FTA Publishes Final Rule: Revising Part 655

On June 25, 2013 the Federal Transit Administration issued a rule revising sections of the Alcohol and Controlled Substances Testing regulations in an effort to reflect recent amendments to the law.  The rule provides the Secretary of the DOT with the discretionary authority to bar a recipient from receiving Federal public transportation funds (in an amount deemed appropriate by the Secretary) for non-compliance with the FTA’s Alcohol and Controlled Substances Testing regulations (49 CFR Part 655).

The rule also makes the following technical corrections to the regulations:

1. Removing reference to 23 U.S.C. 103(e)(4) from 49 CFR part 655 as it relates to recipients of the Federal Highway Administration’s Interstate Substitute Program which has been repealed;
2. Replacing the terms ‘‘mass transportation’’ and ‘‘mass transit’’ with the term ‘‘public transportation’’ as defined in 49 U.S.C. 5331(a)(3);
3. Revising Subpart I to more clearly explain the statutory requirement to establish a compliant D&A testing program as a condition for receiving Federal transit funds and the associated compliance and certification requirements for recipients.

To read the rule in detail click here.