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Title II — Hazardous materials emergency response and preparedness

S. 3903 · 119th Congress · Feb 24, 2026 · Lineage

II Hazardous materials emergency response and preparedness

Sec. 201 Hazardous materials registration fees

Section 5108(g) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1), by striking “(1) The Secretary” and inserting the following:

“(1) In general—The Secretary”

(2)
by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

“(2)

“(A) In addition to a fee established under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish and impose by regulation and collect an annual fee.

“(B) Subject to subparagraph (C), the fee established under subparagraph (A) shall be—

“(i) not less than $250 but not more than $500 from each person that—

“(I) is required to file a registration statement under this section; and

“(II) is identified as a small business (within the meaning of part 121 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)); and

“(ii) not less than $500 but not more than $5,000 from each person that—

“(I) is required to file a registration statement under this section; and

“(II) is not identified as a small business (within the meaning of part 121 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)).

“(C) The Secretary shall adjust the amount being collected under this paragraph to reflect any unexpended balance in the account established under section 5116(h) of this title. However, the Secretary is not required to refund any fee collected under this paragraph.

“(D) The Secretary shall transfer to the Secretary of the Treasury amounts the Secretary of Transportation collects under this paragraph for deposit in the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Fund established under section 5116(h) of this title.”

Sec. 202 Virtual training options

Section 5115(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “and” after the semicolon at the end; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:

“(D) recommendations for the development of courses described in subparagraph (B) that have been adapted for virtual learning and any courses for which the Secretary has recommended adaptation to provide virtual options, subject to the condition that the Secretary ensures that the virtual options recommended will provide an equivalent level of training as in-person courses; and”

Sec. 203 Hazardous materials transportation emergency response and preparedness grants

(a)
In general— Section 5116 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
by striking the section designation and heading and inserting the following:

“5116. Hazardous materials transportation emergency response and preparedness”

(2)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in paragraph (1)—
(i)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon;
(ii)
in subparagraph (C)—
(I)
by striking “public sector employees” and inserting “emergency response personnel”; and
(II)
by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(iii)
by adding at the end the following:

“(D) until September 31, 2031, to purchase personal protective equipment, as determined by the Secretary, needed to respond to a hazardous materials emergency response incident, consistent with paragraph (7) and subject to the condition that not more than 50 percent of the funds made available under this subsection may be used for that purpose;

“(E) to conduct and organize simulated and field exercises relating to hazardous materials transportation incidents; and

“(F) to develop a hazardous materials transportation emergency response preparedness gap analysis in accordance with paragraph (9).”

(B)
in paragraph (5)(A)—
(i)
in clause (i), by striking “public sector employees being trained” and inserting “emergency response personnel being trained virtually or in person”;
(ii)
in clause (ii), by striking “employees” and inserting “personnel”;
(iii)
in clause (iii)—
(I)
by striking “employees” and inserting “personnel”; and
(II)
by striking “; and” and inserting a semicolon; and
(iv)
by adding at the end the following:

“(v) the costs of personnel needed to replace any personnel being trained; and

“(vi) lost wages for any volunteer being trained, up to a reasonable amount determined by the Secretary;”

(C)
in paragraph (6)—
(i)
by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:

“(A) whether grant funds will be used to support the ability of the United States Government to respond to hazardous materials incidents near infrastructure commonly used to transport hazardous materials;”

(ii)
in subparagraph (B), by striking “amounts” and inserting “number of shipments”;
(D)
by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as paragraphs (6) and (8), respectively;
(E)
by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:

“(5)

“(A) Subject to subparagraph (C), any State receiving a grant under this subsection shall, not later than 180 days after receiving the grant funds, make available to eligible local entities—

“(i) not less than 70 percent of the grant funds; or

“(ii) eligible services or activities described in paragraph (1) having a value of not less than 70 percent of the amount of the grant.

“(B) A State shall certify to the Secretary that the State has made the distribution to eligible local entities required under paragraph (1) by providing such information as the Secretary shall require.

