§1131. Definitions — Inbound Citations
6 U.S.C. § 1131
Cited by 65 provisions in release 119-102.
Citations to 6 U.S.C. § 1131 as a whole
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(4) Grants to protect critical infrastructure, including port security grants authorized under section 70107 of title 46 and the grants authorized under title1 XIV and XV of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 [6 U.S.C. 1131 et seq., 1151 et seq.] and the amendments made by such titles.
Citations to §1131(3)
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(h) Before distribution of funds to recipients of grants, the Secretary shall issue guidelines to ensure that, to the extent that recipients of grants under this section use contractors or subcontractors, such recipients shall use small, minority, women-owned, or disadvantaged business concerns as contractors or subcontractors to the extent practicable.
Citations to §1131(4)
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(A) security training and associated backfill, including training under section 1137 of this title and training developed by institutions of higher education and by nonprofit employee labor organizations, for public transportation employees, including frontline employees;
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(E) inclusive, as appropriate, of frontline employees and managers; and
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(a) Not later than 90 days after August 3, 2007, the Secretary shall develop and issue detailed interim final regulations, and not later than 1 year after August 3, 2007, the Secretary shall develop and issue detailed final regulations, for a public transportation security training program to prepare public transportation employees, including frontline employees, for potential security threats and conditions.
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Not later than 1 year after August 3, 2007, the Secretary shall complete a name-based security background check against the consolidated terrorist watchlist and an immigration status check for all public transportation frontline employees, similar to the threat assessment screening program required for facility employees and longshoremen by the Commandant of the Coast Guard under Coast Guard Notice USCG–2006–24189 (71 Fed. Reg. 25066 (April 8, 2006)).
Citations to §1131(5)
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(A) a public transportation agency (as such term is defined in section 1131(5) of this title);
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(2) more than 6,000 public transportation agencies operate in the United States;
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(B) consult with all relevant stakeholders, including public transportation agencies, nonprofit labor organizations representing public transportation employees, emergency responders, public safety officials, and other relevant parties.
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(2) Not later than 60 days after receiving the submission under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall review and augment the security assessments received, and conduct additional security assessments as necessary to ensure that at a minimum, all high risk public transportation agencies, as determined by the Secretary, will have a completed security assessment.
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(A) The Secretary shall require public transportation agencies determined by the Secretary to be at high risk for terrorism to develop a comprehensive security plan. The Secretary shall provide technical assistance and guidance to public transportation agencies in preparing and implementing security plans under this section.
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(B) Provided that no public transportation agency that has not been designated high risk shall be required to develop a security plan, the Secretary may also establish a security program for public transportation agencies not designated high risk by the Secretary, to assist those public transportation agencies which request assistance, including—(i) guidance to assist such agencies in conducting security assessments and preparing and implementing security plans; and(ii) a process for the Secretary to review and approve such assessments and plans, as appropriate.
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(A) a prioritized list of all items included in the public transportation agency’s security assessment that have not yet been addressed;
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(B) a detailed list of any additional capital and operational improvements identified by the Department or the public transportation agency and a certification of the public transportation agency’s technical capacity for operating and maintaining any security equipment that may be identified in such list;
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(C) specific procedures to be implemented or used by the public transportation agency in response to a terrorist attack, including evacuation and passenger communication plans and appropriate evacuation and communication measures for the elderly and individuals with disabilities;
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(B) require the public transportation agency to make any amendments needed to ensure that the plan meets the requirements of this section; and
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(4) The Secretary shall not require a public transportation agency to develop a security plan under paragraph (1) if the agency does not receive a grant under section 1135 of this title.
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(5) The Secretary may waive the exemption provided in paragraph (4) to require a public transportation agency to develop a security plan under paragraph (1) in the absence of grant funds under section 1135 of this title if not less than 3 days after making the determination the Secretary provides the appropriate congressional committees and the public transportation agency written notification detailing the need for the security plan, the reasons grant funding has not been made available, and the reason the agency has been designated high risk.
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(d) The Secretary shall ensure that the security plans developed by public transportation agencies under this section are consistent with the security assessments developed by the Department and the National Strategy for Public Transportation Security developed under section 1133 of this title.
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(3) require public transportation agencies to update the security plans required under subsection (c) as appropriate.
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(1) Beginning in fiscal year 2008 and each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary, after consultation with management and nonprofit employee labor organizations representing public transportation employees as appropriate, and with appropriate State and local officials, shall utilize the information developed or received in this section to establish security improvement priorities unique to each individual public transportation agency that has been assessed.
