Section 154 transfer program: open container (23 C.F.R. Part 1270; 23 U.S.C. § 154) ― penalty transfer funds to support alcohol and drug-impaired driving countermeasures in states that fail to enact…

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded the Mississippi Department of Public Safety $6,321,698 on October 1, 2025, through the Section 154 Alcohol Open Container Requirements formula grant program (CFDA 20.607). The award funds alcohol and drug-impaired driving countermeasures in Mississippi, a state subject to penalty fund transfers under 23 U.S.C. Section 154 for failure to enact and enforce open container laws prohibiting possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages in vehicle passenger areas on public highways. Performance runs through September 30, 2029, with oversight at the recipient's Jackson, Mississippi office. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety administers the award through its Commercial Transportation Enforcement Division and serves as the designated State Highway Safety Office. The formula grant structure allows Mississippi to determine allocation of transferred penalty funds between alcohol and drug-impaired driving countermeasures and related traffic safety activities. Funds are available until expended through electronic transfer of funds payment method, with the recipient required to retain records for three years following submission of final expenditure reports.

Section 154 transfer program: open container (23 C.F.R. Part 1270; 23 U.S.C. § 154) ― penalty transfer funds to support alcohol and drug-impaired driving countermeasures in states that fail to enact and enforce conforming open alcohol container laws. Under section 154, to avoid the transfer of funds, a state must enact and enforce an open container law that prohibits the possession of any open alcoholic beverage container, or the consumption of any alcoholic beverage, in the passenger area of any motor vehicle (including possession or consumption by the driver of the vehicle) located on a public highway, or the right-of-way of a public highway, in the state. 23 U.S.C. 154(B)(1)