“(C)

“(i) The Governor of a State may request in writing that the Secretary extend the period under subparagraph (A) for an additional period of time.

“(ii) The Secretary may approve a request under clause (i) if the Secretary determines that the delay in providing grant funding to eligible local entities pursuant to the extension is necessary to promote effective investments to prepare for or respond to hazardous materials transportation incidents.

“(D) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to Tribes, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, or the Virgin Islands.

“(E) An eligible local entity may petition the Secretary to request that grant funds be provided by the Secretary directly to the eligible local entity if a State fails to apply for a grant under this subsection.

“(F) In making grant funds available to eligible local entities under subparagraph (A), States shall consider whether the eligible local entity has a high proportion of volunteer emergency responders.

“(G) For purposes of this paragraph, the term eligible local entity means any of the following:

“(i) A political subdivision of a State.

“(ii) A public emergency response organization.”

(F)
by inserting after paragraph (6) (as so redesignated) the following:

“(7) A recipient of funds provided under this subsection may use the funds to purchase personal protective equipment only if the recipient agrees to properly maintain and store that personal protective equipment.”

(G)
by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so redesignated) the following:

“(9)

“(A) Each hazardous materials transportation emergency response preparedness gap analysis developed pursuant to paragraph (1)(F) shall include—

“(i) an identification of gaps and limitations of the hazard response program of the applicable jurisdiction, including—

“(I) knowledge and personal protective equipment gaps; and

“(II) gaps in training, including Incident Command Management training and ASTM Standard E3241 training; and

“(ii) a strategic plan to address the gaps and limitations identified under clause (i).

“(B) In developing a hazardous materials transportation emergency response preparedness gap analysis pursuant to paragraph (1)(F), the entity preparing the analysis shall—

“(i) coordinate with Regional Response Teams (as described in section 300.115 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation));

“(ii) include States, Tribes, hazardous materials emergency response programs, local governments, and emergency response personnel (including fire service organizations) in that development, as appropriate; and

“(iii) provide an opportunity for States, Tribes, hazardous materials emergency response programs, local governments, and emergency response personnel (including fire service organizations) to review and comment on the analysis before the analysis is published.”

(3)
in subsection (d)—
(A)
in the second sentence, by striking “Amounts” and inserting the following:

“(2) Certain amounts—Amounts”

(B)
in the first sentence, by striking “A grant under this section is for 80 percent of the cost the State or Indian tribe incurs” and inserting the following:

“(1) In general—A grant under this section is for 90 percent of the costs incurred by a State, or 100 percent of the costs incurred by a Tribe,”

(C)
by adding at the end the following:

“(3) In-kind contributions—For purposes of this subsection, the contributions of a State or Tribe toward the costs of an activity funded by a grant under this section may be in the form of in-kind contributions.”

(4)
by amending subsection (h) to read as follows:

“(h) Annual registration fee account and its uses

“(1) In general—The Secretary of the Treasury shall establish an account in the Treasury (to be known as the “Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Fund”) into which the Secretary of the Treasury shall deposit amounts the Secretary of Transportation transfers to the Secretary of the Treasury under section 5108(g)(2)(D).

“(2) Uses—Without further appropriation, amounts in the account are available—

“(A) to make grants under this section and section 5107(e);

“(B) to monitor and provide technical assistance under subsection (e);

“(C) to publish and distribute an emergency response guide; and

“(D) to pay administrative costs of carrying out this section and sections 5107(e) and 5108(g)(2), except that not more than 4 percent of the amounts made available from the account in a fiscal year may be used to pay those costs.

“(3) Set aside

“(A) In general—The amounts collected under section 5123 shall be—

“(i) set aside for the purpose of carrying out subsection (k); and

“(ii) available, without further appropriation, for that purpose.

