6 U.S.C. § 1171 — International railroad security program

Page 479 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 1171 1 See Change of Name note below. (3) was incarcerated for an interim disquali- fying criminal offense listed in part 1572 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, and re- leased from incarceration within 5 years of the date that the railroad carrier or contractor or subcontractor of a railroad carrier performs the security background check. (d) Redress process If the Secretary issues a rule, regulation, or directive requiring a railroad carrier or con- tractor or subcontractor of a railroad carrier to perform a security background check of a cov- ered individual, the Secretary shall— (1) provide an adequate redress process for a covered individual subjected to an adverse em- ployment decision, including removal or sus- pension of the employee, due to such rule, reg- ulation, or directive that is consistent with the appeals and waiver process established for applicants for commercial motor vehicle haz- ardous materials endorsements and transpor- tation employees at ports, as required by sec- tion 70105(c) of title 46; and (2) have the authority to order an appro- priate remedy, including reinstatement of the covered individual, should the Secretary de- termine that a railroad carrier or contractor or subcontractor of a railroad carrier wrong- fully made an adverse employment decision regarding a covered individual pursuant to such rule, regulation, or directive. (e) False statements A railroad carrier or a contractor or subcon- tractor of a railroad carrier 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 in- dividuals when conducting a security back- ground check. Not later than 1 year after Au- gust 3, 2007, the Secretary shall issue a regula- tion that prohibits a railroad carrier or a con- tractor or subcontractor of a railroad carrier from knowingly misrepresenting to an employee or other relevant person, including an arbiter involved in a labor arbitration, the scope, appli- cation, or meaning of any rules, regulations, di- rectives, or guidance issued by the Secretary re- lated to security background check require- ments for covered individuals when conducting a security background check. (f) Rights and responsibilities Nothing in this section shall be construed to abridge a railroad carrier’s or a contractor or subcontractor of a railroad carrier’s rights or re- sponsibilities to make adverse employment deci- sions permitted by other Federal, State, or local laws. Nothing in the section shall be construed to abridge rights and responsibilities of covered individuals, a railroad carrier, or a contractor or subcontractor of a railroad carrier, under any other Federal, State, or local laws or under any collective bargaining agreement. (g) No preemption of Federal or State law Nothing in this section shall be construed to preempt a Federal, State, or local law that re- quires criminal history background checks, im- migration status checks, or other background checks, of covered individuals. (h) Statutory construction Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the process for review established under section 70105(c) of title 46, including regulations issued pursuant to such section. (Pub. L. 110–53, title XV, § 1522, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 448.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Immigration and Nationality Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(1)(B), is act June 27, 1952, ch. 477, 66 Stat. 163, which is classified principally to chapter 12 (§ 1101 et seq.) of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. The term ‘‘alien’’ is defined in section 101(a)(3) of the Act which is classified to section 1101(a)(3) of Title 8. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1101 of Title 8 and Ta- bles. § 1171. International railroad security program (a) In general (1) The Secretary shall develop a system to detect both undeclared passengers and contra- band, with a primary focus on the detection of nuclear and radiological materials entering the United States by railroad. (2) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the system under paragraph (1), the Secretary may, in consultation with the Domestic Nu- clear Detection Office,1 Customs and Border Protection, and the Transportation Security Administration— (A) deploy radiation detection equipment and nonintrusive imaging equipment at lo- cations where railroad shipments cross an international border to enter the United States; (B) consider the integration of radiation detection technologies with other nonintru- sive inspection technologies where feasible; (C) ensure appropriate training, oper- ations, and response protocols are estab- lished for Federal, State, and local per- sonnel; (D) implement alternative procedures to check railroad shipments at locations where the deployment of nonintrusive inspection imaging equipment is determined to not be practicable; (E) ensure, to the extent practicable, that such technologies deployed can detect ter- rorists or weapons, including weapons of mass destruction; and (F) take other actions, as appropriate, to develop the system. (b) Additional