Can the member jurisdictions (MD, DC, VA) establish an independent SSO over WMATA?
While we understand the desire to establish an independently-funded, independently-staffed, and legally-authorized SSO over WMATA safety in the short-term, certain factors render it impractical to do so. The White Paper provides three basic reasons why an independently-funded, independently-staffed, and legally-authorized Metro Safety Commission (MSC) could not and should not be established in the short-term. First, implementing the MSC will likely entail actions that will require more than a year to establish. Resources and rules of participation will have to be formalized through binding agreements, and may require legislative action on the local, state, and federal levels. Second, the current budgetary challenges on the three jurisdictions due to the economic recession may further constrain the ability of the jurisdictions to take Phase Two actions sooner rather than later and additional federal resources are not yet available. Third, Phase Two may be shaped by a variety of federal
