Transit Worker and Pedestrian Protection Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 436 To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the development of public transportation operations safety risk reduction programs, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 11, 2019 Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself, Mr. REED, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. MENEN- DEZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the devel- opment of public transportation operations safety risk reduction programs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Transit Worker and 4 Pedestrian Protection Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:20 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 436 IS (1) Public transportation workers are vital to 1 the safe, efficient, and affordable movement of peo- 2 ple and to the economic prosperity of the country. 3 (2) Assaults on public transportation workers 4 are a growing problem, with daily reports of bus op- 5 erators and rail transit employees being beaten, hav- 6 ing items thrown at them, being spat upon, and 7 being verbally abused. 8 (3) This is not only a tragic situation for public 9 transportation workers, but also a major safety risk 10 for passengers, other motorists, and pedestrians. 11 (4) An additional risk to safe bus operation is 12 the existence of blind spots in the view from a bus 13 operator workstation that— 14 (A) prevent a driver from fully seeing the 15 driver’s surroundings; and 16 (B) have caused serious accidents with pe- 17 destrians. 18 (5) Blind spots are avoidable, and buses can be 19 designed to provide the bus operator a clear view 20 outside the vehicle. 21 (6) Section 3022 of the FAST Act (49 U.S.C. 22 5329 note; Public Law 114–94) required the Sec- 23 retary of Transportation to issue a notice of pro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:20 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 436 IS posed rulemaking to address protection of public 1 transportation operators from the risk of assault. 2 (7) The Secretary of Transportation has failed 3 to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking as required 4 under section 3022 of the FAST Act. 5 SEC. 3. BUS OPERATIONS SAFETY RISK REDUCTION PRO- 6 GRAM. 7 Section 5329 of title 49, United States Code, is 8 amended by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(l) BUS OPERATIONS SAFETY RISK REDUCTION 10 PROGRAM.— 11 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 2 years 12 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 13 Secretary shall require each recipient that operates 14 fixed route bus service to— 15 ‘‘(A) develop a risk reduction program for 16 bus operations under paragraph (2) to improve 17 safety by reducing the number and rates of ac- 18 cidents, injuries, assaults on bus operators, and 19 fatalities; 20 ‘‘(B) submit the program required under 21 subparagraph (A), including the implementation 22 plan required under paragraph (3), to the Sec- 23 retary for review and approval; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:20 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 436 IS ‘‘(C) implement the program and plan ap- 1 proved by the Secretary. 2 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM.—A recipient 3 required to develop and submit a risk reduction pro- 4 gram for bus operations under paragraph (1)— 5 ‘‘(A) shall develop the program by con- 6 ducting risk analysis on the bus operations of 7 the recipient; 8 ‘‘(B) may incorporate the program into an 9 applicable comprehensive safety plan that the 10 recipient prepares under subsection (d), if the 11 plan addresses each requirement under this 12 subsection; and 13 ‘‘(C) shall develop the program in coopera- 14 tion with bus operators and collective bar- 15 gaining representatives of bus operators, includ- 16 ing the development of— 17 ‘‘(i) the risk analysis required under 18 subparagraph (A); and 19 ‘‘(ii) the implementation plan required 20 under paragraph (3). 21 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Each risk re- 22 duction program for bus operations under paragraph 23 (1) shall include an implementation plan for— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:20 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 436 IS ‘‘(A) reduction of vehicular and pedestrian 1 accidents involving buses that includes— 2 ‘‘(i) deployment of driver assistance 3 technologies for bus operators that reduce 4 or prevent accidents; and 5 ‘‘(ii) measures to reduce visibility im- 6 pairments for bus operators that con- 7 tribute to accidents, including retrofits to 8 buses in revenue service and specifications 9 for future procurements that reduce visi- 10 bility impairments; 11 ‘‘(B) bus operator assault mitigation, in- 12 cluding— 13 ‘‘(i) the deployment of assault mitiga- 14 tion infrastructure and technology on 15 buses, including barriers to restrict the un- 16 wanted entry of individuals and objects 17 into bus operators’ workstations when a re- 18 cipient’s risk analysis determines that such 19 barriers would reduce assaults on and inju- 20 ries to bus operators; and 21 ‘‘(ii) conflict de-escalation training for 22 bus operators; 23 ‘‘(C) installation of seating and modifica- 24 tion to design specifications of bus operator 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:20 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 436 IS workstations that reduce or prevent injuries 1 from ergonomic risks; and 2 ‘‘(D) other measures that the Secretary de- 3 termines would significantly reduce the number 4 and rate of accidents, injuries, assaults on bus 5 operators, and fatalities related to bus oper- 6 ations. 