II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2063

To authorize activities under the Federal railroad safety laws for fiscal years

1999 through 2002, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 12, 1998

Mr. HOLLINGS (by request) introduced the following bill; which was read twice

and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To authorize activities under the Federal railroad safety laws

for fiscal years 1999 through 2002, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Railroad Safe5 ty Authorization Act of 1998’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds and declares that—

8 (1) consistent with the purposes of the Govern9 ment Performance and Results Act, the Federal

10 Railroad Administration has reshaped the regulatory
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1 and compliance components of the Federal railroad

2 safety program to ensure that the entire program is

3 squarely focused on achieving demonstrable results,

4 i.e., reducing the number of deaths and injuries as5 sociated with railroading in the United States. The

6 foundation of the program is its emphasis on inclu7 sion of all interested parties—railroad employees

8 and labor unions, railroad management, manufactur9 ers, State government groups, and public associa10 tions—in identifying safety problems and imple11 menting solutions. This emphasis on safety partner12 ship has helped begin a transformation of the safety

13 culture of the Nation’s railroads that is producing

14 safety and business benefits;

15 (2) the Safety Assurance and Compliance Pro16 gram is an approach to safety that emphasizes the

17 active partnership of the Federal Railroad Adminis18 tration, rail labor representatives, and railroad man19 agement in identifying current safety problems and

20 jointly developing effective solutions to those prob21 lems. One fundamental principle of this approach is

22 tracing a safety problem to its root cause and at23 tacking that cause rather than only its symptoms.

24 Where a problem is determined to be system-wide,

25 this approach calls for a system-wide solution.
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1 Under this approach, FRA seeks to focus its inspec2 tion and enforcement resources on the most serious

3 safety problems. This approach has demonstrated

4 significant capacity for identifying and eliminating

5 the root cause of system-wide safety problems by en6 listing those most directly affected by such prob7 lems—railroad employees and managers—in a part8 nership effort. Used together with FRA’s regular in9 spections and enforcement tools, this approach pro10 vides a firm basis for addressing the safety chal11 lenges facing the changing railroad industry and ad12 vancing toward the safety program’s ultimate goal

13 of zero tolerance for any safety hazard in the rail14 road industry; and

15 (3) the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee,

16 which was established under the Federal Advisory

17 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2), is proving to be

18 an effective means of involving interested members

19 of the railroad community in the development of

20 railroad safety rules issued by the Federal Railroad

21 Administration. The Congress strongly encourages

22 the continued use of this collaborative method of de23 veloping safety regulations, which is more likely to

24 produce rules that are based on an industry consen25 sus and, accordingly, more readily understood and
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1 more consistently complied with, than rules produced

2 under more traditional methods.

3 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.

4 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

5 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

6 of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other

7 provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to

8 a section or other provision of title 49, United States

9 Code.

10 SEC. 4. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

11 The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Findings on the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee and the Safety Assurance and Compliance Program.

Sec. 3. Amendment of title 49, United States Code.

Sec. 4. Table of contents.

TITLE I—HOURS OF SERVICE

Sec. 101. Definitions.

Sec. 102. Limitations on duty hours of train employees.

Sec. 103. Limitations on duty hours of signal employees.

Sec. 104. Limitations on duty hours of dispatching service employees.

Sec. 105. Conforming amendments regarding hours of service violations.

Sec. 106. Fatigue management plans.

Sec. 107. Electronic recordkeeping.

TITLE II—MONITORING OF RAILROAD RADIO COMMUNICATIONS

Sec. 201. Enhanced inspection and investigation authority under the Federal

railroad safety laws.

Sec. 202. Exception to chapter 119 of title 18, United States Code.

TITLE III—RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Sec. 301. Railroad accident and incident reporting.

Sec. 302. High-speed rail noise regulation.

TITLE IV—PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES AND WITNESSES

Sec. 401. Expansion of employee protections.

Sec. 402. Interfering with or hampering major investigations.

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
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Sec. 501. Expansion of emergency order authority.

Sec. 502. Safety considerations in grants or loans to commuter railroads.

Sec. 503. Technical amendments regarding adjustment of civil penalties for inflation.

Sec. 504. Emergency notification of grade crossing problems.

Sec. 505. Authorization of appropriations.

1 TITLE I—HOURS OF SERVICE

2 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

3 Section 21101 is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, including

5 any manager, supervisor, official, agent, or other

6 employee of a railroad carrier or any employee of an

7 independent contractor to a railroad carrier’’ after

8 ‘‘affecting train movements’’;

9 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘employed by

10 a railroad carrier who is engaged in installing, re11 pairing, or maintaining signal systems’’ and sub12 stituting ‘‘who is engaged in installing, repairing, or

13 maintaining signal systems, including any manager,

14 supervisor, official, agent, or other employee of a

15 railroad carrier or any employee of an independent

16 contractor to a railroad carrier’’;

17 (3) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, and any

18 manager, supervisor, official, agent, or other em19 ployee of a railroad carrier or any employee of an

20 independent contractor to a railroad carrier’’ after

21 ‘‘including a hostler’’; and

22 (4) by inserting the following new paragraphs:
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1 ‘‘(6) ‘dually employed’ means being at the same

2 time in the employ of two or more railroad carriers,

3 of two or more independent contractors to a railroad

4 carrier, or of both a railroad carrier and one or more

5 independent contractors to a railroad carrier.