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(g) The Secretary shall encourage the development and implementation of coordinated assessments and security plans to the extent a public transportation agency shares facilities (such as tunnels, bridges, stations, or platforms) with another public transportation agency, a freight or passenger railroad carrier, or over-the-road bus operator that are geographically close or otherwise co-located.
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(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting any authority or obligation of a Federal agency to disclose any record or information that the Federal agency obtains from a public transportation agency under any other Federal law.
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(i) In response to a petition by a public transportation agency or at the discretion of the Secretary, the Secretary may recognize existing procedures, protocols, and standards of a public transportation agency that the Secretary determines meet all or part of the requirements of this section regarding security assessments or security plans.
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(1) The Secretary shall establish a program for making grants to eligible public transportation agencies for security improvements described in subsection (b).
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(2) A public transportation agency is eligible for a grant under this section if the Secretary has performed a security assessment or the agency has developed a security plan under section 1134 of this title. Grant funds shall only be awarded for permissible uses under subsection (b) to—(A) address items included in a security assessment; or(B) further a security plan.
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(G) operational costs, including reimbursement of State, local, and tribal governments for costs for personnel assigned to full-time or part-time security or counterterrorism duties related to public transportation, provided that this expense totals no more than 10 percent of the total grant funds received by a public transportation agency in any 1 year; and
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(a) The Secretary shall establish a program for conducting security exercises for public transportation agencies for the purpose of assessing and improving the capabilities of entities described in subsection (b) to prevent, prepare for, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism.
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(1) requires, for public transportation agencies which the Secretary deems appropriate, exercises to be conducted that are—(A) scaled and tailored to the needs of specific public transportation systems, and include taking into account the needs of the elderly and individuals with disabilities;(B) live;(C) coordinated with appropriate officials;(D) as realistic as practicable and based on current risk assessments, including credible threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences;(E) inclusive, as appropriate, of frontline employees and managers; and(F) consistent with the National Incident Management System, the National Response Plan, the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, the National Preparedness Guidance, the National Preparedness Goal, and other such national initiatives;
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(4) assists State, local, and tribal governments and public transportation agencies in designing, implementing, and evaluating exercises that conform to the requirements of paragraph (2).
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(2) representatives of public transportation agencies; and
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(1) Not later than 90 days after a public transportation agency meets the requirements under subsection (e), each such public transportation agency shall develop a security training program in accordance with the regulations developed under subsection (a) and submit the program to the Secretary for approval.
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(2) Not later than 60 days after receiving a security training program proposal under this subsection, the Secretary shall approve the program or require the public transportation agency that developed the program to make any revisions to the program that the Secretary determines necessary for the program to meet the requirements of the regulations. A public transportation agency shall respond to the Secretary’s comments within 30 days after receiving them.
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(3) Not later than 1 year after the Secretary approves a security training program proposal in accordance with this subsection, the public transportation agency that developed the program shall complete the training of all employees covered under the program.
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(4) The Secretary shall periodically review and update, as appropriate, the training regulations issued under subsection (a) to reflect new or changing security threats. Each public transportation agency shall revise its training program accordingly and provide additional training as necessary to its workers within a reasonable time after the regulations are updated.
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(e) A public transportation agency that receives a grant award under this subchapter shall be required to develop and implement a security training program pursuant to this section.
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(f) Any public transportation agency required to develop a security training program pursuant to this section shall provide routine and ongoing training for employees covered under the program, regardless of whether the public transportation agency receives subsequent grant awards.
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(i) Not later than 2 years after the date of issuance of the final regulation, the Comptroller General shall review implementation of the training program, including interviewing a representative sample of public transportation agencies and employees, and report to the appropriate congressional committees, on the number of reviews conducted and the results. The Comptroller General may submit the report in both classified and redacted formats as necessary.
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(A) a public transportation agency (as such term is defined in section 1131(5) of this title);
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(A) shall require public transportation agencies that the Secretary determines to be at high risk of terrorist attack to participate in the ISAC;
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(B) shall encourage all other public transportation agencies to participate in the ISAC;
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(c) The Comptroller General shall report, not less than 3 years after August 3, 2007, to the appropriate congressional committees, as to the value and efficacy of the ISAC along with any other public transportation information-sharing programs ongoing at the Department. The report shall include an analysis of the user satisfaction of public transportation agencies on the state of information-sharing and the value that each system provides the user, the costs and benefits of all centers and programs, the coordination among centers and programs, how each center or program contributes to implementing the information sharing plan under section 1203,1 and analysis of the extent to which the ISAC is duplicative with the Department’s information-sharing program.
