Senate File 23 - Introduced SENATE FILE 23 BY SHIPLEY A BILL FOR An Act relating to the payment of costs by railroad track 1 owners and railroad corporations for certain railroad 2 construction, maintenance, and other related projects. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1879XS (2) 91 th/ns
S.F. 23 Section 1. Section 312.2, subsection 2, Code 2025, is 1 amended to read as follows: 2 2. The treasurer of state shall before making the allotments 3 in subsection 1 credit annually to the highway grade crossing 4 safety fund the sum of seven hundred thousand dollars, credit 5 annually from the road use tax fund the sum of nine hundred 6 thousand dollars to the highway railroad grade crossing surface 7 repair fund, credit monthly to the primary road fund the 8 dollars yielded from an allotment of sixty-five hundredths of 9 one percent of all road use tax funds for the express purpose 10 of carrying out section 307.24, subsection 5 , section 313.4, 11 subsection 2 , and section 307.45 , and credit annually to the 12 primary road fund the sum of five hundred thousand dollars to 13 be used for paying expenses incurred by the state department 14 of transportation other than expenses incurred for extensions 15 of primary roads in cities. All unobligated funds provided by 16 this subsection , except those funds credited to the highway 17 grade crossing safety fund, shall at the end of each year 18 revert to the road use tax fund. Funds in the highway grade 19 crossing safety fund shall not revert to the road use tax 20 fund except to the extent they exceed five hundred thousand 21 dollars at the end of any biennium. The cost of each highway 22 railroad grade crossing repair project shall be allocated in 23 the following manner: 24 a. Twenty percent of the project cost shall be paid by the 25 railroad company. 26 b. Twenty percent of the project cost shall be paid by the 27 highway authority having jurisdiction of the road crossing the 28 railroad. 29 c. Sixty percent of the project cost shall be paid from the 30 highway railroad grade crossing surface repair fund. 31 Sec. 2. Section 327F.13, subsection 7, Code 2025, is amended 32 to read as follows: 33 7. This section only applies to a location where a 34 close-clearance warning device is required to be placed 35 -1- LSB 1879XS (2) 91 th/ns 1/ 5
S.F. 23 pursuant to rules of the department when funds are available 1 from the department to reimburse the owner of the railroad 2 track for the cost of the close-clearance warning device, 3 including cost of installation . The owner of the railroad 4 track is responsible for costs associated with placing warning 5 devices under this section. 6 Sec. 3. Section 327G.11, Code 2025, is amended to read as 7 follows: 8 327G.11 Private farm crossings. 9 When a person owns farmland on both sides of a railway, or 10 when a railway runs parallel with a public highway thereby 11 separating a farm from such highway, the corporation owning 12 or operating the railway, on request of the owner of the 13 farmland, shall construct and maintain a safe and adequate farm 14 crossing or roadway across the railway and right-of-way at such 15 reasonable place as the owner of the farmland may designate. 16 A private farm crossing established or installed pursuant to 17 this section shall be used solely for farming or agricultural 18 purposes. The railroad corporation is responsible for costs 19 associated with constructing and maintaining the farm crossing. 20 Sec. 4. Section 327G.15, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2025, are 21 amended to read as follows: 22 1. Wherever a railway track crosses or shall hereafter cross 23 a highway, street or alley, the railway corporation owning such 24 track and the The department, in the case of primary highways 25 crossed by railway tracks , the board of supervisors of the 26 county in which such a crossing is located, in the case of 27 secondary roads crossed by railway tracks , or the city council 28 of the city in which a crossing is located , in the case of 29 streets and alleys located crossed by railway tracks within 30 a city, may agree with the railroad corporation owning such 31 tracks upon the location, manner, vacation, physical structure, 32 and characteristics and maintenance of the crossing and flasher 33 lights or gate arm signals at the crossing and allocation of 34 costs thereof. The department shall become a party to the 35 -2- LSB 1879XS (2) 91 th/ns 2/ 5