6 ‘‘(7) ‘independent contractor to a railroad car7 rier’ or, in context, ‘independent contractor,’ means

8 an independent contractor to a railroad carrier or a

9 subcontractor to an independent contractor to a rail10 road carrier.’’.

11 SEC. 102. LIMITATIONS ON DUTY HOURS OF TRAIN EM12 PLOYEES.

13 (a) Section 21103(a) is amended by—

14 (1) striking ‘‘officers’’ and substituting ‘‘man15 agers, supervisors, officers,’’;

16 (2) redesignating the text of the subsection as

17 paragraph (1) of the subsection, and redesignating

18 paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and

19 (B), respectively, of the paragraph; and

20 (3) inserting the following at the end:

21 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in subsection (c) of

22 this section, a railroad carrier and its managers, su23 pervisors, officers, and agents may not, if the rail24 road carrier has actual knowledge that a train em25 ployee is dually employed and actual knowledge of
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1 the individual’s schedule for the time period in ques2 tion, require or allow a dually employed train em3 ployee to remain or go on duty, nor may a dually

4 employed train employee remain or go on duty—

5 ‘‘(A) unless that employee has had at least

6 8 consecutive hours off duty during the prior

7 24 hours; or

8 ‘‘(B) after that employee has been on duty

9 for 12 consecutive hours, until that employee

10 has had a least 10 consecutive hours off duty.’’.

11 (b) Section 21103(b) is amended—

12 (1) in paragraph (b)(3), by striking ‘‘the rail13 road carrier’’ and substituting ‘‘a railroad carrier or

14 independent contractor to a railroad carrier’’; and

15 (2) by inserting the following new paragraph at

16 the end:

17 ‘‘(8) All time on duty for any railroad carrier

18 or independent contractor to a railroad carrier shall

19 be included.’’.

20 (c) Section 21103 is amended by adding the following

21 at the end:

22 ‘‘(d) NOTICE ABOUT DUAL EMPLOYMENT.—(1) Not

23 later than January 31 each year, a railroad carrier shall

24 inform each of its train employees in writing—
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1 ‘‘(A) that all time spent performing aggregate

2 duty on one or more railroad carriers or one or more

3 independent contractors to a railroad carrier counts

4 towards the limitations on duty hours of this section;

5 and

6 ‘‘(B) about the employee’s responsibility under

7 this subsection to notify each employer when the em8 ployee enters into a multi-employer relationship.

9 ‘‘(2) A dually employed train employee shall inform

10 each of his or her railroad carrier and independent con11 tractor employers in writing within 5 days of establishing

12 a multi-employer relationship.

13 ‘‘(3) A railroad carrier or independent contractor re14 ceiving written notification of dual employment shall re15 tain one copy of the notification for a period of two years

16 at its system and division headquarters, and shall make

17 the record available to representatives of the Secretary for

18 inspection and copying during normal business hours.’’.

19 SEC. 103. LIMITATIONS ON DUTY HOURS OF SIGNAL EM20 PLOYEES.

21 (a) Section 21104(a)(2) is amended by—

22 (1) striking ‘‘officers’’ and substituting ‘‘man23 agers, supervisors, officers,’’;

24 (2) redesignating the text of the paragraph as

25 subparagraph (A) of the paragraph, and redesignat-
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1 ing subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as clauses (i),

2 (ii), and (iii), respectively, of the subparagraph; and

3 (3) inserting the following at the end:

4 ‘‘(B) Except as provided in subsection (c)

5 of this section, a railroad carrier and its man6 agers, supervisors, officers, and agents may not,

7 if the railroad carrier has actual knowledge that

8 a signal employee is dually employed and actual

9 knowledge of the individual’s schedule for the

10 time period in question, require or allow a du11 ally employed signal employee to remain or go

12 on duty, nor may a dually employed signal em13 ployee remain or go on duty—

14 ‘‘(i) unless that employee has had at

15 least 8 consecutive hours off duty during

16 the prior 24 hours;

17 ‘‘(ii) after that employee has been on

18 duty for 12 consecutive hours, until that

19 employee has had at least 10 consecutive

20 hours off duty; or

21 ‘‘(iii) after that employee has been on

22 duty a total of 12 hours during a 24-hour

23 period, or after the end of that 24-hour pe24 riod, whichever occurs first, until that em-
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1 ployee has had at least 8 consecutive hours

2 off duty.’’.

3 (b) Section 21104(b) is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (b)(2), by striking ‘‘the rail5 road carrier’’ and substituting ‘‘a railroad carrier or

6 independent contractor to a railroad carrier’’;

7 (2) in paragraph (b)(3), by striking ‘‘, except

8 that up to one hour of that time spent returning

9 from the final trouble call of a period of continuous

10 or broken service is time off duty’’; and

11 (3) by inserting the following new paragraph at

12 the end:

13 ‘‘(8) All time on duty for any railroad carrier

14 or independent contractor to a railroad carrier shall

15 be included.’’.