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(1) Not later than March 31 of each year, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Governor of each State with a public transportation agency that has received a grant under this Act.
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(A) the amount of grant funds distributed to each such public transportation agency; and
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(a) A public transportation agency, a contractor or a subcontractor of such agency, or an officer or employee of such agency, shall not discharge, demote, suspend, reprimand, or in any other way discriminate against an employee if such discrimination is due, in whole or in part, to the employee’s lawful, good faith act done, or perceived by the employer to have been done or about to be done—(1) to provide information, directly cause information to be provided, or otherwise directly assist in any investigation regarding any conduct which the employee reasonably believes constitutes a violation of any Federal law, rule, or regulation relating to public transportation safety or security, or fraud, waste, or abuse of Federal grants or other public funds intended to be used for public transportation safety or security, if the information or assistance is provided to or an investigation stemming from the provided information is conducted by—(A) a Federal, State, or local regulatory or law enforcement agency (including an office of the Inspector General under chapter 4 of title 5;1(B) any Member of Congress, any Committee of Congress, or the Government Accountability Office; or(C) a person with supervisory authority over the employee or such other person who has the authority to investigate, discover, or terminate the misconduct;(2) to refuse to violate or assist in the violation of any Federal law, rule, or regulation relating to public transportation safety or security;(3) to file a complaint or directly cause to be brought a proceeding related to the enforcement of this section or to testify in that proceeding;(4) to cooperate with a safety or security investigation by the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the National Transportation Safety Board; or(5) to furnish information to the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the National Transportation Safety Board, or any Federal, State, or local regulatory or law enforcement agency as to the facts relating to any accident or incident resulting in injury or death to an individual or damage to property occurring in connection with public transportation.
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(1) A public transportation agency, or a contractor or a subcontractor of such agency, or an officer or employee of such agency, shall not discharge, demote, suspend, reprimand, or in any other way discriminate against an employee for—(A) reporting a hazardous safety or security condition;(B) refusing to work when confronted by a hazardous safety or security condition related to the performance of the employee’s duties, if the conditions described in paragraph (2) exist; or(C) refusing to authorize the use of any safety- or security-related equipment, track, or structures, if the employee is responsible for the inspection or repair of the equipment, track, or structures, when the employee believes that the equipment, track, or structures are in a hazardous safety or security condition, if the conditions described in paragraph (2) of this subsection exist.
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(C) the employee, where possible, has notified the public transportation agency of the existence of the hazardous condition and the intention not to perform further work, or not to authorize the use of the hazardous equipment, track, or structures, unless the condition is corrected immediately or the equipment, track, or structures are repaired properly or replaced.
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(3) In this subsection, only subsection (b)(1)(A) shall apply to security personnel, including transit police, employed or utilized by a public transportation agency to protect riders, equipment, assets, or facilities.
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(e) An employee may not seek protection under both this section and another provision of law for the same allegedly unlawful act of the public transportation agency.
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(2) The term “covered individual” means an employee of a public transportation agency or a contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency.
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(1) Any guidance, recommendations, suggested action items, or any other widely disseminated voluntary action item issued by the Secretary to a public transportation agency or a contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency relating to performing a security background check of a covered individual shall contain recommendations on the appropriate scope and application of such a security background check, including the time period covered, the types of disqualifying offenses, and a redress process for adversely impacted covered individuals consistent with subsections (c) and (d) of this section.
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(2) Not later than 60 days after August 3, 2007, any guidance, recommendations, suggested action items, or any other widely disseminated voluntary action item issued by the Secretary prior to August 3, 2007, to a public transportation agency or a contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency relating to performing a security background check of a covered individual shall be updated in compliance with paragraph (b)(1).
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(3) If a public transportation agency or a contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency performs a security background check on a covered individual to fulfill guidance issued by the Secretary under paragraph (1) or (2), the Secretary shall not consider such guidance fulfilled unless an adequate redress process as described in subsection (d) is provided to covered individuals.
