State Safety Oversight

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary

A. Purpose of Regulatory Action

B. Statutory Authority

C. Summary of Major Provisions

D. Benefits and Costs (Table)

II. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Response to Comments

A. Section 674.5—Policy

B. Section 674.7—Definitions

C. Section 674.11—State Safety Oversight Program

D. Section 674.17—Use of Federal Financial Assistance

E. Section 674.19—Certification of a State Safety Oversight Program

F. Section 674.21—Withholding of Federal Financial Assistance for Noncompliance

G. Section 674.23—Confidentiality of Information

H. Section 674.25—Role of the State Safety Oversight Agency

I. Section 674.27—State Safety Oversight Program Standards

J. Section 674.29—Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans: General Requirements

K. Section 674.31—Triennial Audits: General Requirements

L. Section 674.33—Safety Event Notifications

M. Section 674.35—Investigations

N. Section 674.37—Corrective Action Plans

O. Section 674.39—State Safety Oversight Agency Annual Reporting to FTA

P. Section 674.41—Conflicts of Interest

Q. Regulatory Burden

R. Other Safety Topics

III. Section-by-Section Analysis

IV. Regulatory Analyses and Notices

I. Executive Summary

A. Purpose of Regulatory Action

This final rule updates the existing regulations for state safety oversight of rail fixed guideway public transportation systems. In the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) (Pub. L. 112-141, July 6, 2012), Congress directed FTA to establish a comprehensive public transportation safety program, one element of which is the State Safety Oversight (SSO) Program. (See 49 U.S.C. 5329). Section 30012 of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), enacted as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117-58, November 15, 2021), amended 49 U.S.C. 5329 and established new requirements for FTA's Public Transportation Safety Program. Consequently, FTA is revising 49 CFR part 674 to address requirements related to the BIL, remove requirements related to the initial establishment of this part, and clarify requirements of the existing part.

B. Statutory Authority

Section 5329 of title 49, United States Code, includes several provisions that require FTA to establish a comprehensive public transportation safety program, the elements of which include a National Public Transportation Safety Plan; a training and certification program for Federal, state, and local transportation agency employees with safety responsibilities; Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans; and a strengthened State Safety Oversight Program.

C. Summary of Major Provisions

This final rule makes the following changes to strengthen the existing SSO program:

• Updates terminology to reflect current use across programs.
• Clarifies existing requirements consistent with FTA expectations.
• Removes language relating to the period of transition from49 CFR part 659, FTA's previous SSO regulation, to 49 CFR part 674, the current SSO regulation.
• Addresses BIL requirements.

D. Benefits and Costs

The final rule requires additional oversight of safety-related activities of rail transit agencies (RTAs) by state safety oversight agencies (SSOAs). The rule also has additional costs for SSOAs and RTAs to comply with the requirements.

Table 1 summarizes the economic effects of the rule over the first ten years of the rule (2025 to 2034) in 2022 dollars. The benefits of the increased oversight are unknown and unquantified. On an annualized basis, the rule will have costs of $11.0 million at a 7 percent discount rate (discounted to 2024), $10.9 million at 3 percent, and $10.9 million at 2 percent.