16 (c) Section 21104 is amended by adding the following

17 at the end:

18 ‘‘(d) NOTICE ABOUT DUAL EMPLOYMENT.—(1) Not

19 later than January 31 each year, a railroad carrier shall

20 inform each of its signal employees in writing—

21 ‘‘(A) that all time spent performing aggregate

22 duty on one or more railroad carriers or one or more

23 independent contractors to a railroad carrier counts

24 towards the limitations on duty hours of this section;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(B) about the employee’s responsibility under

2 this subsection to notify each employer when the em3 ployee enters into a multi-employer relationship.

4 ‘‘(2) A dually employed signal employee shall inform

5 each of his or her railroad carrier and independent con6 tractor employers in writing within 5 days of establishing

7 a multi-employer relationship.

8 ‘‘(3) A railroad carrier or independent contractor re9 ceiving written notification of dual employment shall re10 tain one copy of the notification for a period of two years

11 at its system and division headquarters, and shall make

12 the record available to representatives of the Secretary for

13 inspection and copying during normal business hours.’’.

14 SEC. 104. LIMITATIONS ON DUTY HOURS OF DISPATCHING

15 SERVICE EMPLOYEES.

16 (a) Section 21105(b) is amended by—

17 (1) striking ‘‘or allowed’’ and substituting ‘‘or

18 allowed by a railroad carrier or its managers, super19 visors, officers, and agents’’;

20 (2) redesignating the text of the subsection as

21 paragraph (1) of the subsection, and redesignating

22 paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and

23 (B), respectively, of the paragraph; and

24 (3) inserting the following at the end:
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1 ‘‘(2) Except as provided in subsection (d) of

2 this section, a railroad carrier and its managers, su3 pervisors, officers, and agents may not, if the rail4 road carrier has actual knowledge that a dispatching

5 service employee is dually employed and actual

6 knowledge of the individual’s schedule for the time

7 period in question, require or allow a dually em8 ployed dispatching service employee to remain or go

9 on duty, nor may a dually employed dispatching

10 service employee remain or go on duty, for more

11 than—

12 ‘‘(A) a total of 9 hours during a 24-hour

13 period in a tower, office, station, or place at

14 which at least 2 shifts are employed; or

15 ‘‘(B) a total of 12 hours during a 24-hour

16 period in a tower, office, station, or place at

17 which only one shift is employed.’’.

18 (b) Section 21105(c) is amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(c) DETERMINING TIME ON DUTY.—In determining

20 under subsection (b) of this section the time a dispatching

21 service employee is on or off duty, the following rules

22 apply:

23 ‘‘(1) Time spent performing any other service

24 for one or more railroad carriers or independent con25 tractors to railroad carriers (or a combination there-
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1 of) during a 24-hour period in which the employee

2 is on duty in a tower, office, station, or other place

3 is time on duty in that tower, office, station, or

4 place, and counts toward the employee’s aggregate

5 time on duty.

6 ‘‘(2) If during a 24-hour period an employee

7 performs the duties of a dispatching service em8 ployee for more than one railroad carrier or inde9 pendent contractor to a railroad carrier, and at least

10 one of those tours of duty is in a tower, office, sta11 tion, or other place at which at least two shifts are

12 employed, then the duty limits of paragraph (b)(1)

13 of this section apply.

14 ‘‘(3) All time on duty by the employee for any

15 railroad carrier or independent contractor to a rail16 road carrier shall be included.’’.

17 (c) Section 21105 is amended by adding the following

18 at the end:

19 ‘‘(e) NOTICE ABOUT DUAL EMPLOYMENT.—(1) Not

20 later than January 31 each year, a railroad carrier shall

21 inform each of its dispatching service employees in writ22 ing—

23 ‘‘(A) that all time spent performing aggregate

24 duty on one or more railroad carriers or one or more

25 independent contractors to a railroad carrier counts
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1 towards the limitations on duty hours of this section;

2 and

3 ‘‘(B) about the employee’s responsibility under

4 this subsection to notify each employer when the em5 ployee enters into a multi-employer relationship.

6 ‘‘(2) A dually employed dispatching service employee

7 shall inform each of his or her railroad carrier and inde8 pendent contractor employers in writing within 5 days of

9 establishing a multi-employer relationship.

10 ‘‘(3) A railroad carrier or independent contractor re11 ceiving written notification of dual employment shall re12 tain one copy of the notification for a period of two years

13 at its system and division headquarters, and shall make

14 the record available to representatives of the Secretary for

15 inspection and copying during normal business hours.’’.

16 SEC. 105. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS REGARDING HOURS

17 OF SERVICE VIOLATIONS.

18 (a) Section 21106 is amended by striking ‘‘officers

19 and agents’’ and substituting ‘‘managers, supervisors, offi20 cers, agents, and independent contractors’’.

21 (b) Section 21303(a)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘or

22 violating any provision of a waiver applicable to that per23 son that has been granted under section 21108 of this

24 title, is liable to the United States Government for a civil

25 penalty’’ and substituting ‘‘any provision of a waiver appli-
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1 cable to that person that has been granted under section

2 21108 or 21109 of this title, or any provision of a regula3 tion issued under section 21109 of this title, is liable to

4 the United States Government for a civil penalty’’.

