II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1496

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

2000 through 2003, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 4, 1999

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 2000 through 2003, 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 Enhancement Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds and declares the following:

8 (1) Consistent with the purposes of the Govern9 ment Performance and Results Act of 1993, the

10 Federal Railroad Administration has reshaped the
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1 regulatory and compliance components of the Fed2 eral railroad safety program to ensure that the en3 tire program is squarely focused on achieving de4 monstrable results, i.e., reducing the number of

5 deaths and injuries associated with railroading in

6 the United States. The foundation of the program is

7 its emphasis on inclusion of all interested parties—

8 railroad employees and labor unions, railroad man9 agement, manufacturers, State government groups,

10 and public associations—in identifying safety prob11 lems and implementing solutions. This emphasis on

12 safety partnership has helped begin a transformation

13 of key aspects of the corporate culture of the Na14 tion’s railroads, a transformation that is producing

15 safety and business benefits.

16 (2) The Safety Assurance and Compliance Pro17 gram is an approach to safety that emphasizes the

18 active partnership of the Federal Railroad Adminis19 tration, rail labor representatives, and railroad man20 agement in identifying current safety problems and

21 jointly developing effective solutions to those prob22 lems. One fundamental principle of this approach is

23 tracing a safety problem to its root cause and at24 tacking that cause rather than only its symptoms.

25 Where a problem is determined to be system-wide,
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1 this approach calls for a system-wide solution.

2 Under this approach, the Federal Railroad Adminis3 tration seeks to focus its inspection and enforcement

4 resources on the most serious safety problems. This

5 approach has demonstrated significant capacity for

6 identifying and eliminating the root cause of system7 wide safety problems by enlisting those most di8 rectly-affected by such problems—railroad employees

9 and managers—in a partnership effort. Used to10 gether with the Federal Railroad Administration’s

11 regular inspections and enforcement tools, this ap12 proach provides a firm basis for addressing the safe13 ty challenges facing the changing railroad industry

14 and advancing toward the safety program’s ultimate

15 goal of zero tolerance for any safety hazard in the

16 railroad industry.

17 (3) The Railroad Safety Advisory Committee,

18 which was established by the Federal Railroad Ad19 ministration under the Federal Advisory Committee

20 Act (5 U.S.C. App. 2), is proving to be an effective

21 means of involving interested members of the rail22 road community, including the staff of the National

23 Transportation Safety Board, in the development of

24 railroad safety rules issued by the Federal Railroad

25 Administration. The Congress strongly encourages
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1 the continued use of this collaborative method of de2 veloping safety regulations, which is more likely to

3 produce rules that are based on an industry con4 sensus and, accordingly, more readily understood

5 and more consistently complied with, than rules pro6 duced under more traditional methods.

7 (4) A critical element for the sustained success

8 of any company’s safety program is the establish9 ment and growth of a clearly defined, positive safety

10 culture. The safety culture of a company encom11 passes the beliefs, values, attitudes, and practices

12 shared by employees and company officials and in13 cludes such matters as how decisions are made, who

14 makes them, how rewards and discipline are distrib15 uted, who is promoted, and how people are treated.

16 Many of today’s most successful organizations recog17 nize that people are their most important assets;

18 they have come to realize that it is important for

19 managers and employees to share a common vision

20 and work in concert to pursue common goals. By ex21 ploring innovative concepts involving employee em22 powerment, coaching, counseling, and enhanced

23 training often through joint partnerships involving

24 rail labor, railroad management, and the Federal

25 Railroad Administration—some railroads are seeking
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1 new and better methods to promote compliance with

2 company and Federal safety rules and to promote

3 the free flow of safety-related information to better

4 identify safety hazards and prevent injuries and ac5 cidents. The improvements in the industry’s safety

6 culture that have resulted from these initiatives hold

7 the promise of increasing railroad safety to historic

8 levels and moving toward the ultimate goal of zero

9 tolerance for safety hazards. The Congress strongly

10 endorses efforts by the Federal Railroad Administra11 tion, rail labor, and individual railroads to build

12 meaningful safety partnerships that foster positive

13 safety cultures on the Nation’s railroads. The Fed14 eral Railroad Administration has committed to re15 port regularly to the Congress on the continuing evo16 lution of the railroad industry’s safety culture.

17 (5) Although advances have been made in the

18 industry’s safety culture and rail safety trends are

19 generally favorable, in terms of total fatalities, em20 ployee and other injuries, and grade crossing inci21 dents, nevertheless, too many of these accidents and

22 incidents still occur, as illustrated by recent fatalities

23 related to railroading. In 1998, eight railroad em24 ployees were killed in switching-related incidents,

25 and one was killed in a train collision. In the same
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1 year, hundreds of motorists, their passengers, and

2 others lost their lives in grade crossing accidents and

3 incidents, the vast majority of which are attributable

4 to human factors involving the motorists. More re5 cently, in March 1999, 11 Amtrak passengers died

6 in a truck-train grade crossing collision at Bourbon7 nais, Illinois. Furthermore, each year approximately

8 a third of all train accidents are caused by human

9 factors. Clearly, there is a need for changes in the

10 law to prevent deaths and accidents such as these

11 by finding remedies to the kinds of conditions and

12 behaviors that permitted these tragedies to occur;

13 therefore, we enact the following statute, which deals

14 with the critical human factor issues of fatigue and

15 safety culture in the railroad industry, with grade

16 crossing safety, and with other important rail safety

17 issues.

18 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE.

19 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

20 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms

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

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

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

24 Code.
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1 SEC. 4. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

Sec. 1. Short title.

Sec. 2. Findings.

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. Joint submission of waiver petitions.

Sec. 108. Employee sleeping quarters.

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, 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—WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION

Sec. 401. Expansion of employee protections.

TITLE V—GRADE CROSSING SAFETY

Sec. 501. Emergency notification of grade crossing problems.

Sec. 502. Grade crossing signal violations.

Sec. 503. National highway-rail crossing inventory.

TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 601. Technical amendments regarding adjustment of civil penalties for inflation.

Sec. 602. Revision of special preemption provision.

Sec. 603. Railroad safety inspection user fees.

Sec. 604. Authorization of appropriations.

3 TITLE I—HOURS OF SERVICE

4 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

5 Section 21101 is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘employed by a railroad carrier’’

2 in paragraph (4); and

3 (2) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(6) ‘dually-employed’ means being at the same

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

6 2 or more railroad contractors, or of both 1 or more

7 railroad carriers and 1 or more railroad contractors.

8 ‘‘(7) ‘railroad contractor’ or, in context, ‘con9 tractor’ means an independent contractor to a rail10 road carrier or a subcontractor to an independent

11 contractor to a railroad carrier.’’.

