Title: Rail Audit Transparency Act
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
Rail Audit Transparency Act
This bill requires the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to provide Congress with notice of when a comprehensive safety assessment is being conducted on an intercity or commuter rail transit agency.
Specifically, the FRA must (1) provide notice within 10 days after it initiates an assessment to specified congressional committees and each Member of Congress who represents a state in which the service that is subject of the assessment is located, and (2) report the findings of the assessment within 90 days after completion to such committees and Members.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 158 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 158

 To require the Federal Railroad Administration to provide appropriate 
congressional notice of comprehensive safety assessments conducted with 
    respect to intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2021

  Mr. Sires introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Federal Railroad Administration to provide appropriate 
congressional notice of comprehensive safety assessments conducted with 
    respect to intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Rail Audit Transparency Act''.

SEC. 2. NOTICE OF COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY ASSESSMENTS.

    (a) Initial Notice.--Not later than 10 business days after the 
Federal Railroad Administration initiates a comprehensive safety 
assessment of an entity providing regularly scheduled intercity or 
commuter rail passenger transportation, the Federal Railroad 
Administration shall notify in electronic format the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, 
and each member of Congress representing a State in which the service 
that is the subject of the assessment being conducted is located, of 
the initiation of that assessment.
    (b) Findings.--Not later than 90 days after completion of a 
comprehensive safety assessment described in subsection (a), the 
Federal Railroad Administration shall transmit in electronic format to 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate, and to each member of Congress 
representing a State in which the service that is the subject of the 
assessment being conducted is located, its findings of that assessment, 
including identified defects and any recommendations.
    (c) Definition.--For purpose of this section, the term 
``comprehensive safety assessment'' means a focused review of the 
safety-related processes and procedures, compliance with safety 
regulations and requirements, and overall safety culture of an entity 
providing regularly scheduled intercity or commuter rail passenger 
transportation.
                                 <all>