S.F. 23 agreement if grade crossing safety funds are to be used. Up to 1 seventy-five percent of the maintenance cost of flasher lights 2 or gate arm signals at the crossing and an unlimited portion of 3 the cost of installing flasher lights or gate arm signals at 4 the crossing may be paid from the grade crossing safety fund. 5 2. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section , The 6 construction of a crossing and the installation and maintenance 7 of flasher lights or gate signals installed or ordered to be 8 installed before July 1, 1973, shall be assumed wholly by the 9 railroad corporation. 10 Sec. 5. Section 327G.15, subsection 3, Code 2025, is amended 11 by striking the subsection. 12 Sec. 6. Section 327G.24, Code 2025, is amended to read as 13 follows: 14 327G.24 Removal of tracks from crossings. 15 Upon consummation of an abandonment of a railway line 16 authorized under 49 U.S.C. 10903 adopted as of a specific date 17 by rule by the department, or upon interim use of railroad 18 rights-of-way to establish appropriate trails pursuant to 16 19 U.S.C. 1247(d) adopted as of a specific date by rule by the 20 department, if the railway tracks adjacent to a crossing have 21 been removed, but the railway tracks in the crossing have not 22 been removed, the city, county, or other jurisdiction having 23 authority over the highway, street, or alley containing the 24 crossing may remove the tracks from the crossing. However, 25 this section shall not be construed as reducing the obligation 26 or liability of a railway railroad corporation to remove the 27 railway tracks from the crossing. The railroad corporation 28 is responsible for all costs associated with removing railway 29 tracks from crossings including all costs incurred by a city, 30 county, or other jurisdiction with authority that removes 31 railway tracks. 32 Sec. 7. Section 327G.30, subsection 1, Code 2025, is amended 33 to read as follows: 34 1. If a grade crossing surface of a railroad track and a 35 -3- LSB 1879XS (2) 91 th/ns 3/ 5
S.F. 23 highway, street, or alley shall require repairs or maintenance, 1 the costs for the maintenance may be paid as provided in 2 section 312.2, subsection 2 shall be assumed wholly by the 3 railroad corporation that owns the track . 4 Sec. 8. Section 327G.30, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2025, are 5 amended by striking the subsections. 6 Sec. 9. Section 327G.81, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 7 1, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows: 8 A Other than as provided in subsection 1A, a person, 9 including a state agency or political subdivision of the state, 10 who acquires a railroad right-of-way after July 1, 1979, 11 for a purpose other than farming has all of the following 12 responsibilities concerning that right-of-way: 13 Sec. 10. Section 327G.81, Code 2025, is amended by adding 14 the following new subsection: 15 NEW SUBSECTION . 1A. A railroad corporation that transfers 16 a railroad right-of-way to a person who is not a railroad 17 corporation is responsible for the costs associated with the 18 construction and repair of the fence on each side of the 19 property, private crossings as provided for in section 327G.11, 20 drainage as delineated in chapter 468, subchapter V, and 21 overhead, underground, or multiple crossings in accord with 22 section 327G.12. All such construction and repair shall be 23 completed by the railroad corporation prior to the transfer of 24 the right-of-way, unless a different schedule is agreed to by 25 the person acquiring the right-of-way. 26 Sec. 11. REPEAL. Sections 327G.19 and 327G.29, Code 2025, 27 are repealed. 28 Sec. 12. TRANSFER OF REMAINING MONEYS. There is transferred 29 from the highway grade crossing safety fund established under 30 section 327G.19 and highway railroad grade crossing surface 31 repair fund established under section 327G.29 to the road 32 use tax fund created in section 312.1 all unencumbered or 33 unobligated moneys remaining on the effective date of this Act. 34 EXPLANATION 35 -4- LSB 1879XS (2) 91 th/ns 4/ 5
S.F. 23 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 1 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 2 Current law requires the owner of a railroad track to 3 place certain warning devices (Code section 327F.13 4 close-clearance warning devices; Code section 327G.15 5 signals and gate arms at railway and highway crossings at 6 grade). Railroad corporations are required to, among other 7 things, construct and maintain private farm crossings (Code 8 section 327G.11); construct crossings that intersect highways 9 at grade (Code section 327G.15); remove unused crossings 10 that intersect highways (Code section 327G.24); and maintain 11 certain improvements along the railroad track rights-of-way 12 (Code section 327G.81). A railroad corporation is eligible to 13 agree with the department of transportation (DOT) and the local 14 government entity with jurisdiction over the relevant area 15 about certain costs, and the DOT must assist with the project 16 by paying a portion of the cost for the work, if moneys are 17 available, from the highway railroad grade crossing surface 18 repair fund. 19 This bill requires the owner of a railroad track or a 20 railroad corporation, as applicable, to bear the cost of the 21 responsibilities detailed in the bill without assistance from 22 the DOT or another governmental entity. 23 The bill requires a railroad corporation that transfers 24 a railroad right-of-way to a person who is not a railroad 25 corporation to pay the costs associated with the related 26 right-of-way improvements prior to the transfer, or on a 27 schedule agreed to by the transferee. 28 The bill strikes or repeals all provisions relating to the 29 highway grade crossing safety fund and the highway railroad 30 grade crossing surface repair fund. Any moneys remaining in 31 the repealed funds are transferred to the road use tax fund. 32 -5- LSB 1879XS (2) 91 th/ns 5/ 5