipients of amounts under this chapter.
§ 5330. Withholding amounts for noncompliance with safety
requirements
(a) APPLICATION.—This section applies only to States that have rail fixed
guideway mass transportation systems not subject to regulation by the Fed-
eral Railroad Administration.
(b) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of Transportation may with-
hold not more than 5 percent of the amount required to be appropriated
for use in a State or urbanized area in the State under section 5307 of this
107
title for a fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1994, if the State in
the prior fiscal year has not met the requirements of subsection (c) of this
section and the Secretary decides the State is not making an adequate effort
to comply with subsection (c).
(c) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—A State meets the requirements of this sec-
tion if the State—
(1) establishes and is carrying out a safety program plan for each
fixed guideway mass transportation system in the State that establishes
at least safety requirements, lines of authority, levels of responsibility
and accountability, and methods of documentation for the system; and
(2) designates a State authority as having responsibility—
(A) to require, review, approve, and monitor the carrying out of
each plan;
(B) to investigate hazardous conditions and accidents on the
systems; and
(C) to require corrective action to correct or eliminate those
conditions.
(d) MULTISTATE INVOLVEMENT.—When more than one State is subject
to this section in connection with a single mass transportation authority, the
affected States may designate an entity (except the mass transportation au-
thority) to ensure uniform safety standards and enforcement and to meet
the requirements of subsection (c) of this section.
(e) AVAILABILITY OF WITHHELD AMOUNTS.—(1) An amount withheld
under subsection (b) of this section remains available for apportionment for
use in the State until the end of the 2d fiscal year after the fiscal year for
which the amount may be appropriated.
(2) If a State meets the requirements of subsection (c) of this section be-
fore the last day of the period for which an amount withheld under sub-
section (b) of this section remains available under paragraph (1) of this sub-
section, the Secretary, on the first day on which the State meets the re-
quirements, shall apportion to the State the amount withheld that remains
available for apportionment for use in the State. An amount apportioned
under this paragraph remains available until the end of the 3d fiscal year
after the fiscal year in which the amount is apportioned. An amount not
obligated at the end of the 3-year period shall be apportioned for use in
other States under section 5336 of this title.
(3) If a State does not meet the requirements of subsection (c) of this
section at the end of the period for which an amount withheld under sub-
section (b) of this section remains available under paragraph (1) of this sub-
section, the amount shall be apportioned for use in other States under sec-
tion 5336 of this title.
108
(f) REGULATIONS.—Not later than December 18, 1992, the Secretary
shall prescribe regulations stating the requirements for complying with sub-
section (c) of this section.
§ 5331. Alcohol and controlled substances testing
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section—
(1) ‘‘controlled substance’’ means any substance under section 102
of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970
(21 U.S.C. 802) whose use the Secretary of Transportation decides has
a risk to transportation safety.
(2) ‘‘person’’ includes any entity organized or existing under the laws
of the United States, a State, territory, or possession of the United
States, or a foreign country.
(3) ‘‘mass transportation’’ means any form of mass transportation,
except a form the Secretary decides is covered adequately, for employee
alcohol and controlled substances testing purposes, under subchapter
III of chapter 201 or section 31306 of this title.
(b) TESTING PROGRAM
FOR MASS TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYEES.—
(1)(A) In the interest of mass transportation safety, the Secretary of Trans-
portation shall prescribe regulations not later than October 28, 1992, that
establish a program requiring mass transportation operations that receive
financial assistance under section 5307, 5309, or 5311 of this title or sec-
tion 103(e)(4) of title 23 to conduct preemployment, reasonable suspicion,
random, and post-accident testing of mass transportation employees respon-
sible for safety-sensitive functions (as decided by the Secretary) for the use
of alcohol or a controlled substance in violation of law or a United States
Government regulation.
(B) When the Secretary of Transportation considers it appropriate in the
interest of safety, the Secretary may prescribe regulations for conducting
periodic recurring testing of mass transportation employees responsible for
safety-sensitive functions (as decided by the Secretary) for the use of alcohol
or a controlled substance in violation of law or a Government regulation.
(2) In prescribing regulations under this subsection, the Secretary of
Transportation—
(A) shall require that post-accident testing of such a mass transpor-
tation employee be conducted when loss of human life occurs in an ac-
cident involving mass transportation; and
(B) may require that post-accident testing of such a mass transpor-
tation employee be conducted when bodily injury or significant property
damage occurs in any other serious accident involving mass transpor-
tation.
109
(c) DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR USE.—(1) When the Secretary of Transpor-
tation considers it appropriate, the Secretary shall require disqualification
for an established period of time or dismissal of any employee referred to
in subsection (b)(1) of this section who is found—
(A) to have used or been impaired by alcohol when on duty; or
(B) to have used a controlled substance, whether or not on duty, ex-
cept as allowed for medical purposes by law or regulation.
(2) This section does not supersede any penalty applicable to a mass
transportation employee under another law.
(d) TESTING AND LABORATORY REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out sub-
section (b) of this section, the Secretary of Transportation shall develop re-
quirements that shall—
(1) promote, to the maximum extent practicable, individual privacy
in the collection of specimens;
(2) for laboratories and testing procedures for controlled substances,
incorporate the Department of Health and Human Services scientific
and technical guidelines dated April 11, 1988, and any amendments to
those guidelines, including mandatory guidelines establishing—
(A) comprehensive standards for every aspect of laboratory con-
trolled substances testing and laboratory procedures to be applied
in carrying out this section, including standards requiring the use
of the best available technology to ensure the complete reliability
and accuracy of controlled substances tests and strict procedures
governing the chain of custody of specimens collected for con-
trolled substances testing;
(B) the minimum list of controlled substances for which individ-
uals may be tested; and
(C) appropriate standards and procedures for periodic review of
laboratories and criteria for certification and revocation of certifi-
cation of laboratories to perform controlled substances testing in
carrying out this section;
(3) require that a laboratory involved in controlled substances testing
under this section have the capability and facility, at the laboratory,
of performing screening and confirmation tests;
(4) provide that all tests indicating the use of alcohol or a controlled
substance in violation of law or a Government regulation be confirmed
by a scientifically recognized method of testing capable of providing
quantitative information about alcohol or a controlled substance;
(5) provide that each specimen be subdivided, secured, and labeled
in the presence of the tested individual and that a part of the specimen
be retained in a secure manner to prevent the possibility of tampering,
110
so that if the individual’s confirmation test results are positive the indi-
vidual has an opportunity to have the retained part tested by a 2d con-
firmation test done independently at another certified laboratory if the
individual requests the 2d confirmation test not later than 3 days after
being advised of the results of the first confirmation test;
(6) ensure appropriate safeguards for testing to detect and quantify
alcohol in breath and body fluid samples, including urine and blood,
through the development of regulations that may be necessary and in
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services;
(7) provide for the confidentiality of test results and medical infor-
mation (except information about alcohol or a controlled substance) of
employees, except that this clause does not prevent the use of test re-
sults for the orderly imposition of appropriate sanctions under this sec-
tion; and
(8) ensure that employees are selected for tests by nondiscriminatory
and impartial methods, so that no employee is harassed by being treat-
ed differently from other employees in similar circumstances.
