II 

Calendar No. 94 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 808 

[Report No. 114–52] 

To establish the Surface Transportation Board as an independent 

establishment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 19, 2015 

Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. NELSON) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

MAY 21, 2015 

Reported by Mr. THUNE, without amendment 

A BILL 

To establish the Surface Transportation Board as an 

independent establishment, and for other purposes. 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 

4 2015’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References to title 49, United States Code. 

Sec. 3. Establishment of Surface Transportation Board as an independent establishment. 

Sec. 4. Surface Transportation Board membership. 

Sec. 5. Nonpublic collaborative discussions. 

Sec. 6. Reports. 

Sec. 7. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 8. Agent in the District of Columbia. 

Sec. 9. Department of Transportation Inspector General authority. 

Sec. 10. Amendment to table of sections. 

Sec. 11. Procedures for rate cases. 

Sec. 12. Investigative authority. 

Sec. 13. Arbitration of certain rail rates and practices disputes. 

Sec. 14. Effect of proposals for rates from multiple origins and destinations. 

Sec. 15. Reports. 

Sec. 16. Criteria. 

Sec. 17. Construction. 

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE. 

2 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi5 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

6 section or other provision of title 49, United States Code. 

7 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF SURFACE TRANSPORTATION 

8 BOARD AS AN INDEPENDENT ESTABLISH9 MENT. 

10 (a) REDESIGNATION OF CHAPTER 7 OF TITLE 49, 

11 UNITED STATES CODE.—Title 49 is amended— 

12 (1) by moving chapter 7 after chapter 11 in 

13 subtitle II; 

14 (2) by redesignating chapter 7 as chapter 13; 

15 (3) by redesignating sections 701 through 706 

16 as sections 1301 through 1306, respectively; 

17 (4) by striking sections 725 and 727; 


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1 (5) by redesignating sections 721 through 724 

2 as sections 1321 through 1324, respectively; and 

3 (6) by redesignating section 726 as section 

4 1325. 

5 (b) INDEPENDENT ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 1301, 

6 as redesignated by subsection (a)(3), is amended by strik7 ing subsection (a) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Surface Transportation 

9 Board is an independent establishment of the United 

10 States Government.’’. 

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—Section 

13 1303, as redesignated by subsection (a)(3), is 

14 amended— 

15 (A) by striking subsections (a), (c), (f), 

16 and (g); 

17 (B) by redesignating subsections (b), (d), 

18 and (e) as subsections (a), (b), and (c), respec19 tively; and 

20 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) SUBMISSION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS TO CON22 GRESS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Board submits any 

24 budget estimate, budget request, supplemental budg25 et estimate, or other budget information, legislative 


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1 recommendation, prepared testimony for a congres2 sional hearing, or comment on legislation to the 

3 President or to the Office of Management and 

4 Budget, the Board shall concurrently submit a copy 

5 of such document to— 

6 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Commerce, 

7 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Transportation 

9 and Infrastructure of the House of Representa10 tives. 

11 ‘‘(2) NO APPROVAL REQUIRED.—No officer or 

12 agency of the United States has any authority to re13 quire the Board to submit budget estimates or re14 quests, legislative recommendations, prepared testi15 mony for congressional hearings, or comments on 

16 legislation to any officer or agency of the United 

17 States for approval, comments, or review before sub18 mitting such recommendations, testimony, or com19 ments to Congress.’’. 

20 SEC. 4. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEMBERSHIP. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1301(b), as redesignated 

22 by subsection 3(a), is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘3 members’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘5 members’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘2 members’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘3 members’’; and 

3 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(2) At all times— 

6 ‘‘(A) at least 3 members of the Board shall be 

7 individuals with professional standing and dem8 onstrated knowledge in the fields of transportation, 

9 transportation regulation, or economic regulation; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) at least 2 members shall be individuals 

12 with professional or business experience (including 

13 agriculture) in the private sector.’’. 

14 (b) REPEAL OF OBSOLETE PROVISION.—Section 

15 1301(b), as amended by this section, is further amended— 

16 (1) by striking paragraph (4); 

17 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and 

18 (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and 

19 (3) in paragraph (4), as redesignated, by strik20 ing ‘‘who becomes a member of the Board pursuant 

21 to paragraph (4), or an individual’’. 

22 SEC. 5. NONPUBLIC COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSIONS. 

23 Section 1303(a), as redesignated by subsections (a) 

24 and (c) of section 3, is amended to read as follows: 

25 ‘‘(a) OPEN MEETINGS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall be deemed 

2 to be an agency for purposes of section 552b of title 

3 5. 

4 ‘‘(2) NONPUBLIC COLLABORATIVE DISCUS5 SIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec7 tion 552b of title 5, a majority of the members 

8 may hold a meeting that is not open to public 

9 observation to discuss official agency business 

10 if— 

11 ‘‘(i) no formal or informal vote or 

12 other official agency action is taken at the 

13 meeting; 

14 ‘‘(ii) each individual present at the 

15 meeting is a member or an employee of the 

16 Board; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) the General Counsel of the 

18 Board is present at the meeting. 

19 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE OF NONPUBLIC COL20 LABORATIVE DISCUSSIONS.—Except as provided 

21 under subparagraph (C), not later than 2 busi22 ness days after the conclusion of a meeting 

23 under subparagraph (A), the Board shall make 

24 available to the public, in a place easily acces25 sible to the public— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a list of the individuals present at 

2 the meeting; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) a summary of the matters dis4 cussed at the meeting, except for any mat5 ters the Board properly determines may be 

6 withheld from the public under section 

7 552b(c) of title 5. 

8 ‘‘(C) SUMMARY.—If the Board properly 

9 determines matters may be withheld from the 

10 public under section 555b(c) of title 5, the 

11 Board shall provide a summary with as much 

12 general information as possible on those mat13 ters withheld from the public. 

14 ‘‘(D) ONGOING PROCEEDINGS.—If a dis15 cussion under subparagraph (A) directly relates 

16 to an ongoing proceeding before the Board, the 

17 Board shall make the disclosure under subpara18 graph (B) on the date of the final Board deci19 sion. 

20 ‘‘(E) PRESERVATION OF OPEN MEETINGS

21 REQUIREMENTS FOR AGENCY ACTION.—Noth22 ing in this paragraph may be construed to limit 

23 the applicability of section 552b of title 5 with 

24 respect to a meeting of the members other than 

25 that described in this paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(F) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Noth2 ing in this paragraph may be construed— 

3 ‘‘(i) to limit the applicability of sec4 tion 552b of title 5 with respect to any in5 formation which is proposed to be withheld 

6 from the public under subparagraph 

7 (B)(ii); or 

8 ‘‘(ii) to authorize the Board to with9 hold from any individual any record that is 

10 accessible to that individual under section 

11 552a of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

12 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

13 (a) REPORTS.—Section 1304, as amended by section 

14 3, is further amended— 

15 (1) by striking the section heading and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘§ 1304. Reports’’; 

18 (2) by inserting ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—’’ be19 fore ‘‘The Board’’; 

20 (3) by striking ‘‘on its activities.’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘on its activities, including each instance in which 

22 the Board has initiated an investigation on its own 

23 initiative under this chapter or subtitle IV.’’; and 

24 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(b) RATE CASE REVIEW METRICS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—The Board shall 

2 post a quarterly report of rail rate review cases 

3 pending or completed by the Board during the pre4 vious quarter that includes— 

5 ‘‘(A) summary information of the case, in6 cluding the docket number, case name, com7 modity or commodities involved, and rate review 

8 guideline or guidelines used; 

9 ‘‘(B) the date on which the rate review 

10 proceeding began; 

11 ‘‘(C) the date for the completion of dis12 covery; 

13 ‘‘(D) the date for the completion of the evi14 dentiary record; 

15 ‘‘(E) the date for the submission of closing 

16 briefs; 

17 ‘‘(F) the date on which the Board issued 

18 the final decision; and 

19 ‘‘(G) a brief summary of the final decision; 

20 ‘‘(2) WEBSITE POSTING.—Each quarterly re21 port shall be posted on the Board’s public website.’’. 

22 (b) COMPILATION OF COMPLAINTS AT SURFACE

23 TRANSPORTATION BOARD.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1304, as amended 

2 by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at 

3 the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(c) COMPLAINTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall establish 

6 and maintain a database of complaints received by 

7 the Board. 

8 ‘‘(2) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—The Board shall 

9 post a quarterly report of formal and informal serv10 ice complaints received by the Board during the pre11 vious quarter that includes— 

12 ‘‘(A) the date on which the complaint was 

13 received by the Board; 

14 ‘‘(B) a list of the type of each complaint; 

15 ‘‘(C) the geographic region of each com16 plaint; and 

17 ‘‘(D) the resolution of each complaint, if 

18 appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(3) WRITTEN CONSENT.—The quarterly report 

20 may identify a complainant that submitted an infor21 mal complaint only upon the written consent of the 

22 complainant. 

23 ‘‘(4) WEBSITE POSTING.—Each quarterly re24 port shall be posted on the Board’s public website.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 1305, as redesignated by section 3, is amend3 ed by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and inserting 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) $33,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

6 ‘‘(2) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

7 ‘‘(3) $35,500,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

8 ‘‘(4) $35,500,000 for fiscal year 2019; and 

9 ‘‘(5) $36,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.’’. 

10 SEC. 8. AGENT IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 

11 (a) DESIGNATION OF AGENT AND SERVICE OF NO12 TICE.—Section 1323, as redesignated by section 3(a), is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘in the Dis15 trict of Columbia,’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘in the Dis17 trict of Columbia’’. 

18 (b) SERVICE OF PROCESS IN COURT PRO19 CEEDINGS.—Section 1324(a), as redesignated by section 

20 3(a), is amended by striking ‘‘in the District of Columbia’’ 

21 each place such phrase appears. 

22 SEC. 9. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION INSPECTOR 

23 GENERAL AUTHORITY. 

24 Subchapter II of chapter 13, as redesignated by sec25 tion 3(a)(2), is amended by inserting after section 1325, 

26 as redesignated by section 3(a)(6), the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1326. Authority of the Inspector General 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of the 

3 Department of Transportation, in accordance with the 

4 mission of the Inspector General to prevent and detect 

5 fraud and abuse, shall have authority to review only the 

6 financial management, property management, and busi7 ness operations of the Surface Transportation Board, in8 cluding internal accounting and administrative control 

9 systems, to determine the Board’s compliance with appli10 cable Federal laws, rules, and regulations. 

11 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—In carrying out this section, the In12 spector General shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) keep the Chairman of the Board, the Com14 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

15 the Senate, and the Committee on Transportation 

16 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

17 fully and currently informed about problems relating 

18 to administration of the internal accounting and ad19 ministrative control systems of the Board; 

20 ‘‘(2) issue findings and recommendations for 

21 actions to address the problems referred to in para22 graph (1); and 

23 ‘‘(3) submit periodic reports to the Committee 

24 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

25 Senate, and the Committee on Transportation and 

26 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that 


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1 describe any progress made in implementing actions 

2 to address the problems referred to in paragraph 

3 (1). 

4 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—In carrying out this 

5 section, the Inspector General may exercise authorities 

6 granted to the Inspector General under subsections (a) 

7 and (b) of section 6 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 

8 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

9 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap11 propriated to the Secretary of Transportation for 

12 use by the Inspector General of the Department of 

13 Transportation such sums as may be necessary to 

14 cover expenses associated with activities pursuant to 

15 the authority exercised under this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENT.—In the ab17 sence of an appropriation under this subsection for 

18 an expense referred to in paragraph (1), the Inspec19 tor General and the Board shall have a reimburse20 ment agreement to cover such expense.’’. 

21 SEC. 10. AMENDMENT TO TABLE OF SECTIONS. 

22 The table of sections for chapter 13, as redesignated 

23 by section 3(a), is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 13—SURFACE 

2 TRANSPORTATION BOARD 

‘‘I—ESTABLISHMENT

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘1301. Establishment of Board 

‘‘1302. Functions. 

‘‘1303. Administrative provisions. 

‘‘1304. Reports. 

‘‘1305. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘1306. Reporting official action. 

‘‘II—ADMINISTRATIVE

‘‘1321. Powers. 

‘‘1322. Board action. 

‘‘1323. Service of notice in Board proceedings. 

‘‘1324. Service of process in court proceedings. 

‘‘1325. Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council. 

‘‘1326. Authority of the Inspector General.’’. 

3 SEC. 11. PROCEDURES FOR RATE CASES. 

4 (a) SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE.—Section 10701(d)(3) 

5 is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(3) The Board shall maintain 1 or more simplified 

7 and expedited methods for determining the reasonableness 

8 of challenged rates in those cases in which a full stand9 alone cost presentation is too costly, given the value of 

10 the case.’’. 

11 (b) EXPEDITED HANDLING; RATE REVIEW

12 TIMELINES.—Section 10704(d) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘(d) Within 9 months’’ and all 

14 that follows through ‘‘railroad rates.’’ and inserting 

15 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(d)(1) The Board shall maintain procedures to en2 sure the expeditious handling of challenges to the reason3 ableness of railroad rates.’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided under subparagraph (B), 

6 in a stand-alone cost rate challenge, the Board shall com7 ply with the following timeline: 

8 ‘‘(i) Discovery shall be completed not later than 

9 150 days after the date on which the challenge is 

10 initiated. 

11 ‘‘(ii) The development of the evidentiary record 

12 shall be completed not later than 155 days after the 

13 date on which discovery is completed under clause 

14 (i). 

15 ‘‘(iii) The closing brief shall be submitted not 

16 later than 60 days after the date on which the devel17 opment of the evidentiary record is completed under 

18 clause (ii). 

19 ‘‘(iv) A final Board decision shall be issued not 

20 later than 180 days after the date on which the evi21 dentiary record is completed under clause (ii). 

22 ‘‘(B) The Board may extend a timeline under sub23 paragraph (A) after a request from any party or in the 

24 interest of due process.’’. 


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1 (c) PROCEDURES.—Not later than 180 days after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Surface Transpor3 tation Board shall initiate a proceeding to assess proce4 dures that are available to parties in litigation before 

5 courts to expedite such litigation and the potential applica6 tion of any such procedures to rate cases. 

7 (d) EXPIRED RAIL SERVICE CONTRACT LIMITA8 TION.—Section 10709 is amended by striking subsection 

9 (h). 

10 SEC. 12. INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY. 

11 (a) AUTHORITY TO INITIATE INVESTIGATIONS.— 

12 Section 11701(a) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘only on complaint’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘on the Board’s own initiative or upon receiving 

15 a complaint pursuant to subsection (b)’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If the 

17 Board finds a violation of this part in a proceeding 

18 brought on its own initiative, any remedy from such 

19 proceeding may only be applied prospectively.’’. 

20 (b) LIMITATIONS ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE

21 BOARD’S INITIATIVE.—Section 11701, as amended by 

22 subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(d) In any investigation commenced on the Board’s 

25 own initiative, the Board shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) not later than 30 days after initiating the 

2 investigation, provide written notice to the parties 

3 under investigation, which shall state the basis for 

4 such investigation; 

5 ‘‘(2) only investigate issues that are of national 

6 or regional significance; 

7 ‘‘(3) permit the parties under investigation to 

8 file a written statement describing any or all facts 

9 and circumstances concerning a matter which may 

10 be the subject of such investigation; 

11 ‘‘(4) make available to the parties under inves12 tigation and Board members— 

13 ‘‘(A) any recommendations made as a re14 sult of the investigation; and 

15 ‘‘(B) a summary of the findings that sup16 port such recommendations; 

17 ‘‘(5) to the extent practicable, separate the in18 vestigative and decisionmaking functions of staff; 

19 ‘‘(6) dismiss any investigation that is not con20 cluded by the Board with administrative finality 

21 within 1 year after the date on which it was com22 menced; and 

23 ‘‘(7) not later than 90 days after receiving the 

24 recommendations and summary of findings under 

25 paragraph (4)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) dismiss the investigation if no further 

2 action is warranted; or 

3 ‘‘(B) initiate a proceeding to determine if 

4 a provision under this part has been violated. 

5 ‘‘(e)(1) Any parties to an investigation against whom 

6 a violation is found as a result of an investigation begun 

7 on the Board’s own initiative may, not later than 60 days 

8 after the date of the order of the Board finding such a 

9 violation, institute an action in the United States court 

10 of appeals for the appropriate judicial circuit for de novo 

11 review of such order in accordance with chapter 7 of title 

12 5. 

13 ‘‘(2) The court— 

14 ‘‘(A) shall have jurisdiction to enter a judgment 

15 affirming, modifying, or setting aside, in whole or in 

16 part, the order of the Board; and 

17 ‘‘(B) may remand the proceeding to the Board 

18 for such further action as the court may direct.’’. 

19 (c) RULEMAKINGS FOR INVESTIGATIONS OF THE

20 BOARD’S INITIATIVE.—Not later than 1 year after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Board shall issue 

22 rules, after notice and comment rulemaking, for investiga23 tions commenced on its own initiative that— 


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1 (1) comply with the requirements of section 

2 11701(d) of title 49, United States Code, as added 

3 by subsection (b); 

4 (2) satisfy due process requirements; and 

5 (3) take into account ex parte constraints. 

6 SEC. 13. ARBITRATION OF CERTAIN RAIL RATES AND PRAC7 TICES DISPUTES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 117 is amended by add9 ing at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 11708. Voluntary arbitration of certain rail rates 

11 and practices disputes 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

13 date of the enactment of the Surface Transportation 

14 Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Board shall pro15 mulgate regulations to establish a voluntary and binding 

16 arbitration process to resolve rail rate and practice com17 plaints subject to the jurisdiction of the Board. 

18 ‘‘(b) COVERED DISPUTES.—The voluntary and bind19 ing arbitration process established pursuant to subsection 

20 (a)— 

21 ‘‘(1) shall apply to disputes involving— 

22 ‘‘(A) rates, demurrage, accessorial charges, 

23 misrouting, or mishandling of rail cars; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a carrier’s published rules and prac2 tices as applied to particular rail transpor3 tation; 

4 ‘‘(2) shall not apply to disputes— 

5 ‘‘(A) to obtain the grant, denial, stay, or 

6 revocation of any license, authorization, or ex7 emption; 

8 ‘‘(B) to prescribe for the future any con9 duct, rules, or results of general, industry-wide 

10 applicability; 

11 ‘‘(C) to enforce a labor protective condi12 tion; or 

13 ‘‘(D) that are solely between 2 or more rail 

14 carriers; and 

15 ‘‘(3) shall not prevent parties from independ16 ently seeking or utilizing private arbitration services 

17 to resolve any disputes the parties may have. 

18 ‘‘(c) ARBITRATION PROCEDURES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board— 

20 ‘‘(A) may make the voluntary and binding 

21 arbitration process established pursuant to sub22 section (a) available only to the relevant parties; 

23 ‘‘(B) may make the voluntary and binding 

24 arbitration process available only— 


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1 ‘‘(i) after receiving the written con2 sent to arbitrate from all relevant parties; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii)(I) after the filing of a written 

5 complaint; or 

6 ‘‘(II) through other procedures adopt7 ed by the Board in a rulemaking pro8 ceeding; 

9 ‘‘(C) with respect to rate disputes, may 

10 make the voluntary and binding arbitration 

11 process available only to the relevant parties if 

12 the rail carrier has market dominance (as de13 termined under section 10707); and 

14 ‘‘(D) may initiate the voluntary and bind15 ing arbitration process not later than 40 days 

16 after the date on which a written complaint is 

17 filed or through other procedures adopted by 

18 the Board in a rulemaking proceeding. 

