TSA Modernization Act

132 STAT. 3576

PUBLIC LAW 115–254—OCT. 5, 2018
(B) relevant Federal departments and agencies; and
(C) airport operators.
(b) AIRPORT SECURITY STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall update the
2012 National Strategy for Airport Perimeter and Access Control Security (referred to in this section as the ‘‘National
Strategy’’).
(2) CONTENTS.—The update to the National Strategy shall
include—
(A) information from the Risk Assessment of Airport
Security; and
(B) information on—
(i) airport security-related activities;
(ii) the status of TSA efforts to address the objectives of the National Strategy;
(iii) finalized outcome-based performance measures
and performance levels for—
(I) each activity described in clause (i); and
(II) each objective described in clause (ii); and
(iv) input from airport operators.
(3) UPDATES.—Not later than 90 days after the date the
update to the National Strategy is complete, the Administrator
shall establish a regular schedule for determining if and when
additional updates to the strategy under paragraph (1) are
necessary.

Subtitle D—Passenger and Cargo Security
SEC. 1937. PRECHECK PROGRAM.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 44919 is amended to read as follows:

DSK1ZX1V12 with PUBLAW

‘‘§ 44919. PreCheck Program
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Transportation
Security Administration shall continue to administer the PreCheck
Program in accordance with section 109(a)(3) of the Aviation and
Transportation Security Act (49 U.S.C. 114 note).
‘‘(b) EXPANSION.—Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of the TSA Modernization Act, the Administrator shall
enter into an agreement, using other transaction authority under
section 114(m) of this title, with at least 2 private sector entities
to increase the methods and capabilities available for the public
to enroll in the PreCheck Program.
‘‘(c) MINIMUM CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS.—At least 1 agreement under subsection (b) shall include the following capabilities:
‘‘(1) Start-to-finish secure online or mobile enrollment capability.
‘‘(2) Vetting of an applicant by means other than biometrics,
such as a risk assessment, if—
‘‘(A) such means—
‘‘(i) are evaluated and certified by the Secretary
of Homeland Security;
‘‘(ii) meet the definition of a qualified anti-terrorism technology under section 865 of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 444); and

VerDate Sep 11 2014

08:01 Nov 12, 2019

Jkt 089139

PO 00254

Frm 00392

Fmt 6580

Sfmt 6581

E:\PUBLAW\PUBL254.115

PUBL254

PUBLIC LAW 115–254—OCT. 5, 2018

132 STAT. 3577

DSK1ZX1V12 with PUBLAW

‘‘(iii) are determined by the Administrator to provide a risk assessment that is as effective as a fingerprint-based criminal history records check conducted
through the Federal Bureau of Investigation with
respect to identifying individuals who are not qualified
to participate in the PreCheck Program due to disqualifying criminal history; and
‘‘(B) with regard to private sector risk assessments,
the Secretary has certified that reasonable procedures are
in place with regard to the accuracy, relevancy, and proper
utilization of information employed in such risk assessments.
‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS.—At least 1 agreement under subsection (b) shall include the following capabilities:
‘‘(1) Start-to-finish secure online or mobile enrollment capability.
‘‘(2) Vetting of an applicant by means of biometrics if the
collection—
‘‘(A) is comparable with the appropriate and applicable
standards developed by the National Institute of Standards
and Technology;
‘‘(B) protects privacy and data security, including that
any personally identifiable information is collected,
retained, used, and shared in a manner consistent with
section 552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly
known as ‘Privacy Act of 1974’), and with agency regulations;
‘‘(C) is evaluated and certified by the Secretary of
Homeland Security; and
‘‘(D) is determined by the Administrator to provide
a risk assessment that is as effective as a fingerprintbased criminal history records check conducted through
the Federal Bureau of Investigation with respect to identifying individuals who are not qualified to participate in
the PreCheck Program due to disqualifying criminal history.
‘‘(e) TARGET ENROLLMENT.—Subject to subsections (b), (c), and
(d), the Administrator shall take actions to expand the total number
of individuals enrolled in the PreCheck Program as follows:
‘‘(1) 7,000,000 passengers before October 1, 2019.
‘‘(2) 10,000,000 passengers before October 1, 2020.
‘‘(3) 15,000,000 passengers before October 1, 2021.
‘‘(f) MARKETING OF PRECHECK PROGRAM.—Not later than 90
days after the date of enactment of the TSA Modernization Act,
the Administrator shall—
‘‘(1) enter into at least 2 agreements, using other transaction authority under section 114(m) of this title, to market
the PreCheck Program; and
‘‘(2) implement a long-term strategy for partnering with
the private sector to encourage enrollment in such program.
‘‘(g) IDENTITY VERIFICATION ENHANCEMENT.—The Administrator shall—
‘‘(1) coordinate with the heads of appropriate components
of the Department to leverage Department-held data and technologies to verify the identity and citizenship of individuals
enrolling in the PreCheck Program;