(e) REHABILITATION.—The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe
regulations establishing requirements for rehabilitation programs that pro-
vide for the identification and opportunity for treatment of any mass trans-
portation employee referred to in subsection (b)(1) of this section who is
found to have used alcohol or a controlled substance in violation of law or
a Government regulation. The Secretary shall decide on the circumstances
under which employees shall be required to participate in a program. This
subsection does not prevent a mass transportation operation from establish-
ing a program under this section in cooperation with another mass trans-
portation operation.
(f) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS, REGULATIONS, STANDARDS, AND
ORDERS.—(1) A State or local government may not prescribe, issue, or con-
tinue in effect a law, regulation, standard, or order that is inconsistent with
regulations prescribed under this section. However, a regulation prescribed
under this section does not preempt a State criminal law that imposes sanc-
tions for reckless conduct leading to loss of life, injury, or damage to prop-
erty.
(2) In prescribing regulations under this section, the Secretary of Trans-
portation—
(A) shall establish only requirements that are consistent with inter-
national obligations of the United States; and
(B) shall consider applicable laws and regulations of foreign coun-
tries.
111
(3) This section does not prevent the Secretary of Transportation from
continuing in effect, amending, or further supplementing a regulation pre-
scribed before October 28, 1991, governing the use of alcohol or a controlled
substance by mass transportation employees.
(g) INELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—A person is not eligible for finan-
cial assistance under section 5307, 5309, or 5311 of this title or section
103(e)(4) of title 23 if the person is required, under regulations the Sec-
retary of Transportation prescribes under this section, to establish a pro-
gram of alcohol and controlled substances testing and does not establish the
program.
§ 5332. Nondiscrimination
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, ‘‘person’’ includes a governmental au-
thority, political subdivision, authority, legal representative, trust, unincor-
porated organization, trustee, trustee in bankruptcy, and receiver.
(b) PROHIBITIONS.—A person may not be excluded from participating in,
denied a benefit of, or discriminated against under, a project, program, or
activity receiving financial assistance under this chapter because of race,
color, creed, national origin, sex, or age.
(c) COMPLIANCE.—(1) The Secretary of Transportation shall take affirm-
ative action to ensure compliance with subsection (b) of this section.
(2) When the Secretary decides that a person receiving financial assist-
ance under this chapter is not complying with subsection (b) of this section,
a civil rights law of the United States, or a regulation or order under that
law, the Secretary shall notify the person of the decision and require action
be taken to ensure compliance with subsection (b).
(d) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—If a person does
not comply with subsection (b) of this section within a reasonable time after
receiving notice, the Secretary shall—
(1) direct that no further financial assistance of the United States
Government under this chapter be provided to the person;
(2) refer the matter to the Attorney General with a recommendation
that a civil action be brought;
(3) proceed under title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C.
2000d et seq.); and
(4) take any other action provided by law.
(e) CIVIL ACTIONS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney General may
bring a civil action for appropriate relief when—
(1) a matter is referred to the Attorney General under subsection
(d)(2) of this section; or
(2) the Attorney General believes a person is engaged in a pattern
or practice in violation of this section.
112
(f) APPLICATION AND RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—This section ap-
plies to an employment or business opportunity and is in addition to title
VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.).
§ 5333. Labor standards
(a) PREVAILING WAGES REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall ensure that laborers and mechanics employed by contractors
and subcontractors in construction work financed with a grant or loan
under this chapter be paid wages not less than those prevailing on similar
construction in the locality, as determined by the Secretary of Labor under
the Act of March 3, 1931 (known as the Davis-Bacon Act) (40 U.S.C.
276a—276a–5). The Secretary of Transportation may approve a grant or
loan only after being assured that required labor standards will be main-
tained on the construction work. For a labor standard under this subsection,
the Secretary of Labor has the same duties and powers stated in Reorga-
nization Plan No. 14 of 1950 (eff. May 24, 1950, 64 Stat. 1267) and sec-
tion 2 of the Act of June 13, 1934 (40 U.S.C. 276c).
(b) EMPLOYEE PROTECTIVE ARRANGEMENTS.—(1) As a condition of fi-
nancial assistance under sections 5307–5312 of this title, the interests of
employees affected by the assistance shall be protected under arrangements
the Secretary of Labor concludes are fair and equitable. The agreement
granting the assistance under sections 5307–5312 shall specify the arrange-
ments.
(2) Arrangements under this subsection shall include—
(A) the preservation of rights, privileges, and benefits (including con-
tinuation of pension rights and benefits) under existing collective bar-
gaining agreements or otherwise;
(B) the continuation of collective bargaining rights;
(C) the protection of employees against a worsening of their posi-
tions related to employment;
(D) assurances of employment to employees of acquired mass trans-
portation systems;
(E) assurances of priority of reemployment of employees whose em-
ployment is ended or who are laid off; and
(F) paid training or retraining programs.
(3) Arrangements under this subsection shall provide benefits at least
equal to benefits established under section 11347 of this title.
§ 5334. Administrative
(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—In carrying out this chapter, the Secretary
of Transportation may—
113
(1) prescribe terms for a project under sections 5307 and 5309–
5311 of this title (except terms the Secretary of Labor prescribes under
section 5333(b) of this title);
(2) sue and be sued;
(3) foreclose on property or bring a civil action to protect or enforce
a right conferred on the Secretary of Transportation by law or agree-
ment;
(4) buy property related to a loan under this chapter;
(5) agree to pay an annual amount in place of a State or local tax
on real property acquired or owned under this chapter;
(6) sell, exchange, or lease property, a security, or an obligation;
(7) obtain loss insurance for property and assets the Secretary of
Transportation holds;
(8) consent to a modification in an agreement under this chapter;
and
(9) include in an agreement or instrument under this chapter a cov-
enant or term the Secretary of Transportation considers necessary to
carry out this chapter.