“(B) Application—The set-aside described in subparagraph (A)—

“(i) shall apply until the earliest date on which the total amount set aside and available for expenditure under that subparagraph equals or exceeds $50,000,000; and

“(ii) after that date, shall apply to each subsequent period—

“(I) beginning on a date on which the total amount set aside and available for expenditure under that subparagraph is less than $20,000,000; and

“(II) ending on the earliest subsequent date on which the total amount set aside and available for expenditure under that subparagraph equals or exceeds $50,000,000.”

(5)
by striking subsection (k) and inserting the following:

“(k) Reports—The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and make available to the public an annual report that—

“(1) includes information on the allocation and uses of the grants made available under—

“(A) this section; and

“(B) subsections (e) and (i) of section 5107;

“(2) identifies the ultimate recipients of those grants;

“(3) identifies the amount of funding available for each grant;

“(4) describes any unobligated balances, total annual drawdown by each grantee, and recovered balances;

“(5) includes the amount of funding rescinded, by grant recipient, for each grant; and

“(6) includes—

“(A) a detailed accounting and description of each grant expenditure by each grant recipient, including the amount of, and purpose for, each expenditure;

“(B) the number of persons trained under the grant program, by training level;

“(C) a description of any personal protective equipment purchased using grant funds;

“(D) an evaluation of the efficacy of each grant program; and

“(E) any recommendations the Secretary may have for improving such grant programs.”

(6)
by striking “tribes” each place it appears and inserting “Tribes”.
(b)
Assistance for local emergency response training— Section 5116(j)(1)(A) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “liquids” and inserting “materials”.
(c)
Authorization of appropriations— Section 5128(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “Hazardous Materials Preparedness Fund” and inserting “Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Fund”;
(2)
in paragraph (3), by striking “section 5116(h)(3); and” and inserting “section 5116(h)(2)(C);”; and
(3)
by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:

“(4) $4,000,000 to carry out section 5116(i); and

“(5) $1,000,000 to carry out section 5116(j).”

(d)
Clerical amendment— The analysis for chapter 51 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 5116 and inserting the following:
(e)
Conforming amendments—
(1)
Section 5102 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the following:

“(6) Indian tribe, Indian Tribe, and Tribe have the meaning given the term Indian Tribe in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).”

(2)
Section 5116(j)(3)(B) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(A)
in clause (iii), by striking “subsection (h)(3)” and inserting “subsection (h)(2)(C)”; and
(B)
in clause (iv), by striking “subsection (h)(4)” and inserting “subsection (h)(2)(D)”.
(3)
Section 5123 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (g) and inserting the following:

“(g) Transfer of amounts collected—Amounts collected under this section shall be transferred to the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Fund established under section 5116(h).”

Sec. 204 Emergency response assistance

Section 5116 of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsection (k), as amended in section 203, as subsection (l);
(2)
by inserting after subsection (j) the following:

“(k) Emergency response assistance

“(1) Definitions—In this subsection:

“(A) Eligible entity—The term eligible entity means a—

“(i) State, territory, or Tribe;

“(ii) political subdivision of a State or territory; or

“(iii) public emergency response organizations.

“(B) Significant hazardous materials transportation incident—The term significant hazardous materials transportation incident means an incident that—

“(i) involves hazardous materials being moved by a motor carrier or rail carrier;

“(ii) requires a response by not fewer than 1 eligible entity for which the Secretary estimates the costs to the eligible entity to be not less than $15,000; and

“(iii) results in a serious injury, fatality, or substantial property damage.

“(C) Substantial property damage—The term substantial property damage means damage to public or private property or the environment (including clean up costs) the Secretary reasonably estimates to be more than $45,000.

“(2) Establishment of program—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Railway Safety Act of 2026, the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, after providing an opportunity for notice and comment, shall establish an emergency response assistance program to provide immediate financial assistance to communities responding to a significant hazardous materials transportation incident.

“(3) Significant hazardous materials transportation incident

“(A) In general—The Secretary shall have the authority to declare a significant hazardous materials transportation incident.

“(B) Guidelines—The Secretary shall establish and publish guidelines to determine whether a significant hazardous materials transportation incident has occurred.

