![“Thanks to Secretary Pete [Buttigieg], USDOT, the Federal Railroad Administration and all our partners for making the S-Line passenger rail a reality!!” NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a July 1 LinkedIn post. “Thanks to the hard work of our NCDOT team we broke ground on the first construction project in the Raleigh to Wake Forest segment, a $19M project to grade separate Durant Road 7 months after the grant announcement!!” (Photograph Courtesy of Joey Hopkins)](https://www.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/slinelead-315x168.png)
TSA: STSAC Member Applications Welcome
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
(TSA Logo)
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is seeking candidates to serve on its Surface Transportation Security Advisory Committee (STSAC), whose mission is to provide advice, consultation, and recommendations on “improving surface transportation security matters, including developing, refining, and implementing policies, programs, initiatives, rulemakings, and security directives,” while adhering to sensitive security information requirements. Applications are due July 8.
The STSAC, established in 2019, advises the TSA Administrator and considers risk-based approaches in the performance of its duties, according to the TSA, which solicited committee member applications in the Federal Register’s June 7 edition (download below).
The STSAC comprises no more than 40 voting members representing each mode of surface transportation, such as passenger rail, freight rail, mass transit, pipelines, highways, over-the-road bus, school bus industry, and trucking. It may also include representatives from associations or labor organizations representing the surface transportation modes; groups representing the users of such modes, including asset manufacturers, academics, and cybersecurity professionals, as appropriate; relevant law enforcement, first responders, and security experts; emergency management officials; and other groups that the TSA Administrator considers appropriate. Voting members are unpaid.
Following appointment by the TSA Administrator, a voting member will serve a two-year term and may hold that role until a successor is named. According to the TSA, voting members who are currently serving on the Committee and whose two-year term concludes this year are eligible to reapply for membership and must submit a new application. The next two-year term will begin in November.
The STSAC also includes non-voting members, who serve in an advisory capacity for two-year terms and are designated by TSA, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Coast Guard, and/or other federal department or agency that the TSA Administrator considers appropriate.
The TSA reported that the STSAC does not have a specific number of members allocated to any membership category and that it may adjust the number of members in a category to meet the Committee’s needs.
The Committee meets at least twice per year in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area or via web conferencing; at least one meeting is open to the public. Additionally, Committee members are expected to participate on an STSAC Subcommittee that traditionally meets more frequently “to deliberate and discuss specific surface transportation matters,” according to the TSA.
The Committee currently comprises 30 voting members from the Public Transportation and Passenger Rail sector (six); Freight Rail sector (five); Pipeline sector (three); Cybersecurity sector (one); Labor sector (four); Highway and Motor Carrier–Infrastructure sector (one); Highway and Motor Carrier–Trucking sector (two); Highway and Motor Carrier–Over-the-Road Bus sector (two); Highway and Motor Carrier–School Bus sector (one); Groups Representing the Users of Surface Transportation sector (three); and Security Experts sector (two). Additionally, the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Transportation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and National Transportation Safety Board have designated a total of 14 representatives to serve as nonvoting members.
