On August 02, 2018, HR 5729 was signed into law, becoming Public
Law No: 115-230,The Transportation
Worker Identification Credential Accountability Act of 2018. The law is so brief that it is quoted in its
entirety at the end of this post. It
prohibits the Coast Guard from implementing the TWIC Reader Final Rule and proposing
or issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking for any revision to that rule except
to extend its effective date, or for any other rule requiring the use of
biometric readers for biometric transportation security cards. The Coast Guard
may not do any of this before the end of the 60-day period after submission to
Congress of the results of an assessment of the effectiveness of the TWIC
program, required under a 2016 law mandating a comprehensive security
assessment of the program. TSA was supposed to have commenced and completed
this assessment of the TWIC program in 2017, but I can find no evidence on the
relevant congressional committee websites of testimony on the assessment.
On August 03 the Coast Guard published a post on Maritime
Commons, Latest Developments Regarding the TWIC Reader Final Rule, at http://mariners.coastguard.dodlive.mil/2018/08/03/8-3-2018-latest-developments-regarding-twic-reader-final-rule/,
advising about HR 5729.
The Maritime Commons post gives some information from International Liquid Terminals Association
et. al. v. DHS, the industry groups lawsuit against the TWIC reader rule,
that also impacts implementation of the rule: “Additionally, the United States
District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a court order July
24, 2018, delaying the TWIC Reader Final Rule implementation at Certain
Dangerous Cargo transfer and non-transfer facilities until further order of the
Court, in response to a lawsuit brought by industry groups.”
What this will probably mean for us is that the clock has
been stopped on the TWIC reader final rule – not just for certain classes of
facilities, but for all facilities subject to the rule. Maritime Commons states
in the August 03 post that “The Office of Port and Facility Compliance will
provide additional information regarding the impacts of this law, the current
lawsuit, and the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the near future.”
______________________________________________________
Public Law No: 115-230
An Act, To restrict the department in which the Coast Guard
is operating from implementing any rule requiring the use of biometric readers
for biometric transportation security cards until after submission to Congress
of the results of an assessment of the effectiveness of the transportation
security card program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Transportation Worker
Identification Credential Accountability Act of 2018”.
SEC. 2. RESTRICTION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSPORTATION
WORKER IDENTIFICATION CREDENTIAL BIOMETRIC READER RULE.
The department in which the Coast Guard is operating may not
implement the rule entitled “Transportation Worker Identification Credential
(TWIC)–Reader Requirements” (81 Fed. Reg. 57651), and may not propose or issue
a notice of proposed rulemaking for any revision to such rule except to extend
its effective date, or for any other rule requiring the use of biometric
readers for biometric transportation security cards under section 70105(k)(3)
of title 46, United States Code, before the end of the 60-day period beginning
on the date of the submission under paragraph (5) of section 1(b) of Public Law
114–278 (130 Stat. 1411 to 1412) of the results of the assessment required by
that section.
SEC. 3. PROGRESS UPDATES.
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, and every 90 days thereafter until the submission under paragraph (5)
of section 1(b) of Public Law 114–278 (130 Stat. 1411 et seq.) of the results
of the assessment required by that section, the Secretary of Homeland Security
shall report to the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate regarding the
implementation of that section.
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