information The Secretary shall— (1) identify and seek the submission of addi- tional data elements for improved high-risk targeting related to the movement of cargo through the international supply chain uti- lizing a railroad prior to importation into the United States; Page 480 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 1172 (2) utilize data collected and maintained by the Secretary of Transportation in the tar- geting of high-risk cargo identified under paragraph (1); and (3) analyze the data provided in this sub- section to identify high-risk cargo for inspec- tion. (c) Report to Congress Not later than September 30, 2008, the Sec- retary shall transmit to the appropriate con- gressional committees a report that describes the progress of the system being developed under subsection (a). (d) Definitions In this section: (1) International supply chain The term ‘‘international supply chain’’ means the end-to-end process for shipping goods to or from the United States, beginning at the point of origin (including manufacturer, supplier, or vendor) through a point of dis- tribution to the destination. (2) Radiation detection equipment The term ‘‘radiation detection equipment’’ means any technology that is capable of de- tecting or identifying nuclear and radiological material or nuclear and radiological explosive devices. (3) Inspection The term ‘‘inspection’’ means the com- prehensive process used by Customs and Bor- der Protection to assess goods entering the United States to appraise them for duty pur- poses, to detect the presence of restricted or prohibited items, and to ensure compliance with all applicable laws. (Pub. L. 110–53, title XV, § 1524, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 451.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Reference to the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office deemed to be a reference to the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, see section 2(b)(1)(A) of Pub. L. 115–387, set out as a note under section 591 of this title. § 1172. Railroad security enhancements; Model State legislation Not later than November 2, 2007, the Secretary of Transportation shall develop and make avail- able to States model legislation to address the problem of entities that claim to be railroad carriers in order to establish and run a police force when the entities do not in fact provide railroad transportation. In developing the model State legislation the Secretary shall solicit the input of the States, railroads carriers, and rail- road carrier employees. The Secretary shall re- view and, if necessary, revise such model State legislation periodically. (Pub. L. 110–53, title XV, § 1526(b), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 452.) PART C—OVER-THE-ROAD BUS AND TRUCKING SECURITY § 1181. Over-the-road bus security assessments and plans (a) In general Not later than 18 months after August 3, 2007, the Secretary shall issue regulations that— (1) require each over-the-road bus operator assigned to a high-risk tier under this sec- tion— (A) to conduct a vulnerability assessment in accordance with subsections (c) and (d); and (B) to prepare, submit to the Secretary for approval, and implement a security plan in accordance with subsection (e); and (2) establish standards and guidelines for de- veloping and implementing the vulnerability assessments and security plans for carriers as- signed to high-risk tiers consistent with this section. (b) Non high-risk programs The Secretary may establish a security pro- gram for over-the-road bus operators not as- signed to a high-risk tier, including— (1) guidance for such operators in conducting vulnerability assessments and preparing and implementing security plans, as determined appropriate by the Secretary; and (2) a process to review and approve such as- sessments and plans, as appropriate. (c) Deadline for submission Not later than 9 months after the date of issuance of the regulations under subsection (a), the vulnerability assessments and security plans required by such regulations for over-the-road bus operators assigned to a high-risk tier shall be completed and submitted to the Secretary for review and approval. (d) Vulnerability assessments (1) Requirements The Secretary shall provide technical assist- ance and guidance to over-the-road bus opera- tors in conducting vulnerability assessments under this section and shall require that each vulnerability assessment of an operator as- signed to a high-risk tier under this section includes, as appropriate— (A) identification and evaluation of crit- ical assets and infrastructure, including platforms, stations, terminals, and informa- tion systems; (B) identification of the vulnerabilities to those assets and infrastructure; and (C) identification of weaknesses in— (i) physical security; (ii) passenger and cargo security; (iii) the security of programmable elec- tronic devices, computers, or other auto- mated systems which are used in providing over-the-road bus transportation; (iv) alarms, cameras, and other protec- tion systems; (v) communications systems and utili- ties needed for over-the-road bus security purposes, including dispatching systems; (vi) emergency response planning;