Senate File 38 - Introduced SENATE FILE 38 BY SHIPLEY A BILL FOR An Act relating to the operation of railroad trains by a crew 1 of two or more persons, and providing penalties. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1882XS (1) 91 th/ns
S.F. 38 Section 1. NEW SECTION . 327F.33 Crew size penalties. 1 1. A locomotive or railroad train operated by a class I rail 2 carrier or class II rail carrier, as those terms are defined by 3 the federal surface transportation board, when operating on a 4 railroad track in connection with the movement of passengers or 5 freight, shall be operated by a crew consisting of at least two 6 qualified railroad employees. 7 2. a. A railroad company found guilty of violating 8 subsection 1 shall, upon conviction, be subject to one of the 9 following penalties: 10 (1) For a first offense, a schedule three penalty as 11 provided in section 327C.5. 12 (2) For a second or subsequent offense, a schedule five 13 penalty as provided in section 327C.5. A second offense under 14 this section shall be a first violation for the purposes of 15 calculating the schedule five penalty. 16 b. For purposes of determining whether a conviction is a 17 first, second, or subsequent offense, only offenses committed 18 within the three-year period prior to the most recent offense 19 shall be considered. 20 EXPLANATION 21 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 22 the explanations substance by the members of the general assembly. 23 This bill requires a locomotive or railroad train operated 24 by a class I rail carrier or class II rail carrier, when 25 operating on a railroad track in connection with the movement 26 of passengers or freight, to be operated by a crew consisting 27 of at least two qualified railroad employees. The federal 28 surface transportation board (STB) is an independent federal 29 agency that is charged with the economic regulation of various 30 modes of surface transportation including primarily freight 31 rail. The STB has defined three classes of railway carriers, 32 designated as class I, class II, and class III, respectively, 33 according to annual revenue criteria. The STB threshold for 34 a class I carrier includes a carrier earning revenue greater 35 -1- LSB 1882XS (1) 91 th/ns 1/ 2
S.F. 38 than $1,053,709,560. A class II carrier is a carrier earning 1 revenue between $47,299,851 and $1,053,709,560. 2 The bill provides that a railroad company found guilty of 3 violating this requirement is subject to a penalty of not less 4 than $500 and not more than $1,000 for a first offense, not 5 less than $500 and not more than $5,000 for a second offense, 6 and not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000 for a third 7 or subsequent offense. For purposes of determining whether a 8 conviction is a first, second, or subsequent offense, the bill 9 provides that only offenses committed within the three-year 10 period prior to the most recent offense shall be considered. 11 -2- LSB 1882XS (1) 91 th/ns 2/ 2