“(4) Release of funds

“(A) In general—The Secretary shall immediately make available from the amount set aside under subsection (h)(3) in the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness Fund established under subsection (h)(1) (referred to in this subsection as the Fund) up to $10,000,000 to quickly reimburse eligible entities that responded to a significant hazardous materials transportation incident if—

“(i) the Secretary declares the incident a significant hazardous materials transportation incident; and

“(ii) at least 14 days but not later than 21 days after the declaration of a significant hazardous materials transportation incident, the Secretary determines, in accordance with paragraph (7), that the responsible party does not have an acceptable reimbursement plan.

“(B) Additional funds—In addition to any amounts made available under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make additional funding available from the amount set aside under subsection (h)(3) in the Fund if the Secretary determines that the additional funding is necessary.

“(C) Authority—The Secretary may make funds available under this subsection if the Secretary determines the responsible party is not complying with its acceptable plan under paragraph (7).

“(5) Administration of funds—The Secretary may provide funds from the amount set aside under subsection (h)(3) in the Fund to a State in which a hazardous materials transportation incident occurred for the State to use and administer reimbursements in accordance with this subsection, including by providing funds to eligible entities.

“(6) Use of funds

“(A) In general—Funds made available under paragraph (4) or (5) may be used only—

“(i) for the cost of replacing personal protective equipment that is damaged, contaminated, or otherwise rendered unusable as a result of the response of the eligible entity to a significant hazardous materials transportation incident;

“(ii) for overtime pay of employees of eligible entities that responded to the scene of a significant hazardous materials transportation incident;

“(iii) for operational costs exceeding standard operating expenses that are directly related to the cost of responding to the significant hazardous materials transportation incident, such as the costs of running a supplementary emergency response center;

“(iv) for the cost of providing baseline health care assessments to emergency response personnel who responded to the significant hazardous materials transportation incident, but not more than $1,000 per person, which shall be adjusted annually for inflation; and

“(v) to reimburse an eligible entity for an eligible cost described in any of clauses (i) through (iv) that is incurred within 30 days of the date of a significant hazardous materials transportation incident.

“(B) Documentation of costs—Not later than 1 year after the date on which the Secretary declares a significant hazardous materials transportation incident for which an eligible entity receives assistance under this subsection, the eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary documentation for each item for which that assistance was used pursuant to the eligible uses of funds described in subparagraph (A).

“(C) Misuse of funds—If the Secretary determines that an eligible entity has used assistance received under this subsection in a manner that violates subparagraph (A) or any other provision of this subsection, the eligible entity shall reimburse the Fund (if the assistance was provided from the Fund) or the responsible party (if the assistance was provided by the responsible party), for the amount of that assistance.

“(7) Acceptable plan

“(A) In general—For purposes of paragraph (4)(A)(ii), the Secretary shall consider a reimbursement plan of a responsible party to be acceptable if the plan seeks to review and process claims made by eligible entities for the costs described in paragraph (6) not later than 90 days after the date of the significant hazardous materials transportation incident.

“(B) Advance submission; certain plans

“(i) Advance submission—A plan to provide reimbursement to eligible entities in accordance with subparagraph (A) may be submitted to the Secretary for approval in advance of any significant hazardous materials transportation incident to which the plan might apply.

“(ii) Certain plan—A hazardous materials emergency response plan approved by the Secretary in accordance with section 20155(e) shall be considered an acceptable plan for purposes of this subsection.

“(8) Reimbursement by responsible party

“(A) In general—Subject to subparagraph (F), the party responsible for a significant hazardous materials transportation incident shall be liable to the Secretary for reimbursement of all amounts disbursed from the Fund under this subsection for that significant hazardous materials transportation incident.

“(B) Requirement—Any funding recovered by the Secretary under this subsection shall be deposited back into the Fund.

“(C) Notice—After the Secretary has received the documented costs under paragraph (6)(B), the Secretary shall provide notice to the responsible party regarding the total amount owed.