(b) PROCEDURES FOR PRESCRIBING REGULATIONS.—(1) The Secretary
of Transportation shall prepare an agenda listing all areas in which the Sec-
retary intends to propose regulations governing activities under this chapter
within the following 12 months. The Secretary shall publish the proposed
agenda in the Federal Register as part of the Secretary’s semiannual regu-
latory agenda that lists regulatory activities of the Federal Transit Adminis-
tration. The Secretary shall submit the agenda to the Committees on Public
Works and Transportation and Appropriations of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Ap-
propriations of the Senate on the day the agenda is published.
(2) Except for emergency regulations, the Secretary of Transportation
shall give interested parties at least 60 days to participate in a regulatory
proceeding under this chapter by submitting written information, views, or
arguments, with or without an oral presentation, except when the Secretary
for good cause finds that public notice and comment are unnecessary be-
cause of the routine nature or insignificant impact of the regulation or that
an emergency regulation should be issued. The Secretary may extend the
60-day period if the Secretary decides the period is insufficient to allow dili-
gent individuals to prepare comments or that other circumstances justify an
extension.
(3) An emergency regulation ends 120 days after it is issued.
(4) The Secretary of Transportation shall comply with this section (except
subsections (h) and (i)) and sections 5323(a)(2), (c) and (e), 5324(c), and
114
5325 of this title when proposing or carrying out a regulation governing an
activity under this chapter, except for a routine matter or a matter with
no significant impact.
(c) BUDGET PROGRAM
AND SET
OF ACCOUNTS.—The Secretary of
Transportation shall—
(1) submit each year a budget program as provided in section 9103
of title 31; and
(2) maintain a set of accounts the Comptroller General shall audit
under chapter 35 of title 31.
(d) DEPOSITORY AND AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—The Secretary of
Transportation shall deposit amounts made available to the Secretary under
this chapter in a checking account in the Treasury. Receipts, assets, and
amounts obtained or held by the Secretary to carry out this chapter are
available for administrative expenses to carry out this chapter.
(e) BINDING EFFECT OF FINANCIAL TRANSACTION.—A financial trans-
action of the Secretary of Transportation under this chapter and a related
voucher are binding on all officers and employees of the United States Gov-
ernment.
(f) DEALING WITH ACQUIRED PROPERTY.—Notwithstanding another law
related to the Government acquiring, using, or disposing of real property,
the Secretary of Transportation may deal with property acquired under sub-
section (a)(3) or (4) of this section in any way. However, this subsection
does not—
(1) deprive a State or political subdivision of a State of jurisdiction
of the property; or
(2) impair the civil rights, under the laws of a State or political sub-
division of a State, of an inhabitant of the property.
(g) TRANSFER OF ASSETS NO LONGER NEEDED.—(1) If a recipient of
assistance under this chapter decides an asset acquired under this chapter
at least in part with that assistance is no longer needed for the purpose
for which it was acquired, the Secretary of Transportation may authorize
the recipient to transfer the asset to a local governmental authority to be
used for a public purpose with no further obligation to the Government. The
Secretary may authorize a transfer for a public purpose other than mass
transportation only if the Secretary decides—
(A) the asset will remain in public use for at least 5 years after the
date the asset is transferred;
(B) there is no purpose eligible for assistance under this chapter for
which the asset should be used;
(C) the overall benefit of allowing the transfer is greater than the
interest of the Government in liquidation and return of the financial
115
interest of the Government in the asset, after considering fair market
value and other factors; and
(D) through an appropriate screening or survey process, that there
is no interest in acquiring the asset for Government use if the asset
is a facility or land.
(2) A decision under paragraph (1) of this section must be in writing and
include the reason for the decision.
(3) This subsection is in addition to another law related to using and dis-
posing of a facility or equipment under an assistance agreement.
(h) TRANSFER
OF
AMOUNTS
AND
NON-GOVERNMENT
SHARE.—(1)
Amounts made available for a mass transportation project under title 23
shall be transferred to and administered by the Secretary of Transportation
under this chapter. Amounts made available for a highway project under
this chapter shall be transferred to and administered by the Secretary under
title 23.
(2) The provisions of title 23 related to the non-Government share apply
to amounts under title 23 used for mass transportation projects. The provi-
sions of this chapter related to the non-Government share apply to amounts
under this chapter used for highway projects.
(i) AUTHORITY
OF SECRETARY
OF HOUSING
AND URBAN DEVELOP-
MENT.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall—
(1) carry out section 5312(a) and (b)(1) of this title related to—
(A) urban transportation systems and planned development of
urban areas; and
(B) the role of transportation planning in overall urban plan-
ning; and
(2) advise and assist the Secretary of Transportation in making find-
ings under section 5323(a)(1)(A) of this title.
(j) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—(1) Section 9107(a) of title 31 ap-
plies to the Secretary of Transportation under this chapter.
(2) Section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5) applies to a con-
tract for more than $1,000 for services or supplies related to property ac-
quired under this chapter.
§ 5335. Reports and audits
(a) REPORTING SYSTEM
AND UNIFORM SYSTEM
OF ACCOUNTS
AND
RECORDS.—(1) To help meet the needs of individual mass transportation
systems, the United States Government, State and local governments, and
the public for information on which to base mass transportation service
planning, the Secretary of Transportation shall maintain a reporting sys-
tem, by uniform categories, to accumulate mass transportation financial and
operating information and a uniform system of accounts and records. The
116
reporting and uniform systems shall contain appropriate information to help
any level of government make a public sector investment decision. The Sec-
retary may request and receive appropriate information from any source.
(2) The Secretary may make a grant under section 5307 of this title only
if the applicant, and any person that will receive benefits directly from the
grant, are subject to the reporting and uniform systems.
(b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Not later than 30 days after the last day of
each calendar quarter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on
Public Works and Transportation and Appropriations of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
and Appropriations of the Senate a report on—
(1) obligations by State, designated recipient, and applicant made
under this chapter during the quarter;
(2) the balance of unobligated apportionments under this chapter on
the last day of the quarter;
(3) the balance of unobligated amounts under this chapter on the
last day of the quarter that the Secretary may expend;
(4) letters of intent issued during the quarter;
(5) letters of intent outstanding on the last day of the quarter; and
(6) grant contracts executed and reimbursement authority estab-
lished for amounts obligated for each State, designated recipient, and
applicant.