5 (c) Section 21303(c) is amended by striking ‘‘officers

6 and agents’’ and substituting ‘‘managers, supervisors, offi7 cers, agents, and independent contractors’’.

8 SEC. 106. FATIGUE MANAGEMENT PLANS.

9 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 211 is amended by add10 ing at the end the following new section:

11 ‘‘§ 21109. Fatigue management plans

12 ‘‘(a) PLAN SUBMISSION.—(1) Each Class I and Class

13 II railroad carrier, each railroad carrier providing intercity

14 rail passenger service, and each railroad carrier providing

15 commuter passenger service, shall submit to the Secretary

16 of Transportation a fatigue management plan that is de17 signed to reduce the fatigue experienced by railroad em18 ployees covered by the hours of service laws and to reduce

19 the likelihood of accidents and injuries caused by fatigue.

20 The plan shall be submitted not more than 1 year after

21 enactment of this section, or not less than 45 days prior

22 to commencing operations, whichever is later.

23 ‘‘(2) The fatigue management plan shall—

24 ‘‘(A) include a summary of each railroad car25 rier’s analysis supporting each plan element;
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1 ‘‘(B) describe how every condition on the rail2 road carrier’s property that is likely to be affected

3 by fatigue is addressed in the plan; and

4 ‘‘(C) include the name, title, address, and tele5 phone number of the primary person to be contacted

6 with regard to review of the plan.

7 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary is authorized to review each

8 proposed plan and proposed amendment to a plan to de9 termine whether the elements prescribed in subsection (b)

10 of this section are sufficiently and rationally addressed

11 and discussed in the railroad’s plan submission or pro12 posed amendment to the plan.

13 ‘‘(B) If the proposed plan or amendment to the plan

14 is reviewed and not approved, the Secretary shall notify

15 the affected railroad carrier as to the specific points in

16 which the proposed plan or amendment to the plan is defi17 cient, and the carrier shall correct all deficiencies within

18 30 days following receipt of written notice from the Sec19 retary.

20 ‘‘(C) To carry out this section, the Secretary may

21 conduct periodic audits of a plan to determine compliance.

22 ‘‘(4) Each affected railroad carrier shall file any pro23 posed amendment to its plan with the Secretary not less

24 than 60 days prior to the proposed effective date of the

25 amendment.
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1 ‘‘(5)(A) Each affected railroad carrier shall employ

2 good faith and use its best efforts to reach agreement by

3 consensus with all of its directly affected covered service

4 employee groups on the contents of the fatigue manage5 ment plan and amendments to the plan, and jointly submit

6 the plan and each amendment to the plan to the Secretary.

7 ‘‘(B) In the event that labor organizations represent

8 classes or crafts of directly affected covered service em9 ployees of the railroad carrier, the railroad carrier shall

10 consult with these organizations in drafting the plan and

11 amendments to the plan. The Secretary shall be author12 ized to provide assistance to the parties involved in a nego13 tiation.

14 ‘‘(C) If the railroad carrier and its employees (includ15 ing any labor organization representing a class or craft

16 of directly affected covered service employees of the rail17 road carrier) cannot reach consensus on the proposed con18 tents of the plan or an amendment to the plan, then—

19 ‘‘(i) the railroad carrier shall file the plan or

20 amendment with the Secretary and

21 ‘‘(ii) directly affected covered service employees

22 and labor organizations representing a class or craft

23 of directly affected covered service employees may,

24 at their option, file a statement with the Secretary
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1 explaining their views on the plan or amendment on

2 which consensus was not reached.

3 ‘‘(6) During the first two years after enactment of

4 this section, compliance with a fatigue management plan

5 approved by the Secretary not requiring a waiver of a pro6 vision of law is not required. However, compliance with

7 a plan approved by the Secretary involving waiver of one

8 or more statutory provisions under subsection (c) of this

9 section is mandatory. No plan involving a waiver shall be

10 implemented unless approved by the Secretary.

11 ‘‘(7) Effective two years after the date of enactment

12 of this section—

13 ‘‘(A) Compliance with a fatigue management

14 plan and amendments becomes mandatory and en15 forceable by the Secretary. No plan or amendment

16 involving a wavier shall be implemented unless ap17 proved by the Secretary.

18 ‘‘(B) In the interest of railroad safety, addi19 tional categories or classes of railroad carriers may

20 be required to submit a fatigue management plan, as

21 determined under regulations prescribed by the Sec22 retary.

23 ‘‘(8) The Secretary may require resubmission or revi24 sion of a fatigue management plan at any time.
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1 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF THE FATIGUE MANAGEMENT

2 PLAN.—(1) Each plan filed with the Secretary under the

3 procedures of subsection (a) of this section shall take into

4 account the varying circumstances of operations by the

5 railroad carrier on different parts of its system, and shall

6 prescribed appropriate fatigue countermeasures to address

7 those varying circumstances.