“(D) Final agency action—Not later than 30 days after the Secretary makes a determination of the amount for which the responsible party is liable under subparagraph (A), the responsible party may challenge that determination as a final agency action.

“(E) Civil action

“(i) In general—The Attorney General may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States to collect unpaid amounts under this paragraph and any accrued interest on those amounts.

“(ii) Limitation on judicial review—In a civil action under clause (i), the amount for which a responsible party is liable, as determined by the Secretary, unless challenged under subparagraph (D), shall not be subject to judicial review.

“(F) Discretion—If the responsible party is a small business concern (within the meaning of part 121 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)) that is unable to fully reimburse the Secretary, the Secretary shall have discretion with respect to the amount of funds the Secretary requests from the responsible party under this paragraph.

“(9) Streamlined application process—The Secretary shall streamline the application process for the receipt of funds under this subsection, including by—

“(A) providing technical assistance to eligible entities; and

“(B) creating a template that eligible entities can use to apply for funding.

“(10) Savings provisions

“(A) Liability—Nothing in this subsection limits, or may be construed to limit, the liability of a responsible party.

“(B) Reimbursement

“(i) In general—A responsible party may, in accordance with any other applicable law—

“(I) seek to establish that another party was responsible, in whole or in part (as such other law allows), for the applicable significant hazardous materials transportation incident; and

“(II) seek reimbursement (to the extent such other law allows) from that other party.

“(ii) Effect of subsection—Nothing in this subsection limits, or may be construed to limit, the ability of a responsible party to seek reimbursement from any other party found to be responsible in any civil action arising from the applicable significant hazardous materials transportation incident.

“(iii) Effect of determination—A determination by the Secretary that a party is a responsible party for purposes of this subsection shall not be considered or otherwise have any effect with respect to the determination of liability in any civil action described in clause (ii).

“(iv) Effect of reimbursements and other activities—No activity taken under this subsection to reimburse an eligible entity, reimburse the Secretary, prepare or carry out a reimbursement plan, or otherwise comply with or make a payment under this subsection shall be considered or otherwise have any effect with respect to the determination of liability in any civil action described in clause (ii).

“(11) Comptroller General report

“(A) In general—Not later than September 30, 2027, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness this subsection.

“(B) Contents—The report submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include, at a minimum, information on—

“(i) the number of significant hazardous materials transportation incidents that received funding under this subsection;

“(ii) the amount of financial assistance the Secretary provided to eligible entities;

“(iii) the amount of financial assistance responsible parties submitted to the Secretary under paragraph (8);

“(iv) the amount of reimbursement the Secretary received from eligible entities as required under paragraph (6)(C);

“(v) whether the amounts provided by the Secretary under this subsection adequately reflect the amounts actually spent by the eligible entities;

“(vi) whether the Secretary was able to provide the financial assistance quickly enough to the eligible entities so that the assistance effectively supported the preparedness of the eligible entities to respond to potential future incidents; and

“(vii) any other factors the Comptroller General of the United States considers to be appropriate to review the effectiveness of this subsection.”

(3)
by adding at the end the following:

“(m) Definitions—In this section:

“(1) Emergency response personnel—The term emergency response personnel means—

“(A) an employee of a State, territory, Tribe, or political subdivision of a State; and

“(B) a person belonging to a public emergency response organization.

“(2) Public emergency response organization

“(A) In general—The term public emergency response organization means—

“(i) a fire department that has an all-paid force of firefighting personnel other than paid-on-call firefighters;

“(ii) a fire department that has—

“(I) paid firefighting personnel; and

“(II) volunteer firefighting personnel;

“(iii) a nonaffiliated EMS organization; and

“(iv) a fire department that has an all-volunteer force of firefighting personnel.

“(B) Associated definition—For purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii), the term nonaffiliated EMS organization means a public or private nonprofit emergency medical services organization that—

“(i) is not affiliated with a hospital; and

“(ii) does not serve a geographic area for which the Secretary or a State finds that emergency medical services are adequately provided by a fire department.”