6 U.S.C. § 1182 — Over-the-road bus security assistance

(a) In general. The Secretary must establish a program of grants to eligible private operators that provide transportation by over-the-road bus, for the security improvements in subsection (b). (b) Uses of funds. A grant recipient must use the money for one or more of these purposes: (1) building or changing terminals, garages, and facilities, including State- or local-government-owned bus facilities, to improve security; (2) changing buses to improve security; (3) protecting or separating the bus driver; (4) obtaining, upgrading, installing, or operating equipment, software, or related services to collect, store, or exchange passenger and driver information through ticketing or other means, and to link information with government agencies, for security; (5) installing cameras and video-surveillance equipment on buses and at terminals, garages, and bus facilities; (6) creating or improving emergency communications linking drivers and buses to the recipient’s operations center, or linking that center with law enforcement and emergency personnel; (7) carrying out passenger screening for weapons and explosives; (8) public-awareness campaigns for better bus security; (9) operating and capital costs for bus-security awareness, preparedness, and response training, including section 1184 training and training developed by higher-education institutions and nonprofit employee labor organizations, for bus employees including frontline employees; (10) chemical, biological, radiological, or explosive detection, including detection canine patrols; (11) overtime reimbursement, including reimbursing State, local, and tribal governments, for enhanced security personnel assigned to bus-security duties during high or severe threat levels, National Special Security Events, or other heightened-security periods the Secretary determines; (12) live or simulated exercises, including those described in section 1183; (13) operating costs to hire, train, and employ police and security officers, including canine units, assigned full-time to bus-security or counterterrorism duties, including reimbursing State, local, and tribal governments for those personnel; (14) developing assessments or security plans under section 1181; and (15) other improvements the Secretary considers appropriate. (c) Due consideration. When making grants, the Secretary must prioritize funding based on security risks to bus passengers and how well a project can reduce or improve response to those risks. The Secretary may not penalize a private bus operator for security measures taken before September 11, 2001. (d) Department responsibilities. In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary must (1) set recipient requirements, including application requirements; (2) choose recipients; (3) award authorized money based on risk identified by plans required under section 1181 or by the assessment or plan in subsection (f)(2); and (4) under subsection (c), set priorities for recipients’ use of the money. (e) Grant distribution. Within 90 days after August 3, 2007, the Secretary and the Secretary of Transportation must decide the most effective and efficient way to distribute grants to recipients chosen by the Secretary under subsection (a). Subject to that decision, the Secretary may transfer money to the Secretary of Transportation to distribute it to recipients. (f) Eligibility. (1) A private operator providing over-the-road bus transportation is eligible if it completed a vulnerability assessment and developed a security plan approved by the Secretary under section 1181. Grant money may be used only for subsection (b) purposes that further the operator’s security plan. (2) Despite paragraph (1), before the earlier of 1 year after final regulations requiring the assessments and plans are issued or 3 years after August 3, 2007, the Secretary may award grants for subsection (b) improvements based on assessments and plans the Secretary considers sufficient for this section even though the Secretary has not approved them under section 1181. (g) Terms and conditions. Unless this section specifically says otherwise, a grant is subject to the terms and conditions applying to subrecipients providing over-the-road bus transportation under section 5311(f) of title 49, and to other terms and conditions the Secretary finds necessary. (h) Limit on use. A grant may not be used as a State or local government cost-sharing contribution required under another Federal law. (i) Annual reports. Each recipient must report annually to the Secretary on how the grant money was used. (j) Consultation. In carrying out this section, the Secretary must consult over-the-road bus operators; nonprofit employee labor organizations representing bus employees; and public-safety and law-enforcement officials. (k) Authorization. (1) General rule. From money appropriated under section 114(w) of title 49, the following amounts are made available to the Secretary for grants: (A) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; (B) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; (C) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and (D) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. (2) Availability. Money appropriated for this section remains available until it is spent.