(c) BIENNIAL NEEDS REPORT.—In January 1993 and in January of
every 2d year after 1993, the Comptroller General shall submit to the Com-
mittee on Public Works and Transportation of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate
a report containing an evaluation of the extent to which current mass trans-
portation needs are addressed adequately and an estimate of the future
mass transportation needs of the United States, including mass transpor-
tation needs in rural areas (particularly access to health care facilities). The
report shall include—
(1) an assessment of needs related to rail modernization, guideway
modernization, replacing, rehabilitating, and buying buses and related
equipment, constructing bus related facilities, and constructing new
fixed guideway systems and extensions to existing fixed guideway sys-
tems;
(2) a 5-year projection of maintenance and modernization needs re-
sulting from aging of existing equipment and facilities, including the
need to overhaul or replace existing bus fleets and rolling stock used
on fixed guideway systems;
117
(3) a 5-year projection of the need to invest in the expansion of ex-
isting mass transportation systems to meet changing economic, com-
muter, and residential patterns;
(4) an estimate of the level of expenditure needed to satisfy the
needs identified in clauses (1)–(3) of this paragraph;
(5) an examination of existing Government, State, local, and private
resources that are or reasonably can be expected to be made available
to support public mass transportation; and
(6) the gap between the level of expenditure estimated under clause
(4) of this paragraph and the level of resources identified under clause
(5) of this paragraph that are available to meet the needs.
(d) BIENNIAL TRANSFERABILITY REPORT.—In January 1993 and in
January of every 2d year after 1993, the Comptroller General shall submit
to the Committee on Public Works and Transportation of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
of the Senate a report on carrying out section 5307(b)(5) of this title. The
report shall—
(1) identify, by State, the amount of mass transportation money
transferred for non-mass transportation purposes under section
5307(b)(5) of this title during the prior fiscal year;
(2) include an assessment of the impact of the transfers on the mass
transportation needs of individuals and communities in the State, in-
cluding the impact on—
(A) the State’s ability to meet the mass transportation needs of
elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities;
(B) efforts to meet the objectives of the Clean Air Act (42
U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) and the Americans With Disabilities Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.); and
(C) the State’s efforts to extend public mass transportation
services to unserved rural areas; and
(3) examine the relative levels of Government mass transportation
assistance and services in urban and rural areas in the fiscal year that
ended September 30, 1991, and the extent to which the assistance and
service has changed in later fiscal years because of mass transportation
resources made available under this chapter and the Intermodal Sur-
face Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (Public Law 102–240, 105
Stat. 1914).
§ 5336. Apportionment of appropriations for block grants
(a) BASED ON URBANIZED AREA POPULATION.—Of the amount made
available or appropriated under section 5338(f) of this title—
118
(1) 9.32 percent shall be apportioned each fiscal year only in urban-
ized areas with a population of less than 200,000 so that each of those
areas is entitled to receive an amount equal to—
(A) 50 percent of the total amount apportioned multiplied by
a ratio equal to the population of the area divided by the total
population of all urbanized areas with populations of less than
200,000 as shown in the latest United States Government census;
and
(B) 50 percent of the total amount apportioned multiplied by
a ratio for the area based on population weighted by a factor, es-
tablished by the Secretary of Transportation, of the number of in-
habitants in each square mile; and
(2) 90.68 percent shall be apportioned each fiscal year only in urban-
ized areas with populations of at least 200,000 as provided in sub-
sections (b) and (c) of this section.
(b) BASED ON FIXED GUIDEWAY REVENUE VEHICLE-MILES, ROUTE-
MILES, AND PASSENGER-MILES.—(1) In this subsection, ‘‘fixed guideway
revenue vehicle-miles’’ and ‘‘fixed guideway route-miles’’ include ferry boat
operations directly or under contract by the designated recipient.
(2) Of the amount apportioned under subsection (a)(2) of this section,
33.29 percent shall be apportioned as follows:
(A) 95.61 percent of the total amount apportioned under this sub-
section shall be apportioned so that each urbanized area with a popu-
lation of at least 200,000 is entitled to receive an amount equal to—
(i) 60 percent of the 95.61 percent apportioned under this sub-
paragraph multiplied by a ratio equal to the number of fixed
guideway revenue vehicle-miles attributable to the area, as estab-
lished by the Secretary of Transportation, divided by the total
number of all fixed guideway revenue vehicle-miles attributable to
all areas; and
(ii) 40 percent of the 95.61 percent apportioned under this sub-
paragraph multiplied by a ratio equal to the number of fixed
guideway route-miles attributable to the area, established by the
Secretary, divided by the total number of all fixed guideway route-
miles attributable to all areas.
(B) 4.39 percent of the total amount apportioned under this sub-
section shall be apportioned so that each urbanized area with a popu-
lation of at least 200,000 is entitled to receive an amount equal to—
(i) the number of fixed guideway vehicle passenger-miles trav-
eled multiplied by the number of fixed guideway vehicle passenger-
119
miles traveled for each dollar of operating cost in an area; divided
by
(ii) the total number of fixed guideway vehicle passenger-miles
traveled multiplied by the total number of fixed guideway vehicle
passenger-miles traveled for each dollar of operating cost in all
areas.
(C) An urbanized area with a population of at least 750,000 in
which commuter rail transportation is provided shall receive at least
.75 percent of the total amount apportioned under this subsection.
(D) Under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, fixed guideway reve-
nue vehicle- or route-miles, and passengers served on those miles, in
an urbanized area with a population of less than 200,000, where the
miles and passengers served otherwise would be attributable to an ur-
banized area with a population of at least 1,000,000 in an adjacent
State, are attributable to the governmental authority in the State in
which the urbanized area with a population of less than 200,000 is lo-
cated. The authority is deemed an urbanized area with a population of
at least 200,000 if the authority makes a contract for the service.
(E) A recipient’s apportionment under subparagraph (A)(i) of this
paragraph may not be reduced if the recipient, after satisfying the Sec-
retary of Transportation that energy or operating efficiencies would be
achieved, reduces revenue vehicle-miles but provides the same frequency
of revenue service to the same number of riders.
(c) BASED
ON
BUS
REVENUE
VEHICLE-MILES
AND
PASSENGER-
MILES.—Of the amount apportioned under subsection (a)(2) of this section,
66.71 percent shall be apportioned as follows:
(1) 90.8 percent of the total amount apportioned under this sub-
section shall be apportioned as follows:
(A) 73.39 percent of the 90.8 percent apportioned under this
paragraph shall be apportioned so that each urbanized area with
a population of at least 1,000,000 is entitled to receive an amount
equal to—
(i) 50 percent of the 73.39 percent apportioned under this
subparagraph multiplied by a ratio equal to the total bus rev-
enue vehicle-miles operated in or directly serving the urban-
ized area divided by the total bus revenue vehicle-miles attrib-
utable to all areas;
(ii) 25 percent of the 73.39 percent apportioned under this
subparagraph multiplied by a ratio equal to the population of
the area divided by the total population of all areas, as shown
by the latest Government census; and
120
(iii) 25 percent of the 73.39 percent apportioned under this
subparagraph multiplied by a ratio for the area based on pop-
ulation weighted by a factor, established by the Secretary of
Transportation, of the number of inhabitants in each square
mile.
(B) 26.61 percent of the 90.8 percent apportioned under this
paragraph shall be apportioned so that each urbanized area with
a population of at least 200,000 but not more than 999,999 is en-
titled to receive an amount equal to—
(i) 50 percent of the 26.61 percent apportioned under this
subparagraph multiplied by a ratio equal to the total bus rev-
enue vehicle-miles operated in or directly serving the urban-
ized area divided by the total bus revenue vehicle-miles attrib-
utable to all areas;
(ii) 25 percent of the 26.61 percent apportioned under this
subparagraph multiplied by a ratio equal to the population of
the area divided by the total population of all areas, as shown
by the latest Government census; and
(iii) 25 percent of the 26.61 percent apportioned under this
subparagraph multiplied by a ratio for the area based on pop-
ulation weighted by a factor, established by the Secretary of
Transportation, of the number of inhabitants in each square
mile.
(2) 9.2 percent of the total amount apportioned under this sub-
section shall be apportioned so that each urbanized area with a popu-
lation of at least 200,000 is entitled to receive an amount equal to—
(A) the number of bus passenger-miles traveled multiplied by
the number of bus passenger-miles traveled for each dollar of oper-
ating cost in an area; divided by
(B) the total number of bus passenger-miles traveled multiplied
by the total number of bus passenger-miles traveled for each dollar
of operating cost in all areas.
(d) OPERATING ASSISTANCE.—(1) The total amount apportioned under
this section that may be used for operating assistance may not be more
than—
(A) 80 percent of the total amount apportioned in the fiscal year
ending September 30, 1982, under section 5(a)(1)(A), (2)(A), and
(3)(A) of the Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 to urbanized
areas with populations of at least 1,000,000;
121
(B) 90 percent of the total amount apportioned in that year under
section 5(a)(1)(A), (2)(A), and (3)(A) to urbanized areas with popu-
lations of at least 200,000 but not more than 999,999;
(C) 95 percent of the total amount apportioned in that year under
section 5(a)(1)(A), (2)(A), and (3)(A) to urbanized areas with popu-
lations of less than 200,000; or
(D) two-thirds of the total amount apportioned under this section
during the first complete year an urbanized area received amounts
under this section if the area first became an urbanized area under the
1980 Government census or later.
(2) Amounts apportioned under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be
increased on October 1 of each year by an amount equal to the amount ap-
plicable to each urbanized area under paragraph (1) (except increases under
this paragraph), multiplied by the percentage increase in the Consumer
Price Index for all-urban consumers published by the Secretary of Labor
during the most recent calendar year. However, the increase may not be
more than the percentage increase of amounts made available under section
5338(f) of this title in the current fiscal year and amounts made available
under section 5338(f) in the prior fiscal year.
(e) DATE OF APPORTIONMENT.—The Secretary of Transportation shall—
(1) apportion amounts appropriated under section 5338(f) of this
title to carry out section 5307 of this title not later than the 10th day
after the date the amounts are appropriated or October 1 of the fiscal
year for which the amounts are appropriated, whichever is later; and
(2) publish apportionments of the amounts, including amounts at-
tributable to each urbanized area with a population of more than
50,000 and amounts attributable to each State of a multistate urban-
ized area, on the apportionment date.
(f) AMOUNTS NOT APPORTIONED TO DESIGNATED RECIPIENTS.—The
chief executive officer of a State may expend in an urbanized area with a
population of less than 200,000 an amount apportioned under this section
that is not apportioned to a designated recipient as defined in section
5307(a) of this title.
(g) TRANSFERS OF APPORTIONMENTS.—(1) The chief executive officer of
a State may transfer any part of the State’s apportionment under sub-
section (a)(1) of this section to supplement amounts apportioned to the
State under section 5311(c) of this title or amounts apportioned to urban-
ized areas under this subsection. The chief executive officer may make a
transfer only after consulting with responsible local officials and publicly
owned operators of mass transportation in each area for which the amount
originally was apportioned under this section.
127
(A) $2,000,000 is available for the fiscal year ending September
30, 1993;
(B) the lesser of $2,000,000 or an amount the Secretary deter-
mines is necessary for each fiscal year is available for each of the
fiscal years ending September 30, 1994–1996; and
(C) the lesser of $3,000,000 or an amount the Secretary deter-
mines is necessary is available for the fiscal year ending Septem-
ber 30, 1997.
(k) GRANTS AS CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS.—(1) A grant or contract
approved by the Secretary, that is financed with amounts made available
under subsection (a)(1), (b)(1), (c), or (e) of this section, is a contractual
obligation of the United States Government to pay the Government’s share
of the cost of the project.
(2) A grant or contract, approved by the Secretary, that is financed with
amounts made available under subsection (a)(2) or (b)(2) of this section,
is a contractual obligation of the Government to pay the Government’s
share of the cost of the project only to the extent amounts are provided in
advance in an appropriations law.
(l) EARLY APPROPRIATIONS
AND AVAILABILITY
OF AMOUNTS.—(1)
Amounts appropriated under subsection (a)(2) of this section to carry out
section 5311 of this title may be appropriated in the fiscal year before the
fiscal year in which the appropriation is available for obligation.
(2) Amounts made available or appropriated under subsections (a), (b),
(g), (h)(1) and (2), and (j)(4) of this section remain available until ex-
pended.
