49 U.S.C. § 22102 — Eligibility

A State is only eligible for financial assistance under this chapter if it follows the Secretary of Transportation's regulations, and the Secretary decides that: (1) The State has an adequate plan for rail transportation, plus a suitable process for updating, revising, and changing that plan over time. (2) A designated State authority administers or coordinates the plan, and the plan fairly distributes resources. (3) That State authority (A) has the authority to develop, promote, oversee, and support safe, adequate, and efficient rail transportation; (B) employs, or will employ, enough qualified and trained staff; (C) runs, or will run, adequate programs of investigation, research, promotion, and development that let the public take part; and (D) is directed to take every practical step — alone or with other State authorities — to make rail transportation safer and reduce the energy use and pollution tied to transportation. (4) The State has made sure it has, or will have, adequate procedures for financial control, accounting, and performance evaluation, so federal assistance is used properly.