8 ‘‘(2) With respect to all employees, whether working

9 in scheduled or nonscheduled service, the plan shall ad10 dress the following issues:

11 ‘‘(A) Education and training on the physio12 logical and psychological factors that affect fatigue,

13 as well as strategies to counter fatigue, based on

14 current and evolving scientific and medical research

15 and literature.

16 ‘‘(B) Opportunities for identification, diagnosis,

17 and treatment of sleep disorders, including:

18 screenings as part of required physical examinations;

19 questionnaires to identify employees at risk; home

20 screening of employees; and results assessed by phy21 sicians with a specialization in sleep disorders.

22 ‘‘(C) Effects on employee fatigue of emergency

23 response involving both short-term emergency situa24 tions, including derailments, and long-term emer25 gency situations, including natural disasters.
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1 ‘‘(D) Scheduling practices involving train line2 ups and calling times, including work/rest cycles for

3 shift workers and on-call employees that permit em4 ployees to compensate for cumulative sleep loss by

5 guaranteeing a minimum number of consecutive

6 days off (exclusive of time off due to illness or in7 jury).

8 ‘‘(E) Minimizing the scheduling of a nighttime

9 split shift.

10 ‘‘(F) An analysis demonstrating that staffing

11 levels and workloads were considered when the plan

12 was formulated.

13 ‘‘(G) Alertness strategies, such as policies on

14 napping, to address acute sleepiness and fatigue

15 while an employee is on duty.

16 ‘‘(H) Opportunities to obtain restful sleep at

17 lodging facilities, including sleeping quarters pro18 vided by the railroad carrier.

19 ‘‘(3) With respect only to employees working in non20 scheduled service, the plan shall address the following

21 areas:

22 ‘‘(A) Increasing the number of consecutive

23 hours of undisturbed rest to an employee in connec24 tion with the scheduling of a duty call.
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1 ‘‘(B) Lengthening the notice provided to an em2 ployee of the time to report for duty, to afford great3 er scheduling predictability.

4 ‘‘(C) Work/rest cycles that guarantee a greater

5 minimum number of consecutive days off than is af6 forded to employees working in scheduled service

7 (exclusive of time off due to illness or injury).

8 ‘‘(D) Avoiding abrupt changes in rest cycles for

9 employees returning to duty after an extended ab10 sence due to circumstances including illness, injury,

11 or vacation.

12 ‘‘(E) Ways to minimize the amount of time that

13 employees spend awaiting the arrival of deadhead

14 transportation to their points of final release, and to

15 mitigate the fatigue consequences of excessive wait16 ing time.

17 ‘‘(F) Scheduling of employees so that the rest

18 period occurring at the home terminal generally ex19 ceeds that given at the away-from-home terminal.

20 ‘‘(c) WAIVER.—A railroad carrier (including a Class

21 III railroad carrier) and all labor organizations represent22 ing any class or craft of directly affected covered service

23 employees of the railroad carrier may jointly request, as

24 part of a proposed fatigue management plan, the waiver

25 of any provisions of this chapter where the waiver would
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1 enhance the ability of the plan to achieve the objective of

2 reducing fatigue and enhancing safety. The Secretary is

3 authorized to waive any provision of this chapter if a waiv4 er is jointly requested by the railroad carrier and the labor

5 organizations representing the directly affected employees,

6 and if the railroad carrier and labor organizations dem7 onstrate to the Secretary’s satisfaction that the waiver is

8 essential to achieving the objectives of reducing fatigue

9 and enhancing safety and that the plan effectively protects

10 the safety interest addressed by the provision to be waived.

11 In the event that labor organizations do not represent

12 classes or crafts of directly affected covered employees of

13 the railroad carrier, the railroad carrier shall instead con14 sult with all of its directly affected employee groups in

15 drafting the waiver request. No waiver shall be approved

16 unless the Secretary makes a finding that the waiver per17 mits procedures that reduce fatigue and enhance safety,

18 and which would not be lawful without the waiver.

19 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the

20 term ‘directly affected covered service employees’ means

21 covered service employees to whose hours of service the

22 terms of the approved plan specifically apply, and the term

23 ‘scheduled employee’ means an employee who is assigned

24 to work a tour of duty with a regular and predictable

25 starting and stopping time.’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of

2 sections for chapter 211 is amended by adding at the end

3 the following new item:

‘‘21109. Fatigue management plans.’’.

4 SEC. 107. ELECTRONIC RECORDKEEPING.

5 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 211 is amended by add6 ing at the end the following new section:

7 ‘‘§ 21110. Electronic recordkeeping

8 ‘‘In rules or waivers issued under this part concern9 ing recordkeeping related to compliance with this chapter,

10 the Secretary may, and is encouraged to, permit that

11 records be made, maintained, or submitted by electronic

12 means in order to reduce the paperwork burden on rail13 road carriers.’’.

14 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of

15 sections for chapter 211 is amended by adding after item

16 21109 the following new item:

‘‘21110. Electronic recordkeeping.’’.

17 TITLE II—MONITORING OF RAIL18 ROAD RADIO COMMUNICA19 TIONS

20 SEC. 201. ENHANCED INSPECTION AND INVESTIGATION AU21 THORITY UNDER THE FEDERAL RAILROAD

22 SAFETY LAWS.

23 Section 20107 is amended by inserting at the end the

24 following new subsection:
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1 ‘‘(c) RAILROAD RADIO COMMUNICATIONS.—(1) To

2 carry out the Secretary’s responsibilities under this part,

3 officers, employees, or agents of the Secretary are author4 ized to conduct the following kinds of inspection and inves5 tigative activities at reasonable times and in a reasonable

6 manner:

7 ‘‘(A) to listen to a radio communication that is

8 broadcast or transmitted over a railroad’s dedicated

9 frequency not for the use of the general public, with

10 or without making their presence known to the send11 er or other receivers of the communication and with

12 or without obtaining the consent of the sender or

13 other receivers of the communication;

14 ‘‘(B) to communicate the existence, contents,

15 substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the com16 munication;

17 ‘‘(C) to receive or assist in receiving the com18 munication (or any information therein contained);

19 ‘‘(D) having received the communication or hav20 ing become acquainted with the contents, substance,

21 purport, effect, or meaning of the communication (or

22 any part thereof), to disclose the contents, sub23 stance, purport, effect, or meaning of the commu24 nication (or any part thereof of such communica-
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1 tion) or use the communication (or any information

2 contained therein); and

3 ‘‘(E) to record the communications by any

4 means, including writing and tape recording.

5 ‘‘(2) The purposes for which officers, employees, or

6 agents of the Secretary are permitted to engage in the

7 activities set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection in8 clude rulemaking, accident investigation, and acquiring

9 general information as to railroad operations.

10 ‘‘(3) Information obtained in compliance with para11 graphs (1) and (2) of this subsection may not be used

12 as evidence for the assessment or collection of civil pen13 alties or for the implementation of other enforcement

14 mechanisms provided in sections 5122, 20702(b), 20111,

15 20112, 20113, or 20114 of this title, but may be used

16 as background for further investigation which might lead

17 to the discovery of other useful evidence.

18 ‘‘(4) The authority granted by this subsection shall

19 be an exception to the general prohibitions of section 605

20 of title 47, United States Code, and chapter 119 of title

21 18, United States Code.’’.

22 SEC. 202. EXCEPTION TO CHAPTER 119, TITLE 118, UNITED

23 STATES CODE.

24 Section 2511(2) of title 18, United States Code, is

25 amended by redesignating current paragraphs (c) through
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1 (h) as paragraphs (d) through (i) and adding after para2 graph (b), the following new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this

4 chapter or section 605 of title 47, United States Code,

5 officers, employees, or agents of the Secretary of Trans6 portation in the normal course of employment and in fur7 therance of the Federal railroad safety laws at 49 U.S.C.

8 chapter 51 and subtitle V, part A, may intercept railroad

9 radio communications and disclose or use the information

10 thereby contained, for the purposes and to the extent per11 mitted by 49 U.S.C. 20107(c).’’.

12 TITLE III—RULEMAKING

13 AUTHORITY

14 SEC. 301. RAILROAD ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTING.

15 Section 20901(a) is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.—On a periodic basis

17 not less often than quarterly as specified by the Secretary

18 of Transportation, a railroad carrier shall file a report

19 with the Secretary on all accidents and incidents resulting

20 in injury or death to an individual or damage to equipment

21 or a roadbed arising from the carrier’s operations during

22 that period. The report shall state the nature, cause, and

23 circumstances of each reported accident or incident. If a

24 railroad carrier assigns human error as a cause, the report

25 shall include, at the option of each employee whose error
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1 is alleged, a statement by the employee explaining any fac2 tors the employee alleges contributed to the accident or

3 incident.’’.

4 SEC. 302. HIGH-SPEED RAIL NOISE REGULATION.

5 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 201 is amended by add6 ing a new section at the end as follows:

7 ‘‘§ 20154. High-speed rail noise regulation

8 ‘‘The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation

9 with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection

10 Agency, shall prescribe regulations addressing noise emis11 sions from high-speed rail systems, including magnetic

12 levitation systems, when operating at speeds greater than

13 150 miles per hour. Regulations issued under this section

14 shall be in lieu of railroad-related noise regulations issued

15 pursuant to the Noise Control Act of 1972 (42 U.S.C.

16 4916(a)) only for locomotives, cars, and consists of loco17 motives and cars when operating at speeds greater than

18 150 miles per hour.’’.

19 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of

20 sections of subchapter II of chapter 201, is amended by

21 adding at the end the following new item:

‘‘20154. High-speed rail noise regulation.’’.

22 TITLE IV—PROTECTION OF

23 EMPLOYEES AND WITNESSES

24 SEC. 401. EXPANSION OF EMPLOYEE PROTECTIONS.

25 (a) Section 20109(a) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘AND TESTIFYING’’ in the sub2 section catchline and substituting the following: ‘‘,

3 TESTIFYING, REPORTING INJURIES AND ILLNESSES,

4 AND COOPERATING WITH SAFETY INVESTIGATIONS’’;

5 (2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘A railroad car6 rier engaged in interstate or foreign commerce’’;

7 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through

8 (2) as subparagraphs (A) through (B);

9 (4) by striking ‘‘or’’ following the semicolon in

10 newly designated subparagraph (A);

11 (5) by striking the period at the end of newly

12 designated subparagraph (B) and substituting a

13 semicolon and the following:

14 ‘‘(C) notified, or attempted to notify, the

15 railroad carrier of a work-related personal in16 jury or work-related illness of an employee; or

17 ‘‘(D) cooperated with a safety investigation

18 by the Secretary of Transportation or the Na19 tional Transportation Safety Board.

