Title 6Domestic SecurityRelease 119-73not60

§1135 Public Transportation Security Assistance

Title 6 › Chapter 4— TRANSPORTATION SECURITY › Subchapter III— PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SECURITY › § 1135

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must create a grant program to give money to public transportation agencies so they can make security improvements. An agency can get a grant only if the Secretary has done a security assessment or the agency has a security plan under section 1134. Money can be used only for items in the assessment or to carry out the security plan. Grants can pay for big, one-time projects (like tunnel and perimeter protection, control-system backups, chemical/biological/radiological/explosive detection including trained dogs, cameras, emergency communications such as underground E911 access, protective gear, fire and decontamination systems, GPS/tracking, evacuation upgrades, bomb-resistant trash cans, and security work on systems or stations under design or construction) and for operating costs (like security training and backfill, exercises, public awareness, canine patrols, planning, overtime for extra security at major events, and paying security staff up to 10 percent of a grant per year). The Secretary decides who gets money based only on risk and sets the application rules and funding priorities. The Secretary must follow State homeland security plans and consider the full risk for systems that cross State lines. The Secretary and the Secretary of Transportation must decide how to distribute funds within 90 days after August 3, 2007, and the Secretary may transfer money to the Department of Transportation to pay recipients. Grants follow the terms that applied to 49 U.S.C. 5307 as of January 1, 2007, and cannot be used as a State or local match for other Federal programs. Recipients must report yearly. Before giving out money, the Secretary must encourage use of small, minority-, women-, and disadvantaged-owned businesses for contracts when practical. The Secretary must notify the appropriate congressional committees 3 days before any award and must recover any misspent funds. Grant funds last at least 36 months, or at least 48 months for security work on systems or stations that are in final design or under construction. Money is authorized as: such sums as needed for FY2007; $650,000,000 for FY2008 (no more than 50% for operating); $750,000,000 for FY2009 (no more than 30% for operating); $900,000,000 for FY2010 (no more than 20% for operating); and $1,100,000,000 for FY2011 (no more than 10% for operating). These funds remain available until spent. The Secretary can waive the operating limits for national security if Congress is given a written justification. Funds for FY2007 under Public Law 110–28 must use security assessments that existed as of August 3, 2007.