12 SEC. 102. LIMITATIONS ON DUTY HOURS OF TRAIN EM13 PLOYEES.

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

15 (1) striking ‘‘officers’’ and inserting ‘‘managers,

16 supervisors, officers,’’;

17 (2) inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Except’’;

18 (3) redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

19 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and

20 (4) adding at the end the following:

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

22 this section, a railroad carrier and its managers, su23 pervisors, officers, and agents and a railroad con24 tractor and the contractor’s managers, supervisors,

25 officers, and agents may not, if the railroad carrier
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1 or railroad contractor has actual knowledge that a

2 train employee is dually-employed and actual knowl3 edge of the individual’s schedule for the time period

4 in question, require or allow the dually-employed

5 train employee to remain or go on duty, nor may a

6 dually-employed train employee remain or go on

7 duty—

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

9 8 consecutive hours off duty during the prior

10 24 hours; or

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

12 for 12 consecutive hours, until that employee

13 has had at least 10 consecutive hours off

14 duty.’’.

15 (b) Section 21103 is amended by adding at the end

16 the following:

17 ‘‘(d) NOTICE ABOUT DUAL EMPLOYMENT AND

18 SCHEDULE.—

19 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION DUTIES OF RAILROAD CAR20 RIERS AND RAILROAD CONTRACTORS.—Not later

21 than January 31st each year, a railroad carrier and

22 a railroad contractor shall inform each of its train

23 employees in writing—

24 ‘‘(A) that all time spent performing aggre25 gate duty on 1 or more railroad carriers or 1
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1 or more railroad contractors or a combination

2 thereof counts towards the limitations on duty

3 hours of this section;

4 ‘‘(B) about the employee’s responsibilities

5 under paragraph (2) of this subsection; and

6 ‘‘(C) about the penalties under section

7 21303 of this title applicable to a failure to

8 comply with paragraph (2) of this subsection.

9 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES.—A dually-em10 ployed train employee—

11 ‘‘(A) shall inform each of his or her rail12 road carrier employers and railroad contractor

13 employers in writing within 5 days of estab14 lishing an employee-employer relationship that

15 results in the employee’s becoming dually-em16 ployed; and

17 ‘‘(B) shall ensure that each of his or her

18 railroad carrier employers and railroad con19 tractor employers is kept informed about the

20 employee’s current work schedule with each of

21 his or her other employing railroad carriers and

22 railroad contractors and which portions of that

23 service are likely to be in covered service.

24 ‘‘(3) RECORD RETENTION DUTIES OF RAILROAD

25 CARRIERS AND RAILROAD CONTRACTORS.—Upon re-
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1 ceiving written notification of dual employment, a

2 railroad carrier or railroad contractor shall—

3 ‘‘(A) retain at the carrier’s system and di4 vision headquarters, or at the contractor’s head5 quarters, respectively, a copy of the notification

6 for a period of 2 years after termination of such

7 dual employment status; and

8 ‘‘(B) make the record available to rep9 resentatives of the Secretary for inspection and

10 copying during normal business hours.’’.

11 SEC. 103. LIMITATIONS ON DUTY HOURS OF SIGNAL EM12 PLOYEES.

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

14 (1) striking ‘‘officers’’ and inserting ‘‘managers,

15 supervisors, officers,’’; and

16 (2) adding at the end the following:

17 ‘‘(3) Except as provided in subsection (c) of

18 this section, a railroad carrier and its managers, su19 pervisors, officers, and agents and a railroad con20 tractor and the contractor’s managers, supervisors,

21 officers, and agents may not, if the railroad carrier

22 or railroad contractor has actual knowledge that a

23 signal employee is dually-employed and actual

24 knowledge of the individual’s schedule for the time

25 period in question, require or allow the dually-em-
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1 ployed signal employee to remain or go on duty, nor

2 may a dually-employed signal employee remain or go

3 on duty—

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

5 8 consecutive hours off duty during the prior

6 24 hours;

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

8 for 12 consecutive hours, until that employee

9 has had at least 10 consecutive hours off duty;

10 or

11 ‘‘(C) after that employee has been on duty

12 a total of 12 hours during a 24-hour period, or

13 after the end of that 24-hour period, whichever

14 occurs first, until that employee has had at

15 least 8 consecutive hours off duty.’’.

16 (b) Section 21104(b)(3) is amended by striking

17 ‘‘duty, except that up to 1 hour of that time spent return18 ing from the final trouble call of a period of continuous

19 or broken service is time off duty’’ and inserting ‘‘duty.’’.

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

21 at the end:

22 ‘‘(d) NOTICE ABOUT DUAL EMPLOYMENT AND

23 SCHEDULE.—

24 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION DUTIES OF RAILROAD CAR25 RIERS AND RAILROAD CONTRACTORS.—Not later
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1 than January 31st of each year, a railroad carrier

2 or a railroad contractor shall inform each of its sig3 nal employees in writing—

4 ‘‘(A) that all time spent performing aggre5 gate duty on 1 or more railroad carriers or 1

6 or more railroad contractors or a combination

7 thereof counts towards the limitations on duty

8 hours of this section;

9 ‘‘(B) about the employee’s responsibilities

10 under paragraph (2) of this subsection; and

11 ‘‘(C) about the penalties under section

12 21303 of this title applicable to a failure to

13 comply with paragraph (2) of this subsection.

14 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES.—A dually-em15 ployed signal employee—

16 ‘‘(A) shall inform each of his or her rail17 road carrier employers and railroad contractor

18 employers in writing within 5 days of estab19 lishing an employee-employer relationship that

20 results in the employee’s becoming dually-em21 ployed; and

22 ‘‘(B) shall ensure that each of his or her

23 railroad carrier employers and railroad con24 tractor employers is kept informed about the

25 employee’s current work schedule with each of
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1 the other employing railroad carriers and rail2 road contractors and which portions of that

3 service are likely to be in covered service.

4 ‘‘(3) RECORD RETENTION DUTIES OF RAILROAD

5 CARRIERS AND RAILROAD CONTRACTORS.—Upon re6 ceiving written notification of dual employment, a

7 railroad carrier or railroad contractor shall—

8 ‘‘(A) retain at the carrier’s system and di9 vision headquarters, or at the contractor’s head10 quarters, respectively a copy of the notification

11 for a period of 2 years after termination of such

12 dual employment status; and

13 ‘‘(B) make the record available to rep14 resentatives of the Secretary for inspection and

15 copying during normal business hours.’’.

16 SEC. 104. LIMITATIONS ON DUTY HOURS OF DISPATCHING

17 SERVICE EMPLOYEES.

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

19 (1) striking ‘‘or allowed’’ and inserting ‘‘or al20 lowed by a railroad carrier or its managers, super21 visors, officers, and agents’’;

22 (2) inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Except’’;

23 (3) redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

24 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and

25 (4) adding at the end the following:
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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 and a railroad con4 tractor and the contractor’s managers, supervisors,

5 officers, and agents may not, if the railroad carrier

6 or railroad contractor has actual knowledge that a

7 dispatching service employee is dually-employed and

8 actual knowledge of the individual’s schedule for the

9 time period in question, require or allow the dually10 employed dispatching service employee to remain or

11 go on duty, nor may a dually-employed dispatching

12 service employee remain or go on duty, for more

13 than—

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

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

16 which at least 2 shifts are employed; or

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

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

19 which only 1 shift is employed.’’.

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

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

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

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

24 apply:
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1 ‘‘(1) Time spent performing any other service

2 for 1 or more railroad carriers or 1 or more railroad

3 contractors or a combination thereof during a 24-

4 hour period in which the employee is on duty in a

5 tower, office, station, or other place is time on duty

6 in that tower, office, station, or place, and counts to7 ward the employee’s aggregate time on duty.

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

9 performs the duties of a dispatching service em10 ployee for more than 1 railroad carrier or railroad

11 contractor or for a railroad carrier and a railroad

12 contractor, and at least 1 of those tours of duty is

13 in a tower, office, station, or other place at which at

14 least 2 shifts are employed, then the duty limits of

15 subsection (b)(1) of this section apply.

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

17 railroad carrier or railroad contractor shall be in18 cluded.’’.

19 (c) Section 21105 is amended by adding at the end

20 the following:

21 ‘‘(e) NOTICE ABOUT DUAL EMPLOYMENT AND

22 SCHEDULE.—

23 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION DUTIES OF RAILROAD CAR24 RIERS AND RAILROAD CONTRACTORS.—Not later

25 than January 31st each year, a railroad carrier and
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1 a railroad contractor shall inform each of its dis2 patching service employees in writing—

3 ‘‘(A) that all time spent performing aggre4 gate duty on 1 or more railroad carriers or rail5 road contractors or a combination thereof

6 counts towards the limitations on duty hours of

7 this section;

8 ‘‘(B) about the employee’s responsibilities

9 under paragraph (2) of this subsection;

10 ‘‘(C) about the penalties under section

11 21303 of this title applicable to a failure to

12 comply with paragraph (2) of this subsection.

13 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES.—A dually-em14 ployed dispatching service employee—

15 ‘‘(A) shall inform each of his or her rail16 road carrier employers and railroad contractor

17 employers in writing within 5 days of estab18 lishing an employee-employer relationship that

19 results in the employee’s becoming dually-em20 ployed; and

21 ‘‘(B) shall ensure that each of his or her

22 railroad carrier employers and railroad con23 tractor employers is kept informed about the

24 employee’s current work schedule with each of

25 his or her other employing railroad carriers and
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1 railroad contractors and which portions of that

2 service are likely to be in covered service.

3 ‘‘(3) RECORD RETENTION DUTIES OF RAILROAD

4 CARRIERS AND RAILROAD CONTRACTORS.—Upon re5 ceiving written notification of dual employment, a

6 railroad carrier or a railroad contractor shall—

7 ‘‘(A) retain at the carrier’s system and di8 vision headquarters, or at the railroad contrac9 tor’s headquarters, a copy of the notification for

10 a period of 2 years after termination of such

11 dual employment status; and

12 ‘‘(B) make the record available to rep13 resentatives of the Secretary for inspection and

14 copying during normal business hours.’’.

15 SEC. 105. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS REGARDING HOURS

16 OF SERVICE VIOLATIONS.

17 (a) Section 21106 is amended by striking ‘‘officers’’

18 and inserting ‘‘managers, supervisors, officers,’’.

19 (b) Section 21303(c) is amended by striking ‘‘offi20 cers’’ and inserting ‘‘managers, supervisors, officers,’’.

21 SEC. 106. FATIGUE MANAGEMENT PLANS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 211 is amended by add23 ing at the end the following:

24 ‘‘§ 21109. Fatigue management plans

25 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLANS AND AMENDMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) Each Class I and Class II railroad carrier,

2 each railroad carrier providing intercity railroad pas3 senger service, and each railroad carrier providing

4 commuter or other short-haul railroad passenger

5 service in a metropolitan or suburban area, shall

6 submit to the Secretary of Transportation a fatigue

7 management plan that is designed to reduce the fa8 tigue experienced by railroad employees (as defined

9 by section 21101 of this chapter) covered by the

10 hours of service laws and railroad employees who

11 construct or maintain track, and to reduce the likeli12 hood of accidents and injuries caused by fatigue.

13 The plan shall discuss each of the elements set forth

14 in subsection (b) of this section and shall be sub15 mitted not more than 1 year after enactment of this

16 section, or not less than 45 days prior to com17 mencing railroad operations, whichever is later.

18 However, with respect to any group of directly-af19 fected employees, a carrier may submit its plan with20 in 2 years of enactment if, within 1 year of enact21 ment, it submits to the Secretary a letter signed by

22 the labor organization representing those employees

23 stating that the carrier is actively involved in negoti24 ating a fatigue management plan with that organiza-
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1 tion. A carrier shall file any amendment to its plan

2 with the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(2) Each Class III railroad carrier that oper4 ates on the track of a carrier subject to paragraph

5 (1) of this subsection (or otherwise engages in joint

6 operations with a carrier subject to paragraph (1) of

7 this subsection), except as necessary for purposes of

8 interchange, shall submit to the Secretary a fatigue

9 management plan that is designed to reduce the fa10 tigue experienced by train employees (as defined by

11 section 21101 of this chapter) covered by the hours

12 of service laws and to reduce the likelihood of acci13 dents and injuries caused by fatigue. However, the

14 plan submitted by each affected Class III railroad

15 carrier need not discuss employees who are not en16 gaged in or connected with the movement of a train

17 over the track of a carrier subject to paragraph (1)

18 of this subsection (or otherwise engage in joint oper19 ations with a carrier subject to paragraph (1) of this

20 subsection) except as necessary for the purpose of

21 interchange. The plan shall discuss the elements set

22 forth in subsection (b) of this section and shall be

23 submitted not more than three years after enact24 ment of this section, or not less than 60 days prior
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1 to commencing railroad operations, whichever is

2 later.

3 ‘‘(3) Each railroad carrier subject to paragraph

4 (1) or (2) of this subsection shall implement its plan

5 and any amendment to that plan no later than 90

6 days after the date of its submission to the Sec7 retary. If the plan fails to contain a discussion of

8 any required element, the Secretary shall notify the

9 carrier as to the specific element or elements that

10 were omitted. The carrier shall then submit an

11 amended plan within 90 days of such notification.

12 ‘‘(4)(A) Each railroad carrier subject to para13 graph (1) or (2) of this subsection shall employ good

14 faith and use its best efforts to reach agreement by

15 consensus with all of its directly-affected employee

16 groups (including each labor organization rep17 resenting a class or craft of directly-affected employ18 ees of the railroad carrier (as applicable)) on the

19 contents of the fatigue management plan and

20 amendments to the plan, and, wherever possible, the

21 carrier and those employee groups shall jointly sub22 mit the plan and each amendment to the Secretary.

23 ‘‘(B) If the carrier and its employees cannot

24 reach consensus on the contents of the plan or an

25 amendment to the plan, then—
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1 ‘‘(i) the carrier shall file the plan or

2 amendment with the Secretary as required by

3 subsection (a) of this section; and

4 ‘‘(ii) each directly-affected employee group

5 (as applicable), may include in the plan or an

6 amendment to a plan a statement explaining its

7 views on the plan or amendment on which con8 sensus was not reached.

9 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF THE FATIGUE MANAGEMENT

10 PLAN.—

11 ‘‘(1) GENERAL FACTORS.—The fatigue manage12 ment plan and each amendment shall—

13 ‘‘(A) be based upon scientific knowledge

14 and literature relating to fatigue;

15 ‘‘(B) describe the methods and measures

16 the carrier will utilize to determine the effec17 tiveness of each fatigue countermeasure;

18 ‘‘(C) take into account the varying cir19 cumstances of operations by the railroad carrier

20 on different parts of its system, and what vari21 ations in fatigue countermeasures are appro22 priate to address those varying circumstances;

23 and

24 ‘‘(D) to the extent that implementation of

25 the plan is connected in any way to a waiver re-
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1 quest submitted under section 21108 of this

2 chapter, discuss that connection.

3 ‘‘(2) SUBJECTS THAT CONCERN ALL DIRECTLY4 AFFECTED EMPLOYEES.—With respect to directly5 affected employees, whether working in scheduled or

6 nonscheduled service, the plan shall discuss the fol7 lowing subjects:

8 ‘‘(A) Education and training on the phys9 iological and other human factors that affect fa10 tigue, as well as strategies to counter fatigue.

11 ‘‘(B) Joint labor-management initiatives

12 concerning the identification, diagnosis, and

13 treatment of sleep disorders that could con14 tribute to fatigue.

15 ‘‘(C) Methods of avoiding increased fatigue

16 due to the need to respond to emergency situa17 tions, such as derailments and natural disas18 ters.

19 ‘‘(D) Scheduling practices that improve

20 work/rest cycles and minimize cumulative sleep

21 loss and fatigue.

22 ‘‘(E) Methods used to determine that cur23 rent and future staffing levels are adequate to

24 ensure that current and anticipated workloads
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1 can be handled without exacerbating fatigue on

2 the part of affected employees.

3 ‘‘(F) Alertness strategies to address acute

4 sleepiness and fatigue while an employee is on

5 duty.

6 ‘‘(G) Opportunities to obtain restful sleep

7 at lodging facilities.

8 ‘‘(H) How to minimize disturbances of the

9 employee’s rest within the carrier’s control dur10 ing rest periods.

11 ‘‘(3) SUBJECTS THAT CONCERN DIRECTLY-AF12 FECTED EMPLOYEES IN NONSCHEDULED SERVICE.—

13 With respect to directly-affected employees working

14 in nonscheduled service, the plan shall also discuss

15 the following subjects:

16 ‘‘(A) Methods of affording greater sched17 uling predictability to allow an employee to bet18 ter plan personal activities, sleep, and prepara19 tion for work during the off-duty period.

20 ‘‘(B) How to provide employees with op21 portunities to take days off from work on a

22 scheduled basis.

23 ‘‘(C) How to avoid abrupt changes in rest

24 cycles for employees returning to duty after an
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1 extended absence due to circumstances includ2 ing illness, injury, or vacation.

3 ‘‘(D) Ways to minimize the amount of time

4 that employees spend awaiting the arrival of

5 deadhead transportation to their points of final

6 release, and to mitigate the fatigue con7 sequences of excessive waiting time.

8 ‘‘(E) How to maximize the amount of rest

9 time given at the employee’s home terminal.

10 ‘‘(c) REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY ON EFFECTIVE11 NESS OF COUNTERMEASURES.—

12 ‘‘(1) Each railroad carrier required by sub13 section (a)(1) to submit a fatigue management plan

14 shall also submit to the Secretary by June 30 of the

15 years 2000 through 2003, an annual report on the

16 effectiveness of each fatigue countermeasure that it

17 has employed, including a description of the methods

18 and measures employed by the carrier to determine

19 the effectiveness of these countermeasures and any

20 problems encountered in implementing them. In pre21 paring each report, a carrier shall consult with the

22 labor organizations that represent the classes or

23 crafts of directly-affected employees of the railroad

24 carrier; each report shall include any comments

25 these organizations have on the report.
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1 ‘‘(2) Each railroad carrier required by sub2 section (a)(2) to submit a fatigue management plan

3 for its affected train employees shall also submit to

4 the Secretary by June 30, 2003, a report on the ef5 fectiveness of each fatigue countermeasure that it

6 has employed, including a description of the methods

7 and measures employed by the carrier to determine

8 the effectiveness of these countermeasures and any

9 problems encountered in implementing them. In pre10 paring the report, a carrier shall consult with the

11 labor organizations that represent the affected train

12 employees of the carrier. The report shall include

13 any comments these organizations have made on the

14 report.

15 ‘‘(d) SECRETARY’S ASSESSMENT OF FATIGUE COUN16 TERMEASURES.—The Secretary shall, at least once every

17 fiscal year for the fiscal years 2000 through 2003, provide

18 to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor19 tation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation

20 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a cur21 rent assessment (which may be in letter form) of fatigue

22 mitigation efforts by railroad carriers and their directly23 affected employees, a summary of any regulatory or other

24 action the Secretary intends to take regarding fatigue

25 mitigation, and any recommendations for legislative action
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1 concerning fatigue. In making such recommendations, the

2 Secretary shall consider whether, in the interest of rail3 road safety, additional categories or classes of railroad

4 carriers should be required to submit fatigue management

5 plans, including whether additional categories or classes

6 of carrier employees should be covered.

7 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.—

8 ‘‘(1) It is a violation of this section for a rail9 road carrier subject to this section to—

10 ‘‘(A) fail to submit to the Secretary a fa11 tigue management plan or, if any, an amend12 ment to a fatigue management plan, by the re13 quired date;

14 ‘‘(B) submit a fatigue management plan

15 that fails to contain a discussion of the ele16 ments required to be included under subsection

17 (b) of this section, unless the carrier submits a

18 properly amended plan within the time provided

19 under subsection (a)(3) of this section;

20 ‘‘(C) fail to implement substantially its fa21 tigue management plan by the required date;

22 ‘‘(D) fail to submit to the Secretary a re23 port under subsection (c) of this section by the

24 required date; or
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1 ‘‘(E) submit a report under subsection (c)

2 of this section that does not contain a discus3 sion of the elements required to be included.

