Signed by Governor Josh Shapiro

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that establishes the State Safety Oversight Office under the Department of Transportation for rail services in Pennsylvania.

Highlights:

• Establishes the State Safety Oversight Office in the Department of Transportation, under the jurisdiction of the secretary (Sec. 1).

• Requires the SSO Office to annually review and consult with each fixed guideway public transportation system to oversee the development of the SSO program standard (Sec. 1).

• Requires the SSO Office to perform risk-based inspections, investigations, and audits at each fixed guideway transportation system (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes the SSO Office to issue and enforce temporary actions to a fixed guideway transportation system in response to a threat to safety of the public or employees (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that data and reports collected by the SSO Office are not accessible under the right-to-know law (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes a fixed guideway public transportation system to appeal to the Department if they disagree with a SSO program update or enforcement action (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text