1. A. Role of the State Safety Oversight Agency.

   1. (1) The SSOA shall establish minimum standards for the safety of all rail fixed guideway public transportation systems within its oversight. These shall be consistent with the National Public Transportation Safety Plan, the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program, the rules for Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans and all applicable federal and State laws.
   2. (2) The SSOA shall review and approve the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan for every rail fixed guideway public transportation system within its oversight. The SSOA shall oversee an RTA’s execution of its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan. The SSOA shall enforce the execution of a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, through an order of a corrective action plan or any other means, as necessary or appropriate. The SSOA shall ensure that a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan meets the requirements at 49 U.S.C. §5329(d) and 49 CFR Part 673.
   3. (3) If the SSOA does not approve a Public Transportation Safety Plan, the SSOA shall provide a written explanation and allow an RTA an opportunity to modify and resubmit its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan for the SSOA’s approval.
   4. (4) The SSOA has the responsibility to provide safety oversight of an RTA’s project or projects in the engineering or construction phase to verify compliance with all applicable federal and State safety requirements, safety procedures, and other safety management system practices such as safety event investigation. This includes operations, testing, simulated service or pre-revenue service, and transit-related maintenance activity. The SSOA may set additional reporting and investigation requirements for the RTA beyond those required by FTA.
   5. (5) The SSOA shall have primary responsibility for the investigation of any allegation of noncompliance with a Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan.
   6. (6) The SSOA shall have primary responsibility for the investigation of a safety event on a rail fixed guideway public transportation system.
   7. (7) The SSOA may enter into an agreement with a contractor for assistance, including overseeing safety event investigations performing independent safety event investigations and for expertise or resources the SSOA does not have within its own organization.
   8. (8) All designated SSOA personnel shall comply with the requirements of the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program as applicable.
2. B. State Safety Oversight Program Standards. The SSOA shall adopt and distribute a written SSO program standard, consistent with the National Public Transportation Safety Plan and the rules for Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans. This SSO program standard shall identify the processes and procedures that govern the activities of the SSOA. Also, the SSO program standard shall identify the processes and procedures an RTA must have in place to comply with the standard. The program standard may set other requirements to further the safety and security of Maryland rail transit agencies. Each RTA and its personnel must comply with the program standard.
3. C. Triennial Audits. At least once every 3 years, the SSOA shall conduct a complete audit of an RTA’s compliance with its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan. Alternatively, an SSOA may conduct the audit on an on-going basis over the 3-year time frame. The SSOA shall issue a report with findings and recommendations arising from the audit, which shall include, at minimum, an analysis of the effectiveness of the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan, findings, observations, or recommendations for improvements, and a requirement for a corrective action plan or plans, if necessary or appropriate. The RTA shall be given an opportunity to comment on the findings, observations, and recommendations.
4. D. Notifications of Safety Events. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Notification. In addition to the other requirements for safety event notification set forth in the SSO program standard, in any instance in which an RTA must notify the FTA of a safety event, the RTA must notify both the SSOA and the FTA within the time frame required by FTA.

5. E. Investigations.

   1. (1) The SSOA shall investigate or require an investigation of any safety event that requires the transit agency to notify FTA under 49 CFR §674.33, may investigate or require investigations of other safety events, and is ultimately responsible for the sufficiency and thoroughness of all investigations, whether conducted by the SSOA or RTA. If the SSOA requires an RTA to investigate a safety event, the SSOA must conduct an independent review of the RTAs findings of causation. In any instance in which an RTA is conducting its own internal safety event investigation, the SSOA and the RTA must coordinate their investigations in accordance with the SSO program standard.
   2. (2) Within a reasonable time, the SSOA shall issue a written report on its investigation of a safety event or review of an RTA’s safety event investigation in accordance with the reporting requirements established by the SSOA. The report shall describe the investigation activities; identify the factors that caused or contributed to the safety event; and set forth a corrective action plan or plans, as necessary or appropriate. If the SSOA conducts its own investigation, it shall transmit that report to the RTA for review and concurrence. If the RTA does not concur with an SSOA’s report, the SSOA may allow the RTA to submit a written dissent from the report, which may be included in the report, at the discretion of the SSOA. The SSOA shall formally adopt each investigation report.
   3. (3) All personnel that conduct investigations on behalf of an SSOA shall be trained to perform their functions in accordance with the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program.

6. F. Corrective Action Plans.

   1. (1) In any instance in which an RTA must develop and carry out a Corrective Action Plan (CAP), the SSOA shall review and approve the CAP before the RTA carries out the plan; however, an exception may be made for immediate or emergency corrective actions that must be taken to ensure immediate safety, provided that the SSOA has been given timely notification, and the SSOA provides subsequent review and approval. A CAP shall describe, specifically, the actions the RTA will take to correct the deficiency and to mitigate the identified risks and hazards to an acceptable level as required by the SSOA Program Standard and the RTA’s Agency Safety Plan, the schedule for taking those actions, and the individuals responsible for taking those actions. The RTA shall periodically report to the SSOA on its progress in carrying out the CAP. The SSOA may monitor the RTA’s progress in carrying out the CAP through unannounced, on-site inspections, or any other means the SSOA deems necessary or appropriate.
   2. (2) In any instance in which a safety event on the RTA’s rail fixed guideway public transportation system is the subject of an investigation by the NTSB, the SSOA shall evaluate whether the findings or recommendations by the NTSB require a CAP by the RTA, and if so, the SSOA shall order the RTA to develop and carry out a CAP.

7. G. State Safety Oversight Agency annual reporting to FTA.

   1. (1) On or before March 15 of each year, the SSOA shall submit the following material to FTA:

      1. (a) The SSO program standard adopted in accordance with 49 CFR §674.27, with an indication of any changes to the SSO program standard during the preceding 12 months;
      2. (b) Evidence that each of its designated personnel has completed the requirements of the Public Transportation Safety Certification Training Program, or, if in progress, the anticipated completion date of the training;
      3. (c) A publicly available report that summarizes its oversight activities for the preceding 12 months, describes the causal factors of safety events identified through investigation, and identifies the status of corrective actions, changes to Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans, and the level of effort by the SSOA in carrying out its oversight activities;
      4. (d) Final investigation reports for all safety events meeting one or more of the criteria specified at 49 CFR §674.33;
      5. (e) A summary of the triennial audits completed during the preceding 12 months, and the RTAs’ progress in carrying out CAPs arising from triennial audits conducted in accordance with 49 CFR §674.31;
      6. (f) Evidence that the SSOA has reviewed and approved any changes to the Public Transportation Agency Safety Plans during the preceding 12 months; and
      7. (g) A certification that the SSOA is in compliance with the requirements of 49 CFR §674.
   2. (2) These materials must be submitted electronically through a reporting system specified by FTA.

Authority: Transportation Article, §§2-102(c)(5) and 7-203.1, Annotated Code of Maryland;
49 U.S.C. §5329 and 49 CFR Part 674

Effective date: March 26, 2018 (45:6 Md. R. 321)

Chapter revised effective January 5, 2026 (52:26 Md. R. 1309)