VerDate Sep 11 2014

08:01 Nov 12, 2019

Jkt 089139

PO 00254

Frm 00393

Fmt 6580

Sfmt 6581

E:\PUBLAW\PUBL254.115

PUBL254

132 STAT. 3578

PUBLIC LAW 115–254—OCT. 5, 2018

DSK1ZX1V12 with PUBLAW

‘‘(2) partner with the private sector to use biometrics and
authentication standards, such as relevant standards developed
by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to facilitate enrollment in the program; and
‘‘(3) consider leveraging the existing resources and abilities
of airports to collect fingerprints for use in background checks
to expedite identity verification.
‘‘(h) PRECHECK PROGRAM LANES OPERATION.—The Administrator shall—
‘‘(1) ensure that PreCheck Program screening lanes are
open and available during peak and high-volume travel times
at appropriate airports to individuals enrolled in the PreCheck
Program; and
‘‘(2) make every practicable effort to provide expedited
screening at standard screening lanes during times when
PreCheck Program screening lanes are closed to individuals
enrolled in the program in order to maintain operational efficiency.
‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES FOR EXPEDITED SECURITY SCREENING.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), an individual
specified in paragraph (2) is eligible for expedited security
screening under the PreCheck Program.
‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS SPECIFIED.—An individual specified in this
subsection is any of the following:
‘‘(A) A member of the Armed Forces, including a
member of a reserve component or the National Guard.
‘‘(B) A cadet or midshipman of the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, the
United States Air Force Academy, or the United States
Coast Guard Academy.
‘‘(C) A family member of an individual specified in
subparagraph (A) or (B) who is younger than 12 years
old and accompanying the individual.
‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION.—The eligibility of an individual
specified in paragraph (2) for expedited security screening
under the PreCheck Program is subject to such policies and
procedures as the Administrator may prescribe to carry out
this subsection, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense
and, with respect to the United States Coast Guard, the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard.
‘‘(j) VETTING FOR PRECHECK PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS.—The
Administrator shall initiate an assessment to identify any security
vulnerabilities in the vetting process for the PreCheck Program,
including determining whether subjecting PreCheck Program
participants to recurrent fingerprint-based criminal history records
checks, in addition to recurrent checks against the terrorist
watchlist, could be done in a cost-effective manner to strengthen
the security of the PreCheck Program.
‘‘(k) ASSURANCE OF SEPARATE PROGRAM.—In carrying out this
section, the Administrator shall ensure that the additional private
sector application capabilities under subsections (b), (c), and (d)
are undertaken in addition to any other related TSA program,
initiative, or procurement, including the Universal Enrollment Services program.
‘‘(l) EXPENDITURE OF FUNDS.—Any Federal funds expended by
the Administrator to expand PreCheck Program enrollment shall

VerDate Sep 11 2014

08:01 Nov 12, 2019

Jkt 089139

PO 00254

Frm 00394

Fmt 6580

Sfmt 6581

E:\PUBLAW\PUBL254.115

PUBL254

PUBLIC LAW 115–254—OCT. 5, 2018

132 STAT. 3579

be expended in a manner that includes the requirements of this
section.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) REPEAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the FAA Extension,
Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (49 U.S.C. 44901 note) and
the items relating to that subtitle in the table of contents
of that Act are repealed.
(2) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of chapter
449 is amended by amending the item relating to section 44919
to read as follows:

49 USC 44901
prec.

‘‘44919. PreCheck Program.’’.

(3) SCREENING PASSENGERS AND
44901(a) is amended by striking ‘‘44919 or’’.

PROPERTY.—Section

SEC. 1938. PRECHECK EXPEDITED SCREENING.

DSK1ZX1V12 with PUBLAW

(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall ensure that only
a traveler who is a member of a trusted traveler program specified
in subsection (b) is permitted to use a TSA PreCheck security
screening lane at a passenger screening checkpoint.
(b) TRUSTED TRAVELER PROGRAMS SPECIFIED.—A trusted traveler program specified in this subsection is any of the following:
(1) The PreCheck Program under section 44919 of title
49, United States Code.
(2) Any other program implemented by the TSA under
section 109(a)(3) of the Aviation and Transportation Security
Act (49 U.S.C. 114 note).
(3) Any other United States Government program that
issues a unique identifier, such as a known traveler number,
that the TSA accepts as validating that the individual holding
such identifier is a member of a known low-risk population.
(c) EXEMPTIONS.—Nothing in this section shall affect—
(1) the authority of the Administrator, under section 44927
of title 49, United States Code, to carry out expedited screening
for members of the Armed Forces with disabilities or severe
injuries or veterans with disabilities or severe injuries; or
(2) the Honor Flight program under section 44928 of that
title.
(d) LOW-RISK TRAVELERS.—Any traveler who is determined by
the Administrator to be low risk based on the traveler’s age and
who is not a member of a trusted traveler program specified in
subsection (b) shall be permitted to utilize TSA PreCheck security
screening lanes at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints when traveling on the same reservation as a member of
such a program.
(e) RISK MODIFIED SCREENING.—
(1) PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 60 days after the date
of enactment of this Act and subject to paragraph (2), the
Administrator shall commence a pilot program regarding a
risk modified screening protocol for lanes other than designated
TSA PreCheck security screening lanes at passenger screening
checkpoints, in airports of varying categories, to further segment passengers based on risk.
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—Only a low-risk passenger shall be eligible
to participate in the risk modified screening pilot program
under paragraph (1).

VerDate Sep 11 2014

08:01 Nov 12, 2019

Jkt 089139

PO 00254

Frm 00395

Fmt 6580

Sfmt 6581

E:\PUBLAW\PUBL254.115

49 USC 44919
note.

PUBL254