7 ‘‘(4) UPDATING REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec- 8 retary shall require each recipient required to de- 9 velop a program under paragraph (1) to— 10 ‘‘(A) update the program annually; and 11 ‘‘(B) resubmit the program for approval by 12 the Secretary not less than once every 3 13 years.’’. 14 SEC. 4. RAIL OPERATIONS WORKER ASSAULT RISK REDUC- 15 TION PROGRAM. 16 (a) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SAFETY PROGRAM 17 SECTION.—Section 5329 of title 49, United States Code, 18 as amended by section 3, is further amended by adding 19 at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(m) RAIL OPERATIONS WORKER ASSAULT RISK 21 REDUCTION PROGRAM.— 22 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 2 years 23 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 24 Secretary shall require each recipient that operates 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:20 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 436 IS a rail fixed guideway public transportation system 1 that is not subject to regulation by the Federal Rail- 2 road Administration to— 3 ‘‘(A) develop a risk reduction program for 4 assaults on rail workers under paragraph (2) to 5 improve safety by reducing the number and se- 6 verity of assaults on rail workers, including op- 7 erators and station personnel; 8 ‘‘(B) submit the program required under 9 subparagraph (A), including the implementation 10 plan required under paragraph (3), to the Sec- 11 retary for review and approval; and 12 ‘‘(C) implement the program and plan ap- 13 proved by the Secretary. 14 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM.—A recipient 15 required to develop and submit a risk reduction pro- 16 gram for assaults on rail workers under paragraph 17 (1)— 18 ‘‘(A) shall develop the program by con- 19 ducting risk analysis on assaults on workers 20 serving the rail operations of the recipient; 21 ‘‘(B) may incorporate the program into an 22 applicable comprehensive safety plan that the 23 recipient prepares under subsection (d), if the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:20 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 436 IS plan addresses each requirement under this 1 subsection; and 2 ‘‘(C) shall develop the program in coopera- 3 tion with rail workers and collective bargaining 4 representatives of rail workers, including the 5 development of— 6 ‘‘(i) the risk analysis required under 7 subparagraph (A); and 8 ‘‘(ii) the implementation plan required 9 under paragraph (3). 10 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Each risk re- 11 duction program for assaults on rail workers under 12 paragraph (1) shall include an implementation plan 13 for rail worker assault mitigation. 14 ‘‘(4) UPDATING REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec- 15 retary shall require each recipient required to de- 16 velop a program under paragraph (1) to— 17 ‘‘(A) update the program annually; and 18 ‘‘(B) resubmit the program for approval by 19 the Secretary not less than once every 3 20 years.’’. 21 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 22 (a) AMOUNT AND DURATION.—There are authorized 23 to be appropriated to carry out implementation plans 24 under the bus operations safety risk reduction program 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:20 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 436 IS described in subsection (l) of section 5329 of title 49, 1 United States Code (as added by section 3 of this Act), 2 $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023. 3 (b) FORMULA.—Of the amounts made available to 4 carry out subsection (l) of section 5329 of title 49, United 5 States Code, for a fiscal year— 6 (1) 80 percent shall be distributed under the 7 formula set forth in section 5336 of title 49, United 8 States Code, other than subsection (b) of that sec- 9 tion; and 10 (2) 20 percent shall be distributed under the 11 formula set forth in section 5311(c)(3) of that title. 12 SEC. 6. TRANSIT WORKER ASSAULT DATA. 13 Section 5335 of title 49, United States Code, is 14 amended by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(d) TRANSIT WORKER ASSAULT DATA.— 16 ‘‘(1) REPORT.—A recipient shall report to the 17 Secretary, for inclusion in the National Transit 18 Database, any information on each assault on a 19 transit worker. 20 ‘‘(2) OTHER REPORTS.—A report required 21 under paragraph (1) shall be separate from the re- 22 porting on other safety incidents in the National 23 Transit Database. 24 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:20 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 436 IS ‘‘(A) ASSAULT ON A TRANSIT WORKER.— 1 The term ‘assault on a transit worker’ means 2 any circumstance in which an individual know- 3 ingly, without lawful authority or permission, 4 and with intent to endanger the safety or health 5 of any individual, or with a reckless disregard 6 for the safety or health of human life, interferes 7 with, disables, or incapacitates any transit 8 worker while the transit worker is performing 9 his or her duties, including circumstances that 10 do not require immediate medical attention or 11 that do not result in a fatality. 12 ‘‘(B) RECIPIENT.—The term ‘recipient’ 13 has the meaning given the term in section 14 5329(a).’’. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:20 Feb 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S436.IS S436 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS