Safe Transit Accountability Act

The Safe Transit Accountability Act would amend Title 49 of the U.S. Code to designate the “accountable executive” of a transit recipient as the final decisionmaker on whether to implement risk-based safety measures recommended by the Safety Committee. It also makes that accountable executive the sole tiebreaker in any disputes over Safety Committee resolutions. The accountable executive is defined as the single person with ultimate responsibility for carrying out the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan and the Transit Asset Management Plan, and who controls the resources needed to develop and maintain both plans. In short, the bill centralizes final safety- and asset-management decision-making to one individual within a transit agency. The bill, sponsored by Representatives Smucker and Owens and introduced in the 119th Congress, aims to streamline dispute resolution and ensure clear accountability for safety planning and asset management in federally funded transit agencies. It establishes a single point of authority to decide on risk-based mitigations, potentially speeding decisions but also concentrating power over safety-related choices in one person.