New regs for Tuesday: Passports, trains, buses

Tuesday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for passports, safety requirements for trains and intercity buses, and restrictions for people living in recreational vehicles.

Here’s what is happening:

Passports: The Department of State is moving forward with new passport rules.

The State Department will now issue government-representative passports to state and local government employees who are “carrying out official duties in support of the U.S. government” as they travel abroad.

Currently, these passports are only available to federal government employees. But the State Department is expanding eligibility to include certain state and local government employees.

“Issuance of an official passport to such individuals signifies to foreign governments that they are carrying out official duties in support of the U.S. government,” the State Department wrote.

“The activities undertaken by these officials are often of pressing national security, law enforcement, or humanitarian importance and occur with little advance notice,” it added.

The new rules go into effect immediately.

Trains: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is loosening safety requirements for trains.

The FRA announced Monday it is removing a stenciling requirement that applies to the windows in locomotives, passenger cars, and cabooses that are required to be glazed. The agency is also clarifying how the regulations apply to older equipment.

The FRA believes the changes will not “adversely impact safety.”

The new rules go into effect in 60 days.

Buses: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is considering new regulations for intercity bus companies like Megabus.

The FMCSA is conducting a safety fitness assessment for “certain motor carriers of passengers that serve primarily urban areas with high passenger loads.”

The agency refers to them as “curbside bus operators.”

“Motorcoach safety received increased public attention after several serious crashes during 2011, some of which involved ‘curbside’ bus operators, passenger carrier operations often characterized by high passenger loads with service between urban areas,” the agency wrote.

The public has 60 days to comment.

Recreational vehicles: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is proposing new rules for recreational vehicles.

Recreational vehicles are currently exempted from HUD’s rules for manufactured homes, but the agency says the exemption should no longer apply to those vehicles that are used as a “primary residence or permanent dwelling.”

HUD is proposing to “define a recreational vehicle as one built on a vehicular structure, not certified as a manufactured home, designed only for recreational use and not as a primary residence or for permanent occupancy,” the agency said.

The public has 60 days to comment.