4 ‘‘(2) Every day that a violation continues con5 stitutes a separate violation.

6 ‘‘(3) In addition to other enforcement actions

7 available with regard to violations of this section, the

8 Secretary may, with regard to violations described in

9 paragraph (1) (A) or (C) of this subsection, issue an

10 order under section 20111 of this part, directing the

11 carrier to implement whatever fatigue mitigation

12 measures the Secretary finds to be appropriate to

13 deal with the lack of a plan or lack of substantial

14 implementation of 1 or more elements of a plan,

15 which may include restrictions on maximum on-duty

16 hours or minimum off-duty periods, or both, that are

17 more stringent than the restrictions of this chapter,

18 such as minimum periods of advance notice of re19 porting times, minimum periods of undisturbed rest,

20 a specified number of days off in a week or month,

21 longer periods off duty, and shorter periods on duty.

22 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

23 ‘‘(1) DIRECTLY-AFFECTED EMPLOYEE.—The

24 term ‘directly-affected employee’ means—
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1 ‘‘(A) with respect to a Class I or II rail2 road carrier or a railroad carrier providing

3 intercity railroad passenger service or commuter

4 or other short-haul railroad passenger service in

5 a metropolitan or suburban area, an employee

6 of that carrier covered by the hours of service

7 laws and an employee of that carrier who con8 structs or maintains track and is therefore cov9 ered by the terms of the plan; and

10 ‘‘(B) with respect to a Class III railroad

11 carrier, a train employee (as defined by section

12 21101 of this chapter) covered by the hours of

13 service laws who is engaged in or connected

14 with the movement of a train over the track of

15 a carrier subject to subsection (a)(1) of this

16 section (or otherwise engaged in joint oper17 ations with a carrier subject to subsection

18 (a)(1) of this section) except as necessary for

19 purposes of interchange.

20 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYEE IN NONSCHEDULED SERV21 ICE.—The term ‘employee in nonscheduled service’

22 means a directly-affected employee who is assigned

23 to work a tour of duty without regular and predict24 able starting and stopping times.
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1 ‘‘(g) CONSULTATION WITH KNOWLEDGEABLE

2 GROUPS.—In carrying out duties under this section, the

3 Secretary may consult with and receive advice and rec4 ommendations from any group comprised of labor and

5 management representatives with relevant expertise, in6 cluding the North American Rail Alertness Partnership,

7 or technical experts. Such consultation is not subject to

8 the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).’’.

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal10 ysis for chapter 211 is amended by adding at the end the

11 following new item:

‘‘21109. Fatigue management plans.’’.

12 SEC. 107. JOINT SUBMISSION OF WAIVER PETITIONS.

13 (a) AMENDMENT.—Section 21108 is amended to

14 read as follows:

15 ‘‘§ 21108. Joint submission of waiver petitions

16 ‘‘(a) WAIVER.—

17 ‘‘(1) PETITION.—A railroad carrier (including a

18 Class III railroad carrier) and all labor organizations

19 representing any class or craft of directly-affected

20 employees of the railroad carrier may jointly petition

21 the Secretary of Transportation for approval of a

22 waiver, in whole or in part, of compliance with this

23 chapter, in order to implement alternatives to the

24 strict application of the requirements of this chapter

25 to such class or crafts of employees, including re-
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1 quirements concerning maximum on-duty and min2 imum off-duty periods. If the petition has any con3 nection to a fatigue management plan that has been

4 or will be submitted under section 21109 of this

5 chapter, the petition shall explain the relationship

6 between the waiver being sought and any specific

7 provisions of that plan.

8 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE.—Based on such a

9 joint petition under paragraph (1) or paragraph (3)

10 of this subsection, the Secretary may, after notice

11 and opportunity for comment, waive in whole or in

12 part compliance with this chapter for any specified

13 time period, if the Secretary determines that such a

14 waiver of compliance is in the public interest and

15 consistent with railroad safety. A waiver is con16 sistent with railroad safety if it is demonstrated that

17 the employees involved will perform their job func18 tions at a level of safety at least functionally equiva19 lent to that afforded by the provision or provisions

20 of this chapter sought to be waived. A notice of any

21 petition under this section and an explanation of any

22 waiver granted under this section shall be published

23 in the Federal Register.

24 ‘‘(3) WHEN EMPLOYEES ARE NOT REP25 RESENTED BY LABOR ORGANIZATIONS.—If labor or-
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1 ganizations do not represent classes or crafts of di2 rectly-affected employees of a railroad carrier, the

3 carrier may, after consulting with all of its directly4 affected employee groups in drafting the waiver re5 quest, request the waiver of any provisions of this

6 chapter, subject to the same conditions and proce7 dures as a request made under paragraph (1) of this

8 subsection.

9 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, ‘directly-affected

10 employee’ means an employee covered by the hours of

11 service laws to whose hours of service the terms of the

12 waiver petitioned for specifically apply.’’.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal14 ysis for chapter 211 is amended by striking the item relat15 ing to section 21108 and inserting the following:

‘‘21108. Joint submission of waiver petitions.’’.

16 SEC. 108. EMPLOYEE SLEEPING QUARTERS.

17 Section 21106 is amended—

18 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) SLEEPING QUARTERS.—’’

19 before ‘‘A railroad carrier and its’’;

20 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

21 (1);

22 (3) by striking ‘‘performed.’’ in paragraph (2)

23 and inserting ‘‘performed; and’’;

24 (4) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(3) may not, after January 1, 2002, provide

2 sleeping quarters (including crew quarters, camp or

3 bunk cars, and trailers) for employees, and any indi4 viduals employed to maintain the right of way of a

5 railroad carrier in an area or in the immediate vicin6 ity of an area in which railroad switching or hump7 ing operations are performed.

8 ‘‘(b) IMMEDIATE VICINITY DEFINED.—In subsection

9 (a)(3), the term ‘immediate vicinity’ means the area within

10 one-half mile of switching or humping operations as meas11 ured from the nearest rail of the nearest trackage where

12 switching or humping operations are performed to the ex13 terior wall of the structure housing the sleeping quarters

14 that is closest to such operations.’’.

15 TITLE II—MONITORING OF RAIL16 ROAD RADIO COMMUNICA17 TIONS

18 SEC. 201. ENHANCED INSPECTION AND INVESTIGATION AU19 THORITY UNDER THE FEDERAL RAILROAD

20 SAFETY LAWS.

21 Section 20107 is amended by adding at the end

22 thereof following:

23 ‘‘(c) RAILROAD RADIO COMMUNICATIONS.—

24 ‘‘(1) To carry out the Secretary’s responsibil25 ities under this part, officers, employees, or agents
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1 of the Secretary are authorized to conduct the fol2 lowing kinds of inspection and investigative activities

3 at reasonable times:

4 ‘‘(A) To listen to a radio communication

5 that is broadcast or transmitted over a fre6 quency authorized by the Federal Communica7 tions Commission to a railroad carrier, with or

8 without making their presence known to the

9 sender or other receivers of the communication

10 and with or without obtaining the consent of

11 the sender or other receivers of the communica12 tion.