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Initiation of the voluntary 

20 and binding arbitration process shall preclude the 

21 Board from separately reviewing a complaint or dis22 pute related to the same rail rate or practice in a 

23 covered dispute involving the same parties. 

24 ‘‘(3) RATES.—In resolving a covered dispute in25 volving the reasonableness of a rail carrier’s rates, 


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1 the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, as applicable, 

2 shall consider the Board’s methodologies for setting 

3 maximum lawful rates, giving due consideration to 

4 the need for differential pricing to permit a rail car5 rier to collect adequate revenues (as determined 

6 under section 10704(a)(2)). 

7 ‘‘(d) ARBITRATION DECISIONS.—Any decision 

8 reached in an arbitration process under this section— 

9 ‘‘(1) shall be consistent with sound principles of 

10 rail regulation economics; 

11 ‘‘(2) shall be in writing; 

12 ‘‘(3) shall contain findings of fact and conclu13 sions; 

14 ‘‘(4) shall be binding upon the parties; and 

15 ‘‘(5) shall not have any precedential effect in 

16 any other or subsequent arbitration dispute. 

17 ‘‘(e) TIMELINES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) SELECTION.—An arbitrator or panel of ar19 bitrators shall be selected not later than 14 days 

20 after the date of the Board’s decision to initiate ar21 bitration. 

22 ‘‘(2) EVIDENTIARY PROCESS.—The evidentiary 

23 process of the voluntary and binding arbitration 

24 process shall be completed not later than 90 days 


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1 after the date on which the arbitration process is ini2 tiated unless— 

3 ‘‘(A) a party requests an extension; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, 

5 as applicable, grants such extension request. 

6 ‘‘(3) DECISION.—The arbitrator or panel of ar7 bitrators, as applicable, shall issue a decision not 

8 later than 30 days after the date on which the evi9 dentiary record is closed. 

10 ‘‘(4) EXTENSIONS.—The Board may extend any 

11 of the timelines under this subsection upon the 

12 agreement of all parties in the dispute. 

13 ‘‘(f) ARBITRATORS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise agreed by 

15 all of the parties, an arbitration under this section 

16 shall be conducted by an arbitrator or panel of arbi17 trators, which shall be selected from a roster, main18 tained by the Board, of persons with rail transpor19 tation, economic regulation, professional or business 

20 experience, including agriculture, in the private sec21 tor. 

22 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENCE.—In an arbitration under 

23 this section, the arbitrators shall perform their du24 ties with diligence, good faith, and in a manner conVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 May 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S808.RS S808

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1 sistent with the requirements of impartiality and 

2 independence. 

3 ‘‘(3) SELECTION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the parties cannot 

5 mutually agree on an arbitrator, or the lead ar6 bitrator of a panel of arbitrators, the parties 

7 shall select the arbitrator or lead arbitrator 

8 from the roster by alternately striking names 

9 from the roster until only 1 name remains 

10 meeting the criteria set forth in paragraph (1). 

11 ‘‘(B) PANEL OF ARBITRATORS.—If the 

12 parties agree to select a panel of arbitrators, in13 stead of a single arbitrator, the panel shall be 

14 selected under this subsection as follows: 

15 ‘‘(i) The parties to a dispute may mu16 tually select 1 arbitrator from the roster to 

17 serve as the lead arbitrator of the panel of 

18 arbitrators. 

19 ‘‘(ii) If the parties cannot mutually 

20 agree on a lead arbitrator, the parties shall 

21 select a lead arbitrator using the process 

22 described in subparagraph (A). 