20 ‘‘(2) It shall be unlawful for any officer or em21 ployee of a railroad carrier to commit any act pro22 hibited to a railroad carrier by this subsection.’’.

23 (b) Section 20109(b) is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘REFUSING TO WORK BECAUSE

25 OF’’ in the subsection catchline;
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1 (2) by inserting in paragraph (b)(1) ‘‘or against

2 an employee responsible for the inspection or repair

3 of safety-related equipment, track, or structures for

4 refusing to authorize the use of such equipment,

5 track, or structures when the employee believes that

6 the equipment, track, or structures are in a hazard7 ous condition and that the use of the equipment,

8 track, or structures would endanger human life,’’

9 after ‘‘performance of the employee’s duties,’’; and

10 (3) by striking subparagraph (C) and substitut11 ing the following new subparagraph:

12 ‘‘(C) the employee, where possible, has no13 tified the carrier of the existence of the hazard14 ous condition and the intention not to perform

15 further work or not to authorize the use of the

16 hazardous equipment, track, or structures, un17 less the condition is corrected immediately or

18 the equipment, track, or structures are repaired

19 properly or replaced.’’.

20 (c) Section 20109(c) is amended—

21 (1) by striking ‘‘180 days after it is filed’’ and

22 substituting ‘‘60 days after it is filed if the violation

23 is a form of discrimination that involves discharge,

24 suspension, or another action affecting pay and 180

25 days after the dispute, grievance, or claim is filed if
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1 the violation is a form of discrimination that does

2 not involve discharge, suspension, or another action

3 affecting pay’’; and

4 (2) by striking the last sentence and substitut5 ing the following: ‘‘If the employee has been found

6 by the Board, division, delegate, or board of adjust7 ment to have been discharged, suspended, or other8 wise discriminated against in violation of subsection

9 (a) or (b) of this section, the employee shall be made

10 whole, including reinstatement, with an award of

11 back pay, and with all benefits and accumulated se12 niority. The employee may also be awarded punitive

13 damages sufficient to deter the railroad carrier from

14 such conduct in the future.’’.

15 SEC. 402. INTERFERING WITH OR HAMPERING MAJOR IN16 VESTIGATIONS.

17 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 213 is

18 amended by adding at the end the following new section:

19 ‘‘§ 21313. Interfering with or hampering major inves20 tigations

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any per22 son knowingly to interfere with, obstruct, or hamper an

23 investigation by the Secretary of Transportation con24 ducted under section 20703 or 20902 of this title.
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1 ‘‘(b) KNOWING INTIMIDATION AND OTHER ACTS.—

2 It shall be unlawful for any person, with regard to an in3 vestigation conducted by the Secretary under section

4 20703 or 20902 of this title, knowingly to use intimidation

5 or physical force, threaten, or corruptly persuade another

6 person, or attempt to do so, or engage in misleading con7 duct toward another person, with intent to—

8 ‘‘(1) influence, delay, or prevent the testimony

9 or statement of any person;

10 ‘‘(2) cause or induce any person to—

11 ‘‘(A) withhold testimony or statement, or

12 withhold a record, document, or other object

13 from the investigation;

14 ‘‘(B) alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an

15 object with intent to impair the object’s integ16 rity or availability for use in the investigation;

17 ‘‘(C) evade legal process summoning that

18 person to appear as a witness, or to produce a

19 record, document, or other object, in the inves20 tigation;

21 ‘‘(D) be absent from an investigation to

22 which such person has been summoned by legal

23 process; or

24 ‘‘(3) hinder, delay, or prevent the communica25 tion to a Federal railroad safety inspector or a State
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1 railroad safety inspector, or their superiors, of infor2 mation relating to the commission or possible com3 mission of one or more violations of this part or of

4 chapter 51 of this title.

5 ‘‘(c) INTENTIONAL HARASSMENT.—It shall be unlaw6 ful, with regard to an investigation conducted by the Sec7 retary under section 20703 or 20902 of this title, to inten8 tionally harass another person and thereby hinder, delay,

9 prevent, or dissuade any person from—

10 ‘‘(1) attending a proceeding or interview, pro11 viding a written statement to a Federal railroad

12 safety inspector or State railroad safety inspector, or

13 their superiors, or testifying as part of the investiga14 tion;

15 ‘‘(2) reporting to a Federal railroad safety in16 spector or a State railroad safety inspector, or their

17 superiors, the commission or possible commission of

18 a violation of this part or of chapter 51 of this title;

19 or

20 ‘‘(3) recommending or using any legal remedy

21 available to the Secretary under this title.

22 ‘‘(d) DEFENSE.—In a prosecution for an offense

23 under this section, it is an affirmative defense, as to which

24 the defendant has the burden of proof by a preponderance

25 of the evidence, that the conduct consisted solely of lawful
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1 conduct and that the defendant’s sole intention was to en2 courage, induce, or cause the other person to testify or

3 provide a statement truthfully.