13 ‘‘(B) To communicate the existence, con14 tents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of

15 the communication, subject to the restrictions

16 in paragraph (3) of this subsection.

17 ‘‘(C) To receive or assist in receiving the

18 communication (or any information therein con19 tained).

20 ‘‘(D) Having received the communication

21 or having become acquainted with the contents,

22 substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the

23 communication (or any part thereof), to disclose

24 the contents, substance, purport, effect, or

25 meaning of the communication (or any part
35

•S 1496 IS

1 thereof of such communication) or use the com2 munication (or any information contained

3 therein), subject to the restrictions in para4 graph (3) of this subsection.

5 ‘‘(E) To record the communication by any

6 means, including writing and tape recording.

7 ‘‘(2) The purposes for which officers, employ8 ees, or agents of the Secretary are permitted to en9 gage in the activities set forth in paragraph (1) of

10 this subsection include rulemaking, accident inves11 tigating, and acquiring general information as to

12 railroad operations.

13 ‘‘(3) Information obtained in compliance with

14 paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection may not

15 be used as evidence for the assessment or collection

16 of civil penalties or for the implementation of other

17 enforcement mechanisms provided in sections

18 20702(b), 20111, 20112, 20113, or 20114 of this

19 title and may not be conveyed to a railroad carrier,

20 but may be used as background for further inves21 tigation which might lead to the discovery of other

22 useful evidence.

23 ‘‘(4) The authority granted by this subsection

24 shall be an exception to the general prohibitions of

25 section 705 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
36

•S 1496 IS

1 U.S.C. 605), and chapter 119 of title 18, United

2 States Code.

3 ‘‘(d) AT REASONABLE TIMES DEFINED.—In this sec4 tion, the term ‘at reasonable times’ means at any time

5 that the railroad carrier being inspected or investigated

6 is performing its rail transportation business.’’.

7 SEC. 202. EXCEPTION TO CHAPTER 119, TITLE 18, UNITED

8 STATES CODE.

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

10 amended by adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this

12 chapter or section 705 of the Communications Act

13 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 605), officers, employees, or

14 agents of the Secretary of Transportation in the

15 normal course of employment and in furtherance of

16 the Federal railroad safety laws under subtitle V of

17 part A of title 49, United States Code, may inter18 cept radio communications broadcast or transmitted

19 over a frequency authorized by the Federal Commu20 nications Commission to a railroad carrier and may

21 disclose or use the information thereby obtained, for

22 the purposes and to the extent permitted by section

23 20107(c) of title 49.’’.
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1 TITLE III—RULEMAKING

2 AUTHORITY

3 SEC. 301. RAILROAD ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTING.

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

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

6 not less often than monthly or, if no qualifying accident

7 or incident occurs, on a periodic basis not less often than

8 quarterly, as specified by the Secretary of Transportation,

9 a railroad carrier shall file a report with the Secretary on

10 all accidents and incidents resulting in injury or death to

11 an individual or damage to equipment or a roadbed arising

12 from the carrier’s operations during that month or other

13 applicable period. The report shall state the nature, cause,

14 and circumstances of each reported accident or incident.

15 If a railroad carrier assigns human error as a cause, the

16 report shall include, at the option of each employee whose

17 error is alleged, a statement by the employee explaining

18 any factors the employee alleges contributed to the acci19 dent or incident.’’.

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

21 (a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 201 is amended by add22 ing at the end the following:

23 ‘‘§ 20154. High-speed rail noise regulation

24 ‘‘The Secretary of Transportation, with the concur25 rence of the Administrator of the Environmental Protec-
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1 tion Agency, shall prescribe regulations governing noise

2 emissions from high-speed rail systems, including mag3 netic levitation systems, when operating at speeds greater

4 than 150 miles per hour. Railroad-related noise regula5 tions issued pursuant to the Noise Control Act of 1972

6 (42 U.S.C. 4916(a)) shall govern noise emissions from lo7 comotives, cars, and consists of locomotives and cars,

8 when operating at speeds equal to or less than 150 miles

9 per hour.’’.

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal11 ysis of chapter 201 is amended by inserting after the item

12 relating to section 20153 the following:

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

13 TITLE IV—WHISTLEBLOWER

14 PROTECTION

15 SEC. 401. EXPANSION OF EMPLOYEE PROTECTIONS.

16 (a) Section 20109(a) is amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘COMPLAINTS AND TESTI18 FYING’’ in the subsection heading and inserting

19 ‘‘COMPLAINTS, TESTIFYING, REPORTING INJURIES

20 AND ILLNESSES, AND COOPERATING WITH SAFETY

21 INVESTIGATIONS’’;

22 (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ following the semicolon in

23 paragraph (1); and

24 (3) by striking ‘‘proceeding.’’ in paragraph (2)

25 and inserting ‘‘proceeding;’’; and
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1 (4) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(3) notified, or attempted to notify, the rail3 road carrier of a work-related personal injury or

4 work-related illness of an employee; or

5 ‘‘(4) cooperated with a safety investigation by

6 the Secretary of Transportation or the National

7 Transportation Safety Board.’’.

8 (b) Section 20109(b) is amended—

9 (1) by striking the subsection heading and in10 serting ‘‘HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS.—’’;

11 (2) by inserting ‘‘or against an employee re12 sponsible for the inspection or repair of safety-re13 lated equipment, track, or structures for refusing to

14 authorize the use of such equipment, track, or struc15 tures when the employee believes that the equip16 ment, track, or structures are in a hazardous condi17 tion and that the use of the equipment, track, or

18 structures would endanger human life,’’ in para19 graph (1) after ‘‘performance of the employee’s du20 ties,’’; and

21 (3) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting

22 the following:

23 ‘‘(C) the employee, where possible, has no24 tified the carrier of the existence of the haz25 ardous condition and the intention not to per-
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1 form further work or not to authorize the use

2 of the hazardous equipment, track, or struc3 tures, unless the condition is corrected imme4 diately or the equipment, track, or structures

5 are repaired properly or replaced.’’.

6 (c) Section 20109(c) is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(c) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A dispute, grievance, or

9 claim arising under this section is subject to

10 resolution—

11 ‘‘(A) under section 3 of the Railway Labor

12 Act (45 U.S.C. 553); or

13 ‘‘(B) through a tort action brought by the

14 employee in a district court of the United

15 States.

16 ‘‘(2) EXPEDITED RESOLUTION UNDER RAILWAY

17 LABOR ACT.—In a proceeding by the National Rail18 road Adjustment Board, a division of delegate of the

19 Board, or another board of adjustment established

20 under section 3 (45 U.S.C. 553) to resolve the dis21 pute, grievance, or claim, the proceeding shall be ex22 pedited and the dispute, grievance, or claim shall be

23 resolved not later than 180 days after it is filed.

