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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3315 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3452
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
William M. Straus
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to transportation safety reform within the Massachusetts Bay Transportation
Authority.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:William M. Straus10th Bristol1/20/2023 1 of 4
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3315 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3452
By Representative Straus of Mattapoisett, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3452) of
William M. Straus relative to transportation safety reform within the Massachusetts Bay
Transportation Authority. Transportation.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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An Act relative to transportation safety reform within the Massachusetts Bay Transportation
Authority.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1: Subsection (a) of section 12 of chapter 159 of the General Laws, as
2appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the subsection in its
3entirety and inserting in its place the following subsection:-
4 (a) The transportation or carriage of persons or property, or both, between points within
5the commonwealth by railroads, street railways, in this chapter called railways, electric railroads,
6and trackless trolleys, including express service and car service carried on, upon or rendered in
7connection with such railroads, railways, electric railroads, or trackless trolleys.
8 SECTION 2: Chapter 161A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official
9Edition is hereby amended by inserting the following section:-
10 Section 7B (a) The chief safety officer (CSO) within the Massachusetts Bay
11Transportation Authority (MBTA) shall immediately notify the inspector general in writing of 2 of 4
12the existence of a documented critical disagreement between the CSO and the secretary of
13transportation, the MBTA general manager, deputy general manager, or the MBTA board of
14directors or an individual member thereof concerning an investigation, audit, or review. For the
15purposes of this section, a documented critical disagreement includes a disagreement involving
16the scope, manner, necessity, or thoroughness of an investigation, audit, or review. Failure of a
17party to comply with the good faith requests of the CSO shall constitute a documented critical
18disagreement. The writing shall contain: i) a summary of the investigation, audit, or review; ii)
19the nature of the disagreement between the CSO and the secretary, the general manager, the
20deputy general manager, or the board or an individual member thereof; iii) whether the matter
21under review presents a public safety risk, and if so, describe the nature of that risk; and iv) the
22CSO’s proposed recommendations, if any. Notification provided to the inspector general shall
23not be cause for dismissal or other retaliatory action taken against the CSO or any other person
24employed within the MBTA.
25 (b) The general manager shall not initiate termination proceedings against the chief safety
26officer without first producing and filing with the inspector general written findings
27demonstrating gross misconduct on the part of the chief safety officer. Termination of the chief
28safety officer shall not take effect without the consent of the inspector general and a ratification
29of the written findings by the MBTA board of directors.
30 SECTION 3: (a) For the purposes of this section, the following words shall, unless the
31context otherwise requires, have the following meanings: -
32 “Commuter rail”, transportation of passengers by rail in metropolitan and suburban areas
33on a regularly scheduled daily timetable, generally originating or terminating in the city of 3 of 4
34Boston, offering a variety of fare media generally based on distance travelled across specified
35price zones. Commuter rail shall not include transportation of passengers by rail to, from, and
36between the following rail stations: Newmarket; Uphams Corner; Four Corners/Geneva; Talbot
37Avenue; Morton Street; Blue Hill Avenue; Fairmount; and Readville, otherwise known as the
38Fairmount Line.
39 “Passenger rail”, transportation of passengers by rail between metropolitan areas within
40the commonwealth, not including commuter rail. Passenger rail shall not include heavy rail and
41light rail rapid transit services provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
42 (b) The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority shall assign and transfer to the rail
43and transit division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation all rights, title, interests,
44and obligations in the operating agreement with Keolis Commuter Services to provide commuter
45rail service.
46 (c) The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority shall make an inventory of all
47commuter rail assets, and shall transfer all such assets to the rail and transit division of the
48Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
49 (d) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the rail and transit
50division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation established by Chapter 6C of the
51General Laws, shall be the exclusive operator of commuter rail and passenger rail service in the
52commonwealth; provided that the rail and transit division may contract with private operators or
53the National Railroad Passenger Corporation for the provision of such service.
54 SECTION 4: Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of
55transportation who shall serve as chair, the chair of the commonwealth utilities commission, the 4 of 4
56director of the transportation division of the Department of Public Utilities, the general manager
57of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the inspector general, the speaker and the
58minority leader of the House of Representatives, the president and the minority leader of the
59Senate or their respective designees shall convene a working group to produce a proposal and
60framework necessary to transfer state safety oversight of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation
61Authority from the Department of Public Utilities to the Office of the Inspector General, or in the
62alternative identify another suitable entity capable of assuming said state safety oversight. The
63working group shall consult with and seek the guidance of the Federal Transit Administration
64while developing the proposal. The proposal shall include at a minimum: i) identification of an
65entity suitable to assume responsibility for the oversight of safety at the MBTA with a clear
66mission statement detailing the entity’s responsibilities and obligations; ii) staffing and human
67resource plans to ensure the state safety oversight agency is adequately staffed and equipped to
68handle its oversight responsibilities as specified by federal regulation; iii) proposed regulations
69necessary to permit the state safety oversight agency to fulfill its obligations; iv)
70recommendations for legislative language necessary to create the entity or facilitate transfer of
71responsibilities; v) a proposed budget; and vi) a plan to seek federal certification and approval of
72the proposed transfer of state safety oversight agency responsibilities from the Department of
73Public Utilities to the selected entity. The working group shall be supported by staff from the
74Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
75 The working group shall file its proposal with the clerks of the house and senate, the
76house and senate committees on ways and means, and the joint committee on transportation no
77later than January 1, 2024 and such proposal shall be published on the department of
78transportation’s website.