MIS REPORTING

   The new Management Information System (MIS) reporting process that was used to report 2004 calendar year data will be used again to report 2005 calendar year data. In 2004, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) joined the four other Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies in adopting a single one-page form for use in reporting drug and alcohol test results. FTA strongly encouraged electronic filing of the reports. As a result, over eighty-five percent (85%) of the reporting entities reported via the Internet with no significant problems.
   All recipients, states, subrecipients, and safety-sensitive contractors covered by the FTA drug and alcohol testing regulations must file the annual MIS report for the 2005 calendar year by March 15, 2006. FTA sent a mailing to grantees and State DOT offices in late December. This mailing provided guidance for submitting MIS results via the Internet and directions for those desiring to submit hard copies of their reports via the US Postal Service. Included in the mailing was a list of all known safety-sensitive contractors/subrecipients associated with each recipient or state and corresponding user names and passwords that are required to submit MIS forms via the Internet. The recipient/state is responsible for providing the correct user name and password to the appropriate contractor/subrecipient.
   To complete each section of the form, each item must be carefully read and the appropriate data entered in the fields provided. Each response should be complete and accurate. The system will automatically run several validation checks. The software will flag obvious data errors or omissions. When each section has been completed and all errors and warnings have been addressed, the date and an electronic signature is required to complete the submission. An e-mail confirmation of the submittal may be downloaded.
   All safety-sensitive contractors and subrecipients should notify their respective direct recipients/states when their data has been submitted. The recipient/state is responsible for reviewing the data, and determining whether the data will be accepted or rejected. FTA will accept a submission only after the recipient/state has accepted the data.
   If a mailing has been received and the information received was incorrect, or there are questions about the reporting process, please contact the FTA Drug and Alcohol MIS Project Office at (617) 494-6336 or e-mail FTA.DAMIS@volpe.dot.gov.

   Transit police are part of the comprehensive defense that transit systems have against terrorist attacks. They are highly trained individuals that must be able to respond immediately to directives of their commanders. In most cases where transit systems employee their own police force, the police are governed by both Homeland Security and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).
   In a situation where Homeland Security has directed all transit police personnel to report for a post, the police are no longer under the direction of the FTA-regulated transit employer during the specified time. Consequently, if a police officer has been selected for a FTA random drug and/or alcohol test, the transit system Drug and Alcohol Program Manager (DAPM) cannot take the officer away from his/her Homeland Security duties to conduct the test. The DAPM must wait to schedule the test until the police officer returns to safety-sensitive transit duty assuming that the police officer returns to transit duty before the next random selection is made. If the officer is unavailable for the test throughout the testing period, the DAPM must document why the officer was unavailable for testing.

Revised:
December 19, 2000
Federal Register Vol. 65,
Pages 79462-79579.
Primary Topic: Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Program Revised Final Rule
(49 CFR Part 40)

The information presented on this page should be used to update Chapter 10 of the revised Implementation Guidelines.