24 ‘‘(3) VENUE.—A tort action under paragraph

25 (1)(B) of this subsection may be brought in the judi-
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1 cial district in which the dispute, grievance, or claim

2 arose or the defendant has its principal executive of3 fice.

4 ‘‘(4) RELIEF.—If the employee has been found

5 by the Board, division, delegate, or other board of

6 adjustment or by the court, as applicable, to have

7 been discharged, suspended, or otherwise discrimi8 nated against in violation of subsection (a) or (b) of

9 this section, the Board division, delegate, or other

10 board of adjustment or the court, as applicable—

11 ‘‘(A) may award reasonable damages, in12 cluding punitive damages sufficient to deter the

13 railroad carrier from such conduct in the future

14 up to $100,000; and

15 ‘‘(B) shall make the employee whole, in16 cluding reinstatement, with an award of back

17 pay, and with all benefits and accumulated se18 niority.’’.

19 TITLE V—GRADE CROSSING

20 SAFETY

21 SEC. 501. EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION OF GRADE CROSSING

22 PROBLEMS.

23 Section 20152 is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘§ 20152. Emergency notification of grade crossing

2 problems

3 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM.—

4 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Transportation shall pro5 mote the establishment of emergency notification

6 systems utilizing toll-free telephone numbers that

7 the public can use to convey to railroad carriers, ei8 ther directly or through public safety personnel, in9 formation about malfunctions of automated warning

10 devices or other safety problems at highway-rail

11 grade crossings.

12 ‘‘(2) To assist in encouraging widespread use of

13 such systems, the Secretary may provide technical

14 assistance and enter into cooperative agreements.

15 Such assistance shall include appropriate emphasis

16 on the public safety needs associated with operation

17 of small railroads.

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

19 enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety Enhancement

20 Act of 1999, the Secretary shall report to Congress the

21 status of such emergency notification systems, together

22 with any recommendations for further legislation that the

23 Secretary considers appropriate.

24 ‘‘(c) CLARIFICATION OF TERM.—In this section, the

25 use of the term ‘emergency’ does not alter the cir26 cumstances under which a signal employee subject to the
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1 hours of service law limitations in chapter 211 of this title

2 may be permitted to work up to 4 additional hours in a

3 24-hour period when an actual emergency under section

4 21104(c) of this title exists and the work of that employee

5 is related to the emergency.’’.

6 SEC. 502. VIOLATION OF GRADE CROSSING SIGNALS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 20151 is amended—

8 (1) by striking the section heading and insert9 ing the following:

10 ‘‘§ 20151. Strategy to prevent railroad trespassing

11 and vandalism and violation of grade

12 crossing signals’’;

13 (2) by striking ‘‘and vandalism affecting rail14 road safety’’ in subsection (a) and inserting ‘‘, van15 dalism affecting railroad safety, and violations of

16 highway-rail grade crossing signals’’;

17 (3) by inserting ‘‘, concerning trespassing and

18 vandalism,’’ in subsection (a) after ‘‘such evaluation

19 and review’’; and

20 (4) by inserting ‘‘The second such evaluation

21 and review, concerning violations of highway-rail

22 grade crossing signals, shall be completed not later

23 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Fed24 eral Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 1999’’ in

25 subsection (a) after ‘‘1994.’’;
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1 (5) by inserting ‘‘FOR TRESPASSING AND VAN2 DALISM PREVENTION’’ in the subsection heading of

3 subsection (b) after ‘‘OUTREACH PROGRAM’’;

4 (6) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ in subsection (c) before

5 ‘‘Within’’;

6 (7) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as

7 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;

8 (8) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the

9 following:

10 ‘‘(2) Not later than 2 years after the date of

11 the enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety En12 hancement Act of 1999, the Secretary, after con13 sultation with State and local governments and rail14 road carriers, shall develop and make available to

15 State and local governments model State legislation

16 providing for civil or criminal penalties, or both, for

17 violations of highway-rail grade crossing signals.’’;

18 and

19 (9) by adding at the end the following:

20 ‘‘(d) VIOLATION OF HIGHWAY-RAIL GRADE CROSS21 ING SIGNALS DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘viola22 tion of highway-rail grade crossing signals’ includes any

23 action by a motorist, unless directed by an authorized

24 safety officer—
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1 ‘‘(1) to drive around or through a grade cross2 ing gate in a position intended to block passage over

3 railroad tracks;

4 ‘‘(2) to drive through a flashing grade crossing

5 signal;

6 ‘‘(3) to drive through a grade crossing with pas7 sive warning signs without determining that the

8 grade crossing could be safely crossed before any

9 train arrived; or

10 ‘‘(4) in the vicinity of a grade crossing, that

11 creates a hazard of an accident involving injury or

12 property damage at the grade crossing.’’.

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal14 ysis for chapter 201 is amended by striking the item relat15 ing to section 20151 and inserting the following:

‘‘20151. Strategy to prevent railroad trespassing and vandalism and violation of

grade crossing signals.’’.

16 SEC. 503. NATIONAL HIGHWAY-RAIL CROSSING INVENTORY.

17 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subchapter II of chapter 201, as

18 amended by this Act, is further amended by adding at the

19 end the following new section:

20 ‘‘§ 20155. National highway-rail crossing inventory

21 ‘‘(a) MANDATORY INITIAL REPORTING OF CROSSING

22 INFORMATION.—No later than September 30, 2001, each

23 railroad carrier shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) report to the Secretary of Transportation

2 certain information, as specified by the Secretary by

3 rule or order issued after notice and opportunity for

4 public comment or by guidelines, concerning each

5 highway-rail crossing through which the carrier op6 erates; or

7 ‘‘(2) otherwise ensure that the information has

8 been reported to the Secretary by that date.

9 ‘‘(b) MANDATORY PERIODIC UPDATING OF CROSSING

10 INFORMATION.—On a periodic basis beginning no later

11 than September 30, 2003, and not less often than Sep12 tember 30 of every third year thereafter, or as otherwise

13 specified by the Secretary of Transportation by rule or

14 order issued after notice and opportunity for public com15 ment or by guidelines, each railroad carrier shall—

16 ‘‘(1) report to the Secretary certain current in17 formation, as specified by the Secretary by rule or

18 order issued after notice and opportunity for public

19 comment or by guidelines, concerning each highway20 rail grade crossing through which it operates; or

21 ‘‘(2) otherwise ensure that the information has

22 been reported to the Secretary by that date.

23 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

24 ‘‘(1) HIGHWAY-RAIL CROSSING.—The term

25 ‘highway-rail crossing’ means a location within a
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1 State where a public highway, road, street, or pri2 vate roadway, including associated sidewalks and

3 pathways, crosses 1 or more railroad tracks either at

4 grade or grade separated.