Full Legal Text

Title 6, §1135

Domestic Security — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary shall establish a program for making grants to eligible public transportation agencies for security improvements described in subsection (b).
(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.
(b)A recipient of a grant under subsection (a) shall use the grant funds for one or more of the following:
(1)Capital uses of funds, including—
(A)tunnel protection systems;
(B)perimeter protection systems, including access control, installation of improved lighting, fencing, and barricades;
(C)redundant critical operations control systems;
(D)chemical, biological, radiological, or explosive detection systems, including the acquisition of canines used for such detection;
(E)surveillance equipment;
(F)communications equipment, including mobile service equipment to provide access to wireless Enhanced 911 (E911) emergency services in an underground fixed guideway system;
(G)emergency response equipment, including personal protective equipment;
(H)fire suppression and decontamination equipment;
(I)global positioning or tracking and recovery equipment, and other automated-vehicle-locator-type system equipment;
(J)evacuation improvements;
(K)purchase and placement of bomb-resistant trash cans throughout public transportation facilities, including subway exits, entrances, and tunnels;
(L)capital costs associated with security awareness, security preparedness, and security response training, including training under section 1137 of this title and exercises under section 1136 of this title;
(M)security improvements for public transportation systems, including extensions thereto, in final design or under construction;
(N)security improvements for stations and other public transportation infrastructure, including stations and other public transportation infrastructure owned by State or local governments; and
(O)other capital security improvements determined appropriate by the Secretary.
(2)Operating uses of funds, including—
(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;
(B)live or simulated exercises under section 1136 of this title;
(C)public awareness campaigns for enhanced public transportation security;
(D)canine patrols for chemical, radiological, biological, or explosives detection;
(E)development of security plans under section 1134 of this title;
(F)overtime reimbursement including reimbursement of State, local, and tribal governments, for costs for enhanced security personnel during significant national and international public events;
(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
(H)other operational security costs determined appropriate by the Secretary, excluding routine, ongoing personnel costs, other than those set forth in this section.
(c)In carrying out the responsibilities under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—
(1)determine the requirements for recipients of grants under this section, including application requirements;
(2)pursuant to subsection (a)(2), select the recipients of grants based solely on risk; and
(3)pursuant to subsection (b), establish the priorities for which grant funds may be used under this section.
(d)Not later than 90 days after August 3, 2007, the Secretary and the Secretary of Transportation shall determine the most effective and efficient way to distribute grant funds to the recipients of grants determined by the Secretary under subsection (a). Subject to the determination made by the Secretaries, the Secretary may transfer funds to the Secretary of Transportation for the purposes of disbursing funds to the grant recipient.
(e)Except as otherwise specifically provided in this section, a grant provided under this section shall be subject to the terms and conditions applicable to a grant made under section 5307 of title 49, as in effect on January 1, 2007, and such other terms and conditions as are determined necessary by the Secretary.
(f)Grants made under this section may not be used to make any State or local government cost-sharing contribution under any other Federal law.
(g)Each recipient of a grant under this section shall report annually to the Secretary on the use of the grant funds.
(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.
(i)In establishing security improvement priorities under section 1134 of this title and in awarding grants for capital security improvements and operational security improvements under subsection (b), the Secretary shall act consistently with relevant State homeland security plans.
(j)In cases in which a public transportation system operates in more than one State, the Secretary shall give appropriate consideration to the risks of the entire system, including those portions of the States into which the system crosses, in establishing security improvement priorities under section 1134 of this title and in awarding grants for capital security improvements and operational security improvements under subsection (b).
(k)Not later than 3 days before the award of any grant under this section, the Secretary shall notify simultaneously, the appropriate congressional committees of the intent to award such grant.
(l)The Secretary shall establish a process to require the return of any misspent grant funds received under this section determined to have been spent for a purpose other than those specified in the grant award.
(m)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), funds provided pursuant to a grant awarded under this section for a use specified in subsection (b) shall remain available for use by a grant recipient for a period of not fewer than 36 months.
(2)Funds provided pursuant to a grant awarded under this section for a use specified in subparagraph (M) or (N) of subsection (b)(1) shall remain available for use by a grant recipient for a period of not fewer than 48 months.
(n)(1)There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to make grants under this section—
(A)such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2007;
(B)$650,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, except that not more than 50 percent of such funds may be used for operational costs under subsection (b)(2);
(C)$750,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, except that not more than 30 percent of such funds may be used for operational costs under subsection (b)(2);
(D)$900,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, except that not more than 20 percent of such funds may be used for operational costs under subsection (b)(2); and
(E)$1,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, except that not more than 10 percent of such funds may be used for operational costs under subsection (b)(2).
(2)Sums appropriated to carry out this section shall remain available until expended.
(3)The Secretary may waive the limitation on operational costs specified in subparagraphs (B) through (E) of paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines that such a waiver is required in the interest of national security, and if the Secretary provides a written justification to the appropriate congressional committees prior to any such action.
(4)Funds provided for fiscal year 2007 transit security grants under Public Law 110–28 shall be allocated based on security assessments that are in existence as of August 3, 2007.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Public Law 110–28, referred to in subsec. (n)(4), is Pub. L. 110–28, May 25, 2007, 121 Stat. 112, known as the U.S. Troop Readinesss, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

Amendments

2021—Subsec. (b)(2)(A). Pub. L. 117–81, § 6420, inserted “and associated backfill” after “security training”. Subsecs. (m), (n). Pub. L. 117–81, § 6421, added subsec. (m) and redesignated former subsec. (m) as (n).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

6 U.S.C. § 1135

Title 6Domestic Security

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60