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(c) If the Secretary issues a rule, regulation or directive requiring a public transportation agency or contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency to perform a security background check of a covered individual, then the Secretary shall prohibit a public transportation agency or contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency from making an adverse employment decision, including removal or suspension of the employee, due to such rule, regulation, or directive with respect to a covered individual unless the public transportation agency or contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency determines that the covered individual—(1) has been convicted of, has been found not guilty of by reason of insanity, or is under want, warrant, or indictment for a permanent disqualifying criminal offense listed in part 1572 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations;(2) was convicted of or found not guilty by reason of insanity of an interim disqualifying criminal offense listed in part 1572 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, within 7 years of the date that the public transportation agency or contractor or subcontractor of the public transportation agency performs the security background check; or(3) was incarcerated for an interim disqualifying criminal offense listed in part 1572 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, and released from incarceration within 5 years of the date that the public transportation agency or contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency performs the security background check.
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(2) was convicted of or found not guilty by reason of insanity of an interim disqualifying criminal offense listed in part 1572 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, within 7 years of the date that the public transportation agency or contractor or subcontractor of the public transportation agency performs the security background check; or
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(3) was incarcerated for an interim disqualifying criminal offense listed in part 1572 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, and released from incarceration within 5 years of the date that the public transportation agency or contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency performs the security background check.
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(d) If the Secretary issues a rule, regulation, or directive requiring a public transportation agency or contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency to perform a security background check of a covered individual, the Secretary shall—(1) provide an adequate redress process for a covered individual subjected to an adverse employment decision, including removal or suspension of the employee, due to such rule, regulation, or directive that is consistent with the appeals and waiver process established for applicants for commercial motor vehicle hazardous materials endorsements and transportation workers at ports, as required by section 70105(c) of title 49);1 and(2) have the authority to order an appropriate remedy, including reinstatement of the covered individual, should the Secretary determine that a public transportation agency or contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency wrongfully made an adverse employment decision regarding a covered individual pursuant to such rule, regulation, or directive.
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(2) have the authority to order an appropriate remedy, including reinstatement of the covered individual, should the Secretary determine that a public transportation agency or contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency wrongfully made an adverse employment decision regarding a covered individual pursuant to such rule, regulation, or directive.
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(e) A public transportation agency or a contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency may not knowingly misrepresent to an employee or other relevant person, including an arbiter involved in a labor arbitration, the scope, application, or meaning of any rules, regulations, directives, or guidance issued by the Secretary related to security background check requirements for covered individuals when conducting a security background check. Not later than 1 year after August 3, 2007, the Secretary shall issue a regulation that prohibits a public transportation agency or a contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency from knowingly misrepresenting to an employee or other relevant person, including an arbiter involved in a labor arbitration, the scope, application, or meaning of any rules, regulations, directives, or guidance issued by the Secretary related to security background check requirements for covered individuals when conducting a security background check.
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(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to abridge a public transportation agency’s or a contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency’s rights or responsibilities to make adverse employment decisions permitted by other Federal, State, or local laws. Nothing in the2 section shall be construed to abridge rights and responsibilities of covered individuals, a public transportation agency, or a contractor or subcontractor of a public transportation agency under any other Federal, State, or local laws or collective bargaining agreement.
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(a) Surface transportation inspectors shall be prohibited from issuing fines to public transportation agencies for violations of the Department’s regulations or orders except through the process described in subsection (b).
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(b) The Secretary shall be prohibited from assessing civil penalties against public transportation agencies for violations of the Department’s regulations or orders, except in accordance with the following:(1) In the case of a public transportation agency that is found to be in violation of a regulation or order issued by the Secretary, the Secretary shall seek correction of the violation through a written notice to the public transportation agency and shall give the public transportation agency reasonable opportunity to correct the violation or propose an alternative means of compliance acceptable to the Secretary.(2) If the public transportation agency does not correct the violation or propose an alternative means of compliance acceptable to the Secretary within a reasonable time period that is specified in the written notice, the Secretary may take any action authorized in section 114 of title 49.
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(1) In the case of a public transportation agency that is found to be in violation of a regulation or order issued by the Secretary, the Secretary shall seek correction of the violation through a written notice to the public transportation agency and shall give the public transportation agency reasonable opportunity to correct the violation or propose an alternative means of compliance acceptable to the Secretary.
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(2) If the public transportation agency does not correct the violation or propose an alternative means of compliance acceptable to the Secretary within a reasonable time period that is specified in the written notice, the Secretary may take any action authorized in section 114 of title 49.