5 ‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a State

6 of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puer7 to Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam,

8 American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.’’.

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec10 tions for chapter 201 is amended by adding after new item

11 20155 the following new item:

‘‘20155. National highway-rail crossing inventory.’’.

12 (c) AMENDMENT.—Section 130 of title 23, United

13 States Code, is amended—

14 (1) by striking the section heading and insert15 ing the following:

16 ‘‘§ 130. Highway-rail crossings’’;

17 (2) by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(k) NATIONAL HIGHWAY-RAIL CROSSING INVEN19 TORY.—

20 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY INITIAL REPORTING OF

21 CROSSING INFORMATION.—No later than September

22 30, 2001, each State shall—

23 ‘‘(A) report to the Secretary of Transpor24 tation certain information, as specified by the

25 Secretary by rule or order issued after notice
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1 and opportunity for public comment or by

2 guidelines, concerning each highway-rail cross3 ing located within its borders; or

4 ‘‘(B) otherwise ensure that the information

5 has been reported to the Secretary by that date.

6 ‘‘(2) MANDATORY PERIODIC UPDATING OF

7 CROSSING INFORMATION.—On a periodic basis be8 ginning no later than September 30, 2003, and not

9 less often than September 30 of every third year

10 thereafter, or as otherwise specified by the Secretary

11 of Transportation by rule or order issued after no12 tice and opportunity for public comment or by guide13 lines, each State shall—

14 ‘‘(A) report to the Secretary certain cur15 rent information, as determined by the Sec16 retary by rule or order issued after notice and

17 opportunity for public comment or by guide18 lines, concerning each highway-rail crossing lo19 cated within its borders; or

20 ‘‘(B) otherwise ensure that the information

21 has been reported to the Secretary by that date.

22 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection—

23 ‘‘(A) HIGHWAY-RAIL CROSSING.—The term

24 ‘highway-rail crossing’ means a location where

25 a public highway, road, street, or private road-
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1 way, including associated sidewalks and path2 ways, crosses 1 or more railroad tracks either

3 at grade or grade separated.

4 ‘‘(B) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means a

5 State of the United States, the District of Co6 lumbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Is7 lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin

8 Islands.’’.

9 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter anal10 ysis for chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is

11 amended by striking the item relating to section 130 and

12 inserting the following:

‘‘130. Highway-rail crossings.’’.

13 (e) CIVIL PENALTIES.—

14 (1) Section 21301(a)(1) is amended—

15 (A) by striking ‘‘title.’’ and inserting ‘‘title

16 or with section 20155.’’; and

17 (B) by inserting ‘‘or violating section

18 20155’’ after ‘‘chapter 201’’ in the second sen19 tence.

20 (2) Section 21301(a)(2) is amended by insert21 ing after the first sentence the following: ‘‘The Sec22 retary shall impose a civil penalty for a violation of

23 section 20155 of this title’’.
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1 TITLE VI—MISCELLANEOUS

2 PROVISIONS

3 SEC. 601. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS REGARDING ADJUST4 MENT OF CIVIL PENALTIES FOR INFLATION.

5 (a) CHAPTER 201 GENERAL VIOLATIONS.—Section

6 21301(a)(2) is amended by—

7 (1) striking ‘‘$10,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000

8 or such other amount to which the stated maximum

9 penalty is adjusted if required by the Federal Civil

10 Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28

11 U.S.C. 2461 note).’’; and

12 (2) striking ‘‘$20,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000

13 or such other amount to which the stated maximum

14 penalty is adjusted if required by the Federal Civil

15 Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28

16 U.S.C. 2461 note).’’.

17 (b) CHAPTER 201 ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT VIOLA18 TIONS AND CHAPTER 203–209 VIOLATIONS.—Section

19 21302(a)(2) is amended by

20 (1) striking ‘‘$10,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000

21 or such other amount to which the stated maximum

22 penalty is adjusted if required by the Federal Civil

23 Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28

24 U.S.C. 2461 note).’’; and
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1 (2) striking ‘‘$20,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000

2 or such other amount to which the stated maximum

3 penalty is adjusted if required by the Federal Civil

4 Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28

5 U.S.C. 2461 note).’’.

6 (c) CHAPTER 211 VIOLATIONS.—Section

7 21303(a)(2) is amended by—

8 (1) striking ‘‘$10,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000

9 or such other amount to which the stated maximum

10 penalty is adjusted if required by the Federal Civil

11 Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28

12 U.S.C. 2461 note).’’; and

13 (2) striking ‘‘$20,000.’’ and inserting ‘‘$20,000

14 or such other amount to which the stated maximum

15 penalty is adjusted if required by the Federal Civil

16 Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 1990 (28

17 U.S.C. 2461 note).’’.

18 SEC. 602. REVISION OF SPECIAL PREEMPTION PROVISION.

19 Section 711 of the Regional Rail Reorganization Act

20 of 1973 (45 U.S.C. 797j), is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘SEC. 711. No State may continue in force any law,

22 rule, regulation, order, or standard adopted before the

23 date of enactment of the Federal Railroad Safety En24 hancement Act of 1999 requiring any railroad in the Re25 gion to employ any specified number of persons to perform
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1 any particular task, function, or operation, or requiring

2 the railroad to pay protective benefits to employees.’’.

3 SEC. 603. RAILROAD SAFETY INSPECTION USER FEES.

4 Section 20115 is amended—

5 (1) striking ‘‘chapter.’’ in subsection (a) and in6 serting ‘‘part.’’; and

7 (2) striking subsection (a)(1) and inserting the

8 following:

9 ‘‘(1) shall cover the costs incurred by the Fed10 eral Railroad Administration in carrying out this

11 part and chapter 51 of this title;’’;

12 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the

13 following:

14 ‘‘(c) COLLECTION, DEPOSIT, AND USE.—

15 ‘‘(1) The Secretary is authorized to impose and

16 collect fees under this section for each fiscal year

17 (beginning with fiscal year 2000) before the end of

18 the fiscal year to cover the costs of carrying out this

19 part and Federal Railroad Administration activities

20 in connection with chapter 51 of this title.

21 ‘‘(2) Fees authorized under this section shall be

22 collected and available for obligation only to the ex23 tent and in the amount provided in advance in ap24 propriations acts. Such fees are authorized to be ap25 propriated to remain available until expended.’’; and
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1 (4) by striking subsections (d) and (e).

2 SEC. 604. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

3 Section 20117(a) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap5 propriated to the Secretary of Transportation to carry out

6 this part and to carry out chapter 51 of this title with

7 respect to the railroad mode of transportation—

8 ‘‘(1) for the fiscal year ending September 30,

9 2000, not more than $117,262,000; and

10 ‘‘(2) for fiscal years 2001 through 2003, such

11 sums as may be necessary.’’.

Æ