23 ‘‘(iii) In addition to the lead arbi24 trator selected under this subparagraph, 

25 each party to a dispute shall select 1 addiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:16 May 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S808.RS S808

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•S 808 RS

1 tional arbitrator from the roster, regard2 less of whether the other party struck out 

3 the arbitrator’s name under subparagraph 

4 (A). 

5 ‘‘(4) COST.—The parties shall share the costs 

6 incurred by the Board and arbitrators equally, with 

7 each party responsible for paying its own legal and 

8 other associated arbitration costs. 

9 ‘‘(g) RELIEF.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the limitations 

11 set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3), an arbitral deci12 sion under this section may award the payment of 

13 damages or rate prescriptive relief. 

14 ‘‘(2) PRACTICE DISPUTES.—The damage award 

15 for practice disputes may not exceed $2,000,000. 

16 ‘‘(3) RATE DISPUTES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) MONETARY LIMIT.—The damage 

18 award for rate disputes, including any rate pre19 scription, may not exceed $25,000,000. 

20 ‘‘(B) TIME LIMIT.—Any rate prescription 

21 shall be limited to not longer than 5 years from 

22 the date of the arbitral decision. 

23 ‘‘(h) BOARD REVIEW.—If a party appeals a decision 

24 under this section to the Board, the Board may review 

25 the decision under this section to determine if— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the decision is consistent with sound prin2 ciples of rail regulation economics; 

3 ‘‘(2) a clear abuse of arbitral authority or dis4 cretion occurred; 

5 ‘‘(3) the decision directly contravenes statutory 

6 authority; or 

7 ‘‘(4) the award limitation under subsection (g) 

8 was violated.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con10 tents for chapter 117 is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

‘‘11708. Voluntary arbitration of certain rail rates and practice disputes.’’. 

12 SEC. 14. EFFECT OF PROPOSALS FOR RATES FROM MUL13 TIPLE ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

16 of the United States shall commence a study of rail trans17 portation contract proposals containing multiple origin-to18 destination movements. 

19 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after com20 mencing the study required under subsection (a), the 

21 Comptroller General shall submit a report containing the 

22 results of the study to— 

23 (1) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

24 Transportation of the Senate; and 


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•S 808 RS

1 (2) the Committee on Transportation and In2 frastructure of the House of Representatives. 

3 SEC. 15. REPORTS. 

4 (a) REPORT ON RATE CASE METHODOLOGY.—Not 

5 later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act, the Surface Transportation Board shall submit a re7 port to the congressional committees referred to in section 

8 14(b) that— 

9 (1) indicates whether current large rate case 

10 methodologies are sufficient, not unduly complex, 

11 and cost effective; 

12 (2) indicates whether alternative methodologies 

13 exist, or could be developed, to streamline, expedite, 

14 and address the complexity of large rate cases; and 

15 (3) only includes alternative methodologies, 

16 which exist or could be developed, that are con17 sistent with sound economic principles. 

18 (b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.—Beginning not later 

19 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

20 the Surface Transportation Board shall submit quarterly 

21 reports to the congressional committees referred to in sec22 tion 14(b) that describes the Surface Transportation 

23 Board’s progress toward addressing the issues raised in 

24 each unfinished regulatory proceeding, regardless of 


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1 whether the proceeding is subject to a statutory or regu2 latory deadline. 

3 SEC. 16. CRITERIA. 

4 Section 10704(a)(2) is amended by inserting ‘‘for the 

5 infrastructure and investment needed to meet the present 

6 and future demand for rail services and’’ after ‘‘manage7 ment,’’. 

8 SEC. 17. CONSTRUCTION. 

9 Nothing in this Act may be construed to affect any 

10 suit commenced by or against the Surface Transportation 

11 Board, or any proceeding or challenge pending before the 

12 Surface Transportation Board, before the date of the en13 actment of this Act. 


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Calendar No. 94 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 808 

[Report No. 114–52] 

A BILL 

To establish the Surface Transportation Board as 

poses. an independent establishment, and for other purMAY 21, 2015 

Reported without amendment 


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