Senate File 243 - Introduced
SENATE FILE 243
BY SHIPLEY
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the operation of railroad trains by a crew
2 of two or more persons, and providing penalties.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 327F.33 Crew size —— penalties.
2 1. A locomotive or railroad train operated by a class I rail
3 carrier or class II rail carrier, as those terms are defined by
4 the federal surface transportation board, when operating on a
5 railroad track in connection with the movement of passengers or
6 freight, shall be operated by a crew consisting of at least two
7 qualified railroad employees.
8 2. a. A railroad company found guilty of violating
9 subsection 1 shall, upon conviction, be subject to one of the
10 following penalties:
11 (1) For a first offense, a schedule “three” penalty as
12 provided in section 327C.5.
13 (2) For a second or subsequent offense, a schedule “five”
14 penalty as provided in section 327C.5. A second offense under
15 this section shall be a first violation for the purposes of
16 calculating the schedule “five” penalty.
17 b. For purposes of determining whether a conviction is a
18 first, second, or subsequent offense, only offenses committed
19 within the three-year period prior to the most recent offense
20 shall be considered.
21 EXPLANATION
22 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
23 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
24 This bill requires a locomotive or railroad train operated
25 by a class I rail carrier or class II rail carrier, when
26 operating on a railroad track in connection with the movement
27 of passengers or freight, to be operated by a crew consisting
28 of at least two qualified railroad employees. The federal
29 surface transportation board (STB) is an independent federal
30 agency that is charged with the economic regulation of various
31 modes of surface transportation including primarily freight
32 rail. The STB has defined three classes of railway carriers,
33 designated as class I, class II, and class III, respectively,
34 according to annual revenue criteria. The STB thresholds, last
35 adjusted for inflation in 2019, for a class I carrier includes
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 S.F. 243
1 a carrier earning revenue greater than $504,803,294. A class
2 II carrier is a carrier earning revenue between $40,387,772 and
3 $504,803,294.
4 The bill provides that a railroad company found guilty of
5 violating this requirement is subject to a penalty of not less
6 than $500 and not more than $1,000 for a first offense, not
7 less than $500 and not more than $5,000 for a second offense,
8 and not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000 for a third
9 or subsequent offense. For purposes of determining whether a
10 conviction is a first, second, or subsequent offense, the bill
11 provides that only offenses committed within the three-year
12 period prior to the most recent offense shall be considered.
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