1.This Act may be cited as the
Commuter Bill of Rights Act of
2010
.
2.For purposes of this Act the following
definitions apply:
(1)The term
eligible recipient
means a provider of public transportation.
(2)The term
‘‘public transportation’’ means transportation by a conveyance that provides
regular and continuing general or special transportation to the public, but
does not include schoolbus, charter, sightseeing, or intercity bus
transportation or intercity passenger rail transportation provided by the
entity described in chapter 243 (or a successor to such entity).
(3)The
term Secretary
means the Secretary of Transportation.
3.Commuter Transit
Rights Commission
(a)There is established an independent
commission to be known as the Commuter Transit Rights Commission
(hereinafter in this Act referred to as the Commission
).
(b)The duties of the Commission shall be—
(1)to evaluate current Federal rules and
regulations on commuter safety in emergency situations that govern transit
providers;
(2)to evaluate
contingency plans that transit providers use across the United States and
identify best practices; and
(3)to make
recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation (referred to in this Act as
the Secretary
) pursuant to subsection (h).
(c)
(1)Not later than 60
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission, which shall be
composed of 12 members, shall be appointed by the Secretary as follows:
(A)2 members shall be
commuters of public transportation.
(B)2 members shall be
experts in rail safety.
(C)2 members shall be
experts in water transportation.
(D)2 members shall be
employees of State transportation agencies.
(E)2 members shall be
experts in passenger safety.
(F)2 members shall be
experts in emergency medicine.
(2)No
employee of the Department of Transportation may serve as a member of the
Commission.
(3)The
Chairperson of the Commission shall be elected by the members at the initial
meeting.
(d)
(1)Each member shall be
appointed for the life of the commission.
(2)A
vacancy on the Commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original
appointment.
(3)
(A)Except as provided in subparagraph (C),
each member of the Commission shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily
equivalent of the minimum annual rate of basic pay for level IV of the
Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each
day, including travel time, during which he or she is engaged in the actual
performance of duties vested in the Commission.
(B)Members shall receive travel expenses, including per
diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with subchapter I of chapter 57 of
title 5, United States Code.
(C)Prohibition of
Compensation of Federal EmployeesMembers of the Commission who are full-time
officers or employees of the United States or Members of Congress may not
receive additional pay, allowances, or benefits by reason of their service on
the Commission.
(e)
(1)Not later than 30
days after the date on which all members of the Commission are appointed, the
Commission shall hold its first meeting.
(2)The commission shall meet monthly at the call of the
Chairperson.
(3)A
majority of the Commission shall constitute a quorum but a lesser number may
hold hearings.
(f)The
Chairperson may appoint and fix the pay of additional personnel as the
Chairperson considers appropriate.
(g)
(1)The Commission may,
for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times
and places, take testimony, and receive evidence as the Commission considers
appropriate.
(2)Powers of
Members and AgentsAny member or agent of the Commission may, if
authorized by the Commission, take any action which the Commission is
authorized to take by this section.
(h)
(1)Not later than 160 days after its initial meeting, the
Commission shall make recommendations to the Secretary that shall be known as
the Commuter Bill of Rights
. The Commuter Bill of Rights shall
include the following:
(A)A list of
situations in which a provider of public transportation shall implement its
contingency plan.
(B)Recommendations
for the minimum standards that a contingency plan of a provider of public
transportation must meet, including the following:
(i)Provision of food,
water, restrooms, ventilation, and medical services.
(ii)Distribution of
critical information to commuters on a disabled or delayed train or other
transit vehicle, including a time frame for when commuters will be permitted to
exit such disabled or delayed transit vehicle and how such commuters will be
redirected to their final destinations in a timely manner.
(C)Recommendations for Federal regulations on
commuter safety in an emergency situation.
(2)A majority of the Commission shall approve
each recommendation before it is included in the Commuter Bill of Rights and
submitted to the Secretary.
(3)The Commission shall
submit a supplemental report to the Secretary along with the Commuter Bill of
Rights that contains all of the recommendations that the Commission considered,
including those recommendations that did not receive a majority vote for
inclusion in the Commuter Bill of Rights.
(i)The
Commission shall terminate on the date that the Commission submits the Commuter
Bill of Rights and supplemental report to the Secretary under subsection
(h).
4.
(a)Authorization of
grant programThe Secretary
may provide grants on a competitive basis to providers of public transportation
to develop and implement contingency plans that fulfill the Commuter Bill of
Rights.
(b)
(1)To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an
eligible recipient shall submit an application not later than 90 days after the
Secretary has issued a notice of availability at such time and in such manner
as the Secretary may reasonably require.
(2)Contingency plan
implementationAn eligible
recipient shall include in its application a cost estimate of implementing the
contingency plan to fulfill the Consumer Bill of Rights.
(3)When
submitting an application, a provider of public transportation shall certify to
the Secretary that the provider will implement its contingency plan not later
than 90 days after receiving a grant under this section.
(d)An eligible recipient may only receive one grant under
this section. The amount of such grant shall be the greater of $50,000 or 50
percent of the total amount of costs estimated in implementing the Commuter
Bill of Rights as determined by the Secretary.
5.
(a)The Secretary shall
review the Commuter Bill of Rights submitted by the Commission under section 3
and issue regulations to require providers of public transportation to comply
with the standards recommended by the Commuter Bill of Rights.
(b)The Secretary shall
use the Bill of Rights as recommended by the Commission to develop federal
policies that will require compliance with the Bill of Rights by commuter
transit providers. Such policies shall include—
(1)a requirement for providers of public
transportation to submit for approval by the Secretary a proposed contingency
plan meeting minimum standards according to the Bill of Rights;
(2)a
requirement that contingency plans be reviewed and updated as necessary and
re-submitted to the Secretary every 5 years; and
(3)a requirement that providers of public
transportation comply with the final rule issued pursuant to subsection (a) not
later than 180 days after the rule is issued under subsection (a).
(c)The Secretary may
assess appropriate penalties or sanctions for non-compliance as determined by
the Secretary against providers of public transportation who fail to submit,
obtain approval of, or adhere to its contingency plan.
(d)Bill of rights
to CongressWhen the Secretary receives the Consumer Bill of
Rights from the Committee, the Secretary shall forward a copy of such bill of
rights to Congress.
(e)The Secretary shall
establish a consumer hotline telephone number for public transportation
complaints in which the Secretary responds to consumer complaints not later
than 30 days after submission of a complaint.
6.Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary, such sums as may be necessary
to carry out this Act, to remain available until expended.