(3) An amount apportioned under section 5308 of this title—
(A) remains available for 3 years after the fiscal year in which the
amount is apportioned; and
(B) that is unobligated at the end of the 3-year period shall be added
to the amount available for apportionment for the next fiscal year not
later than 30 days after the end of the 3-year period.
CHAPTER 55—INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION
SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL
Sec.
5501.
National Intermodal Transportation System policy.
5502.
Intermodal Transportation Advisory Board.
5503.
Office of Intermodalism.
5504.
Model intermodal transportation plans.
SUBCHAPTER II—TERMINALS
5561.
Definition.
5562.
Assistance projects.
5563.
Conversion of certain rail passenger terminals.
5564.
Interim preservation of certain rail passenger terminals.
5565.
Encouraging the development of plans for converting certain rail passenger terminals.
5566.
Records and audits.
138
a cosmetic, device, drug, food, food additive, or nonfood product shall dis-
close to the motor carrier or other appropriate person if the cosmetic, de-
vice, drug, food, food additive, or nonfood product being transported is to
be used—
(1) as, or in the preparation of, a food or food additive; or
(2) as a nonfood product included in the list published under sub-
section (b) of this section.
§ 5705. Motor and rail transportation of nonfood products
(a) PROHIBITIONS.—The regulations prescribed under section 5703(a)(1)
of this title shall include provisions prohibiting a person from using, offering
for use, or arranging for the use of a motor vehicle or rail vehicle (except
a tank truck, rail tank car, or cargo tank described in section 5704 of this
title) to transport cosmetics, devices, drugs, food, or food additives if the
vehicle is used to transport nonfood products included in a list published
under subsection (b) of this section.
(b) LIST OF UNSAFE NONFOOD PRODUCTS.—(1) After consultation re-
quired by section 5709 of this title, the Secretary of Transportation shall
publish in the Federal Register a list of nonfood products the Secretary de-
cides would make cosmetics, devices, drugs, food, or food additives unsafe
to humans or animals because of transportation of the nonfood products in
a motor vehicle or rail vehicle used to transport cosmetics, devices, drugs,
food, or food additives. The Secretary may amend the list periodically by
publication in the Federal Register.
(2) The list published under paragraph (1) of this subsection may not
include cardboard, pallets, beverage containers, and other food packaging
except to the extent the Secretary decides that the transportation of card-
board, pallets, beverage containers, or other food packaging in a motor vehi-
cle or rail vehicle used to transport cosmetics, devices, drugs, food, or food
additives would make the cosmetics, devices, drugs, food, or food additives
unsafe to humans or animals.
§ 5706. Dedicated vehicles
(a) PROHIBITIONS.—The regulations prescribed under section 5703(a)(1)
of this title shall include provisions prohibiting a person from using, offering
for use, or arranging for the use of a motor vehicle or rail vehicle to trans-
port asbestos, in forms or quantities the Secretary of Transportation decides
are necessary, or products that present an extreme danger to humans or
animals, despite any decontamination, removal, disposal, packaging, or other
isolation procedures, unless the motor vehicle or rail vehicle is used only to
transport one or more of the following: asbestos, those extremely dangerous
products, or refuse.
144
§ 5906. Perishable agricultural commodities
Sections 5904(a)(2) and 5905 of this title do not apply to a container
or trailer the contents of which are perishable agricultural commodities (as
defined in the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C.
499a et seq.)).
§ 5907. Regulations and effective date
(a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than July 25, 1993, the Secretary of
Transportation shall prescribe final regulations to enforce this chapter. The
Secretary may establish by regulation exemptions to the regulations that are
in the public interest and consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This chapter is effective on the date final regula-
tions to enforce this chapter are prescribed.
(c) Title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding the following im-
mediately after subtitle IV:
SUBTITLE V—RAIL PROGRAMS
PART A—SAFETY
CHAPTER
Sec.
201.
GENERAL .......................................................................................................
20101
203.
SAFETY APPLIANCES .................................................................................
20301
205.
SIGNAL SYSTEMS ........................................................................................
20501
207.
LOCOMOTIVES ..............................................................................................
20701
209.
ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS ...................................................................
20901
211.
HOURS OF SERVICE ....................................................................................
21101
213.
PENALTIES ....................................................................................................
21301
PART B—ASSISTANCE
221.
LOCAL RAIL FREIGHT ASSISTANCE ......................................................
22101
PART C—PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION
241.
GENERAL .......................................................................................................
24101
243.
AMTRAK .........................................................................................................
24301
245.
AMTRAK COMMUTER ..................................................................................
24501
247.
AMTRAK ROUTE SYSTEM ..........................................................................
24701
249.
NORTHEAST CORRIDOR IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM ..........................
24901
PART D—MISCELLANEOUS
261.
LAW ENFORCEMENT ..................................................................................
26101
PART A—SAFETY
CHAPTER 201—GENERAL
SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL
Sec.
20101.
Purpose.
20102.
Definitions.
20103.
General authority.
20104.
Emergency authority.
20105.
State participation.
20106.
National uniformity of regulation.
20107.
Inspection and investigation.
20108.
Research, development, testing, and training.
20109.
Employee protections.
20110.
Effect on employee qualifications and collective bargaining.
20111.
Enforcement by the Secretary of Transportation.
159
(A) any denial, cancellation, revocation, or suspension of a
motor vehicle operator’s license by a State for cause within the
prior 5 years; and
(B) any conviction within the prior 5 years of an offense de-
scribed in section 30304(a)(3)(A) or (B) of this title;
(5) may require, based on the individual’s driving record, disquali-
fication or the granting of a license or certification conditioned on re-
quirements the Secretary prescribes; and
(6) shall require an individual seeking a license or certification—
(A) to request the chief driver licensing official of each State
in which the individual has held a motor vehicle operator’s license
within the prior 5 years to provide information about the individ-
ual’s driving record to the individual’s employer, prospective em-
ployer, or the Secretary, as the Secretary requires; and
(B) to make the request provided for in section 30305(b)(4) of
this title for information to be sent to the individual’s employer,
prospective employer, or the Secretary, as the Secretary requires.
(c) WAIVERS.—(1) The Secretary shall prescribe standards and establish
procedures for waiving subsection (b)(4) of this section for an individual or
class of individuals who the Secretary decides are not currently unfit to op-
erate a locomotive. However, the Secretary may waive subsection (b)(4) for
an individual or class of individuals with a conviction, cancellation, revoca-
tion, or suspension described in paragraph (2)(A) or (B) of this subsection
only if the individual or class, after the conviction, cancellation, revocation,
or suspension, successfully completes a rehabilitation program established by
a railroad carrier or approved by the Secretary.
(2) If an individual, after the conviction, cancellation, revocation, or sus-
pension, successfully completes a rehabilitation program established by a
railroad carrier or approved by the Secretary, the individual may not be de-
nied a license or certification under subsection (b)(4) of this section because
of—
(A) a conviction for operating a motor vehicle when under the influ-
ence of, or impaired by, alcohol or a controlled substance; or
(B) the cancellation, revocation, or suspension of the individual’s
motor vehicle operator’s license for operating a motor vehicle when
under the influence of, or impaired by, alcohol or a controlled sub-
stance.
(d) OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING.—An individual denied a license or cer-
tification or whose license or certification is conditioned on requirements
prescribed under subsection (b)(4) of this section shall be entitled to a hear-
174
investigation at the same time as, and in coordination with, the commis-
sion’s investigation. The railroad carrier on whose railroad line the accident
or incident occurred shall provide reasonable facilities to the Secretary for
the investigation.
(c) REPORTS.—When in the public interest, the Secretary shall make a
report of the investigation, stating the cause of the accident or incident and
making recommendations the Secretary considers appropriate. The Sec-
retary shall publish the report in a way the Secretary considers appropriate.
§ 20903. Reports not evidence in civil actions for damages
No part of an accident or incident report filed by a railroad carrier under
section 20901 of this title or made by the Secretary of Transportation
under section 20902 of this title may be used in a civil action for damages
resulting from a matter mentioned in the report.
CHAPTER 211—HOURS OF SERVICE
Sec.
21101.
Definitions.
21102.
Nonapplication and exemption.
21103.
Limitations on duty hours of train employees.
21104.
Limitations on duty hours of signal employees.
21105.
Limitations on duty hours of dispatching service employees.
21106.
Limitations on employee sleeping quarters.
21107.
Maximum duty hours and subjects of collective bargaining.
§ 21101. Definitions
In this chapter—
(1) ‘‘designated terminal’’ means the home or away-from-home ter-
minal for the assignment of a particular crew.
(2) ‘‘dispatching service employee’’ means an operator, train dis-
patcher, or other train employee who by the use of an electrical or me-
chanical device dispatches, reports, transmits, receives, or delivers or-
ders related to or affecting train movements.
(3) ‘‘employee’’ means a dispatching service employee, a signal em-
ployee, or a train employee.
(4) ‘‘signal employee’’ means an individual employed by a railroad
carrier who is engaged in installing, repairing, or maintaining signal
systems.
(5) ‘‘train employee’’ means an individual engaged in or connected
with the movement of a train, including a hostler.
§ 21102. Nonapplication and exemption
(a) GENERAL.—This chapter does not apply to a situation involving any
of the following:
(1) a casualty.
(2) an unavoidable accident.
(3) an act of God.
175
(4) a delay resulting from a cause unknown and unforeseeable to a
railroad carrier or its officer or agent in charge of the employee when
the employee left a terminal.
(b) EXEMPTION.—The Secretary of Transportation may exempt a rail-
road carrier having not more than 15 employees covered by this chapter
from the limitations imposed by this chapter. The Secretary may allow the
exemption after a full hearing, for good cause shown, and on deciding that
the exemption is in the public interest and will not affect safety adversely.
The exemption shall be for a specific period of time and is subject to review
at least annually. The exemption may not authorize a carrier to require or
allow its employees to be on duty more than a total of 16 hours in a 24-
hour period.
§ 21103. Limitations on duty hours of train employees
(a) GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, a
railroad carrier and its officers and agents may not require or allow a train
employee to remain or go on duty—
(1) unless that employee has had at least 8 consecutive hours off
duty during the prior 24 hours; or
(2) after that employee has been on duty for 12 consecutive hours,
until that employee has had at least 10 consecutive hours off duty.
(b) DETERMINING TIME ON DUTY.—In determining under subsection (a)
of this section the time a train employee is on or off duty, the following
rules apply:
(1) Time on duty begins when the employee reports for duty and
ends when the employee is finally released from duty.
(2) Time the employee is engaged in or connected with the movement
of a train is time on duty.
(3) Time spent performing any other service for the railroad carrier
during a 24-hour period in which the employee is engaged in or con-
nected with the movement of a train is time on duty.
(4) Time spent in deadhead transportation to a duty assignment is
time on duty, but time spent in deadhead transportation from a duty
assignment to the place of final release is neither time on duty nor time
off duty.
(5) An interim period available for rest at a place other than a des-
ignated terminal is time on duty.
(6) An interim period available for less than 4 hours rest at a des-
ignated terminal is time on duty.
(7) An interim period available for at least 4 hours rest at a place
with suitable facilities for food and lodging is not time on duty when
190
24705(a) of this title and section 4(g) of the Act, including changes
in the system or transportation that Amtrak makes using the route and
service criteria.
(4) ‘‘commuter authority’’ means a State, local, or regional entity es-
tablished to provide, or make a contract providing for, commuter rail
passenger transportation.
(5) ‘‘commuter rail passenger transportation’’ means short-haul rail
passenger transportation in metropolitan and suburban areas usually
having reduced fare, multiple-ride, and commuter tickets and morning
and evening peak period operations.
(6) ‘‘intercity rail passenger transportation’’ means rail passenger
transportation, except commuter rail passenger transportation.
(7) ‘‘Northeast Corridor’’ means Connecticut, Delaware, the District
of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Penn-
sylvania, and Rhode Island.
(8) ‘‘rail carrier’’ means a person providing rail transportation for
compensation.
(9) ‘‘rate’’ means a rate, fare, or charge for rail transportation.
(10) ‘‘regional transportation authority’’ means an entity established
to provide passenger transportation in a region.
(11) ‘‘route and service criteria’’ means the criteria and procedures
for making route and service decisions established under section
404(c)(1)–(3)(A) of the Rail Passenger Service Act.
§ 24103. Enforcement
(a) GENERAL.—(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this sub-
section, only the Attorney General may bring a civil action for equitable re-
lief in a district court of the United States when Amtrak or a rail carrier—
(A) engages in or adheres to an action, practice, or policy inconsist-
ent with this part;
(B) obstructs or interferes with an activity authorized under
this part;
(C) refuses, fails, or neglects to discharge its duties and respon-
sibilities under this part; or
(D) threatens—
(i) to engage in or adhere to an action, practice, or policy
inconsistent with this part;
(ii) to obstruct or interfere with an activity authorized by
this part; or
(iii) to refuse, fail, or neglect to discharge its duties and
responsibilities under this part.
243
manufacture for sale, sell, offer for sale, introduce or deliver for introduc-
tion in interstate commerce, or import into the United States, any motor
vehicle or motor vehicle equipment manufactured on or after the date an
applicable motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under this chapter takes
effect unless the vehicle or equipment complies with the standard and is cov-
ered by a certification issued under section 30115 of this title.
(b) NONAPPLICATION.—This section does not apply to—
(1) the sale, offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduc-
tion in interstate commerce of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equip-
ment after the first purchase of the vehicle or equipment in good faith
other than for resale;
(2) a person—
(A) establishing that the person had no reason to know, despite
exercising reasonable care, that a motor vehicle or motor vehicle
equipment does not comply with applicable motor vehicle safety
standards prescribed under this chapter; or
(B) holding, without knowing about the noncompliance and be-
fore the vehicle or equipment is first purchased in good faith other
than for resale, a certificate issued by a manufacturer or importer
stating the vehicle or equipment complies with applicable stand-
ards prescribed under this chapter;
(3) a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment intended only for ex-
port, labeled for export on the vehicle or equipment and on the outside
of any container of the vehicle or equipment, and exported;
(4) a motor vehicle the Secretary of Transportation decides under
section 30141 of this title is capable of complying with applicable
standards prescribed under this chapter;
(5) a motor vehicle imported for personal use by an individual who
receives an exemption under section 30142 of this title;
(6) a motor vehicle under section 30143 of this title imported by an
individual employed outside the United States;
(7) a motor vehicle under section 30144 of this title imported on a
temporary basis;
(8) a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment under section
30145 of this title requiring further manufacturing; or
(9) a motor vehicle that is at least 25 years old.
§ 30113. General exemptions
(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, ‘‘low-emission motor vehicle’’ means a
motor vehicle meeting the standards for new motor vehicles applicable to the
vehicle under section 202 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7521) when the
249
§ 30118. Notification of defects and noncompliance
(a) NOTIFICATION
BY SECRETARY.—The Secretary of Transportation
shall notify the manufacturer of a motor vehicle or replacement equipment
immediately after making an initial decision (through testing, inspection, in-
vestigation, or research carried out under this chapter, examining commu-
nications under section 30166(f) of this title, or otherwise) that the vehicle
or equipment contains a defect related to motor vehicle safety or does not
comply with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under
this chapter. The notification shall include the information on which the de-
cision is based. The Secretary shall publish a notice of each decision under
this subsection in the Federal Register. Subject to section 30167(a) of this
title, the notification and information are available to any interested person.
(b) DEFECT
AND NONCOMPLIANCE PROCEEDINGS
AND ORDERS.—(1)
The Secretary may make a final decision that a motor vehicle or replace-
ment equipment contains a defect related to motor vehicle safety or does
not comply with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard prescribed
under this chapter only after giving the manufacturer an opportunity to
present information, views, and arguments showing that there is no defect
or noncompliance or that the defect does not affect motor vehicle safety.
Any interested person also shall be given an opportunity to present informa-
tion, views, and arguments.
(2) If the Secretary decides under paragraph (1) of this subsection that
the vehicle or equipment contains the defect or does not comply, the Sec-
retary shall order the manufacturer to—
(A) give notification under section 30119 of this title to the owners,
purchasers, and dealers of the vehicle or equipment of the defect or
noncompliance; and
(B) remedy the defect or noncompliance under section 30120 of this
title.
(c) NOTIFICATION BY MANUFACTURER.—A manufacturer of a motor ve-
hicle or replacement equipment shall notify the Secretary by certified mail,
and the owners, purchasers, and dealers of the vehicle or equipment as pro-
vided in section 30119(d) of this section, if the manufacturer—
(1) learns the vehicle or equipment contains a defect and decides in
good faith that the defect is related to motor vehicle safety; or
(2) decides in good faith that the vehicle or equipment does not com-
ply with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under
this chapter.
(d) EXEMPTIONS.—On application of a manufacturer, the Secretary shall
exempt the manufacturer from this section if the Secretary decides a defect
or noncompliance is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. The Secretary
250
may take action under this subsection only after notice in the Federal Reg-
ister and an opportunity for any interested person to present information,
views, and arguments.
(e) HEARINGS ABOUT MEETING NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—On the
motion of the Secretary or on petition of any interested person, the Sec-
retary may conduct a hearing to decide whether the manufacturer has rea-
sonably met the notification requirements under this section. Any interested
person may make written and oral presentations of information, views, and
arguments on whether the manufacturer has reasonably met the notification
requirements. If the Secretary decides that the manufacturer has not rea-
sonably met the notification requirements, the Secretary shall order the
manufacturer to take specified action to meet those requirements and may
take any other action authorized under this chapter.
§ 30119. Notification procedures
(a) CONTENTS OF NOTIFICATION.—Notification by a manufacturer re-
quired under section 30118 of this title of a defect or noncompliance shall
contain—
(1) a clear description of the defect or noncompliance;
(2) an evaluation of the risk to motor vehicle safety reasonably relat-
ed to the defect or noncompliance;
(3) the measures to be taken to obtain a remedy of the defect or
noncompliance;
(4) a statement that the manufacturer giving notice will remedy the
defect or noncompliance without charge under section 30120 of this
title;
(5) the earliest date on which the defect or noncompliance will be
remedied without charge, and for tires, the period during which the de-
fect or noncompliance will be remedied without charge under section
30120 of this title;
(6) the procedure the recipient of a notice is to follow to inform the
Secretary of Transportation when a manufacturer, distributor, or deal-
er does not remedy the defect or noncompliance without charge under
section 30120 of this title; and
(7) other information the Secretary prescribes by regulation.
(b) EARLIEST REMEDY DATE.—The date specified by a manufacturer in
a notification under subsection (a)(5) of this section or section 30121(c)(2)
of this title is the earliest date that parts and facilities reasonably can be
expected to be available to remedy the defect or noncompliance. The Sec-
retary may disapprove the date.
(c) TIME FOR NOTIFICATION.—Notification required under section 30118
of this title shall be given within a reasonable time—