As requested in Section 3021 of the Federal Surface Transportation Act of 2015, an ad hoc committee “will evaluate whether it is in the public interest, including public safety and the legal rights of persons injured in public transportation accidents, to withhold from discovery or admission into evidence in a Federal or State court proceeding any plan, report, data, or other information or portion thereof, submitted to, developed, produced, collected, or obtained by the Secretary of Transportation or the Secretary's representative for purposes of complying with the requirements under section 5329 of title 49, United States Code, including information related to a recipient's safety plan, safety risks, and mitigation measures.”

In conducting the study, the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine "will coordinate with the legal research entities of the National Academies, including the Committee on Law and Justice and the Committee on Science, Technology, and Law, and include members of those committees on the committee."

In conducting the study, the committee will “solicit input from the public transportation recipients, public transportation nonprofit employee labor organizations, and impacted members of the general public.”

Not later than 18 months after the date of an agreement with the Federal Transit Administration, “the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will issue a report with the findings of the study, including any recommendations on statutory changes regarding evidentiary protections that will increase public transportation safety."