What's New in Law

Global business and tourism depend heavily on the efficient operation of airports and movement of passengers, baggage, and cargo across many areas. With increasing demand and connectivity requirements for airports comes the need for more sophisticated simulation and modeling tools to validate design assumptions. Furthermore, airport design and planning decisions have significant impacts on poli...

The Sharon D. Banks Award is a biennial award established in the memory of Sharon Banks, who chaired the TRB Executive Committee in 1998. She passed away in 1999. The award recognizes innovative and successful leadership in people-oriented initiatives in transportation, sustained over an extended period of time, that exemplify Banks’ ideals of humanity and service. The Award will be presented d...

Individuals or organizations wishing to be recognized as a Century Club or Century Patron contributor in the TRB history book, Transportation Research Board 1920–2020: Everyone Interested Is Invited must make their contributions by September 30, 2019. TRB’s history book will be made available to all full registrant attendees and your contribution recognition will be a lasting testimonial to you...

TRB officially turns 100 on November 11, 2020. To help celebrate, TRB is asking you to “Tell Us ‘Our’ Story.” The TRB “Tell Us ‘Our’ Story centennial activity is designed to allow as many of you (TRB’s volunteers and friends) as possible to participate in the TRB Centennial Celebration through the submission of your stories. The “Tell Us ‘Our” Story” Centennial activity consists of a series of ...

The TRB “Tell Us ‘Our’ Story centennial activity is designed to allow as many of you (TRB’s volunteers and friends) as possible to participate in the TRB Centennial Celebration through the submission of your stories. The “Tell Us ‘Our” Story” Centennial activity consists of a series of monthly questions that will help capture your stories. Here are some of the responses from our question in Au...

Transportation attorneys are invited to a webinar on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM. This webinar will provide an overview of legal issues associated with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Assignment Program for federal transportation programs. Currently, six state departments of transportation (DOTs) participate in the NEPA Assignment Program, which allows the st...

TRB turns 100 on November 11, 2020. You are invited to join your colleagues listed below who have contributed to the TRB Century Club to support activities that will mark the anniversary; promote the value of transportation research; and celebrate the achievements of TRB’s volunteers, sponsors, affiliates, and staff. Contributions made before September 30, 2019, will be recognized in TRB's 100 ...

Register and make hotel reservations today for the TRB 99th Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2020, in Washington, D.C. Registration is required for all Annual Meeting attendees, including session speakers, poster presenters, and those who attend the exhibit hall, career fair, or any workshops. As part of TRB's Centennial Celebration, all full registrants at the 99th Annual Meeting will be eligib...

Act now to secure your exhibit space at the 2020 TRB Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2020, in Washington, D.C. All indications are that attendance at the meeting will be the largest ever. Don't miss this opportunity to demonstrate your organization's support for transportation research and innovation, and to showcase your products and services to more than 13,000 transportation professionals. So...

TRB turns 100 on November 11, 2020. Your organization is invited to join the entities listed below that have contributed to the TRB Century Patron program to support activities that will mark the anniversary; promote the value of transportation research; and celebrate the achievements of TRB’s volunteers, sponsors, affiliates, and staff. Contributions made before September 30, 2019, will be rec...

More than 6,400 papers have been submitted to be considered by TRB for acceptance as part of the 2020 TRB 99th Annual Meeting  program. This amount is several hundred more than in any previous year. The 2020 TRB 99th Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2020, in Washington, D.C., covers all transportation modes, with more than 13,000 transportation professionals from around the world expected to...

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has released a request for proposals to identify and address legal issues related to resilience planning at the federal, state, and local levels. Proposals are due October 10, 2019.

Medical literature has identified transportation as a factor in missed and shortened dialysis treatments, which leads to negative health outcomes. These adverse outcomes include, among others, increased hospitalizations because patients do not receive their scheduled treatments. For public transportation agencies, dialysis transportation has become a critical concern as increasing numbers of in...