4 ‘‘(e) ELEMENTS OF VIOLATION.—(1) For the pur5 poses of this section, the testimony or statement, or the

6 record, document, or other object need not be admissible

7 in evidence or free from a claim of privilege.

8 ‘‘(2) In a prosecution for an offense under this sec9 tion, no state of mind need be proved with respect to the

10 circumstances that the investigation is being conducted by

11 the Secretary under section 20703 or 20902 of this title.

12 ‘‘(f) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A person violating this

13 section shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not

14 more than two years, or both.’’.

15 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of

16 sections of subchapter II of chapter 213, is amended by

17 adding at the end the following new item:

‘‘21313. Interfering with or hampering major investigations.’’

18 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS

19 PROVISIONS

20 SEC. 501. EXPANSION OF EMERGENCY ORDER AUTHORITY.

21 Section 20104(a)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘death

22 or personal injury’’ and inserting: ‘‘death, personal injury,

23 or significant harm to the environment’’.
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1 SEC. 502. SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS IN GRANTS OR LOANS

2 TO COMMUTER RAILROADS.

3 Section 5329 is amended by adding at the end the

4 following new subsection:

5 ‘‘(c) COMMUTER RAILROAD SAFETY CONSIDER6 ATIONS.—In making a grant or loan under this chapter

7 that concerns a railroad subject to the Secretary’s safety

8 jurisdiction under section 20102 of this title, the Federal

9 Transit Administrator shall consult with the Federal Rail10 road Administrator concerning relevant safety issues. The

11 Secretary may use appropriate authority under this chap12 ter, including the authority to prescribe particular terms

13 or covenants under section 5334 of this title, to address

14 any safety issues identified in the project supported by the

15 loan or grant.’’.

16 SEC. 503. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS REGARDING ADJUST17 MENT OF CIVIL PENALTIES FOR INFLATION.

18 (a) CHAPTER 201 GENERAL VIOLATIONS.—In sec19 tion 21301(a)(2), insert after ‘‘$10,000’’ and after

20 ‘‘$20,000’’ the following: ‘‘or within the range of such

21 other amounts to which the stated minimum and maxi22 mum penalties are adjusted if required by the Federal

23 Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990, Public

24 Law 101–410, 104 Stat. 890, 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as

25 amended by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of
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1 1996, Public Law 104–134, 110 Stat. 1321–358, 378,

2 and as further amended from time to time’’.

3 (b) CHAPTER 201 ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT VIOLA4 TIONS AND CHAPTER 203–209 VIOLATIONS.—In section

5 21302(a)(2), insert after ‘‘$10,000’’ and after ‘‘$20,000’’

6 the following: ‘‘or within the range of such other amounts

7 to which the stated minimum and maximum penalties are

8 adjusted if required by the Federal Civil Penalties Infla9 tion Adjustment Act of 1990, Public Law 101–410, 104

10 Stat. 890, 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as amended by the Debt

11 Collection Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104–

12 134, 110 Stat. 1321–358, 378, and as further amended

13 from time to time’’.

14 (c) CHAPTER 211 VIOLATIONS.—In section

15 21303(a)(2), insert after ‘‘$10,000’’ and after ‘‘$20,000’’

16 the following: ‘‘or within the range of such other amounts

17 to which the stated minimum and maximum penalties are

18 adjusted if required by the Federal Civil Penalties Infla19 tion Adjustment Act of 1990, Public Law 101–410, 104

20 Stat. 890, 28 U.S.C. 2461 note, as amended by the Debt

21 Collection Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104–

22 134, 110 Stat. 1321–358, 378, and as further amended

23 from time to time’’.
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1 SEC. 504. EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION OF GRADE CROSSING

2 PROBLEMS.

3 Section 20152 is revised to read as follows:

4 ‘‘§ 20152. Emergency notification of grade crossing

5 problems

6 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—(1) The Secretary of Transpor7 tation shall promote the establishment of emergency noti8 fication systems utilizing toll-free telephone numbers that

9 the public can use to convey to railroad carriers, either

10 directly or through public safety personnel, information

11 about malfunctions of automated warning devices or other

12 safety problems at highway-rail grade crossings.

13 ‘‘(2) To assist in encouraging widespread use of such

14 systems, the Secretary may provide technical assistance

15 and enter into cooperative agreements. Such assistance

16 shall include appropriate emphasis on the public safety

17 needs associated with operation of small railroads.

18 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months following

19 enactment of this section, as amended, the Secretary shall

20 report to the Congress the status of such emergency notifi21 cation systems, together with any recommendations for

22 further legislation that the Secretary considers appro23 priate.’’.

24 SEC. 505. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

25 Section 20117(a)(1) is amended by striking subpara26 graphs (A) through (E), redesignating subparagraph (F)
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1 as subparagraph (A), and inserting after newly designated

2 subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraphs:

3 ‘‘(B) $82,086,000 for fiscal year 1999.

4 ‘‘(C) Such sums as may be necessary for

5 fiscal years 2000–2002.’’.

Æ