A panel discussion about how automated vehicles (AVs) may affect law enforcement agencies and state highway safety offices is summarized in Automated Vehicle Safety Expert Panel: Engaging Drivers and Law Enforcement, a report from the Governors’ Highway Safety Association. The panel’s charge was to discuss the most important issues and to provide recommendations on steps that they should take, ...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) is seeking proposals to analyze fairness issues in the best-value procurement process that may have resulted in formal bid protests or questions regarding reduced competition. The proposal should include an analysis of the existing federal, state, and local legislation focused on best-value procurement. This analysis can determine whet...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) is seeking proposals to summarize the litigation history behind judicial review of purpose and need statements of planning and environmental linkages (PEL). In addition, the proposals should determine how approaches to PEL differs from each other and what deference courts provide for each, and identify the legal risks that are associat...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) is seeking proposals that document the laws, statutes, cases, procedures, policies, and other resources governing a transportation agency’s prevention and removal of homeless encampments from transportation rights-of-way. Proposals are due October 10, 2019.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) is seeking a request for proposals to provide trends among major transportation construction contracts as they relate to consequential damages, and create an elemental framework for inclusion in construction contracts. Proposals are due October 16, 2019.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) is soliciting ideas on candidate topics for the FY 2020 Legal Studies Program. The NCHRP Legal Research Digest series reports on timely legal issues and problems significant to state departments of transportation. Ideas for study topics for the FY 2020 program will be accepted until October 1, 2019. There is a list of all NCHRP legal p...

The Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) is soliciting ideas on candidate topics for the FY 2019 Legal Studies Program. The TCRP Legal Studies Program reports on legal issues associated with transit and intermodal law. Each document is intended to provide transit attorneys with authoritative, well-researched, specific information that is limited in scope. The studies focus on legal issue...

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has released a request for proposals to produce a legal research digest that provides potential remedies available to the sponsor and contractors who experience increased costs due to delays and illustrate how those damages are measured. Proposals are due October 2, 2019.

Titles, dates, times, and brief descriptions are now available for the 100+ specialty workshops at the TRB 99th Annual Meeting, January 12-16, 2020, in Washington, D.C. Annual Meeting registration is required for all workshop attendees. Mark your calendar now and plan to attend. Meeting registration and hotel reservations will be available through the TRB Registration and Housing Bureau in earl...

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has released a request for proposals to produce a digest that provides guidance on contractual provisions designed to reduce or avoid claims and disputes. This digest should include a summary of pertinent risk-allocation and risk-management provisions from mega project contracts. Proposals are due September 24, 2019.

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has released a request for proposals to identify SSI and PCII regulations and requirements relevant to transit agencies, and produce a report that includes common industry understandings or questions regarding the designation of potential protected information. Proposals are due September 26, 2019.

TRB's Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) has released a request for proposals to produce a legal research digest that provides transportation attorneys with guidance and resources to assist with the legal changes that will result from the consideration and implementation of advanced and emerging technologies. Proposals are due September 24, 2019.

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 541 explores how state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) acquire proprietary data for transportation applications. Recent technological advancements have led to new types of transportation data with characteristics that include improved quality and greater temporal and wider g...

TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Legal Research Digest (LRD) 76 examines the intersection of transportation law and Indian law as it relates to federal, state, and local transportation agencies. The LRD provides background information on Indians, tribes, and the history of the federal government’s Indian policy and Indian law and explores jurisdiction in Indian countr...

ACRP Research Report 198: Wetland Mitigation, Volume 2, A Guidebook for Airports explores how to mitigate potential impacts to wetlands from airport construction, expansion, and safety improvements. The report addresses a broad range of issues, including: • Concerns over the creation of potential wildlife hazards; • Existing requirements, which may or may not be conflicting; • Impact to existin...

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) LRD 37: Legal Issues Relating to Airports Promoting Competition explores permissible means and methods of encouraging and accommodating competition at U.S. airports. It discusses the history of how competition has been addressed by government and airports and provides the context of the concentration of air carriers and fixed-base operators (FBO...

Attention state departments of transportation! TRB is aware that some TRB sponsors have not been receiving notifications for webinar announcements, the e-newsletter, and other forms of communication. Please ensure that your IT departments are regularly whitelisting the following domains: service.govdelivery.com govdelivery.com gotowebinar.com This must be done manually to avoid emails sent from...