114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 808 

AN ACT 

To establish the Surface Transportation Board as an 

independent establishment, 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, 
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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: 

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. 

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

8 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

9 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

10 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi11 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

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

13 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF SURFACE TRANSPORTATION 

14 BOARD AS AN INDEPENDENT ESTABLISH15 MENT. 

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

17 UNITED STATES CODE.—Title 49 is amended— 
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1 (1) by moving chapter 7 after chapter 11 in 

2 subtitle II; 

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

4 (3) by redesignating sections 701 through 706 

5 as sections 1301 through 1306, respectively; 

6 (4) by striking sections 725 and 727; 

7 (5) by redesignating sections 721 through 724 

8 as sections 1321 through 1324, respectively; and 

9 (6) by redesignating section 726 as section 

10 1325. 

11 (b) INDEPENDENT ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 1301, 

12 as redesignated by subsection (a)(3), is amended by strik13 ing subsection (a) and inserting the following: 

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

15 Board is an independent establishment of the United 

16 States Government.’’. 

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—Section 

19 1303, as redesignated by subsection (a)(3), is 

20 amended— 

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

22 and (g); 

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

24 and (e) as subsections (a), (b), and (c), respec25 tively; and 
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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(d) SUBMISSION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS TO CON3 GRESS.— 

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

5 budget estimate, budget request, supplemental budg6 et estimate, or other budget information, legislative 

7 recommendation, prepared testimony for a congres8 sional hearing, or comment on legislation to the 

9 President or to the Office of Management and 

10 Budget, the Board shall concurrently submit a copy 

11 of such document to— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Commerce, 

13 Science, and Transportation of the Senate; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Transportation 

15 and Infrastructure of the House of Representa16 tives. 

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

18 agency of the United States has any authority to re19 quire the Board to submit budget estimates or re20 quests, legislative recommendations, prepared testi21 mony for congressional hearings, or comments on 

22 legislation to any officer or agency of the United 

23 States for approval, comments, or review before sub24 mitting such recommendations, testimony, or com25 ments to Congress.’’. 
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1 SEC. 4. SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD MEMBERSHIP. 

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

3 by subsection 3(a), is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

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

6 ‘‘5 members’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘3 members’’; and 

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

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(2) At all times— 

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

13 individuals with professional standing and dem14 onstrated knowledge in the fields of transportation, 

15 transportation regulation, or economic regulation; 

16 and 

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

18 with professional or business experience (including 

19 agriculture) in the private sector.’’. 

20 (b) REPEAL OF OBSOLETE PROVISION.—Section 

21 1301(b), as amended by this section, is further amended— 

22 (1) by striking paragraph (4); 

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

24 (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and 
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1 (3) in paragraph (4), as redesignated, by strik2 ing ‘‘who becomes a member of the Board pursuant 

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

4 SEC. 5. NONPUBLIC COLLABORATIVE DISCUSSIONS. 

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

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

7 ‘‘(a) OPEN MEETINGS.— 

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

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

10 5. 

11 ‘‘(2) NONPUBLIC COLLABORATIVE DISCUS12 SIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec14 tion 552b of title 5, a majority of the members 

15 may hold a meeting that is not open to public 

16 observation to discuss official agency business 

17 if— 

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

19 other official agency action is taken at the 

20 meeting; 

21 ‘‘(ii) each individual present at the 

22 meeting is a member or an employee of the 

23 Board; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) the General Counsel of the 

25 Board is present at the meeting. 
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1 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE OF NONPUBLIC COL2 LABORATIVE DISCUSSIONS.—Except as provided 

3 under subparagraph (C), not later than 2 busi4 ness days after the conclusion of a meeting 

5 under subparagraph (A), the Board shall make 

6 available to the public, in a place easily acces7 sible to the public— 

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

9 the meeting; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) a summary of the matters dis11 cussed at the meeting, except for any mat12 ters the Board properly determines may be 

13 withheld from the public under section 

14 552b(c) of title 5. 

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

16 determines matters may be withheld from the 

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

18 Board shall provide a summary with as much 

19 general information as possible on those mat20 ters withheld from the public. 

21 ‘‘(D) ONGOING PROCEEDINGS.—If a dis22 cussion under subparagraph (A) directly relates 

23 to an ongoing proceeding before the Board, the 

24 Board shall make the disclosure under subpara-
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1 graph (B) on the date of the final Board deci2 sion. 

3 ‘‘(E) PRESERVATION OF OPEN MEETINGS

4 REQUIREMENTS FOR AGENCY ACTION.—Noth5 ing in this paragraph may be construed to limit 

6 the applicability of section 552b of title 5 with 

7 respect to a meeting of the members other than 

8 that described in this paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(F) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Noth10 ing in this paragraph may be construed— 

11 ‘‘(i) to limit the applicability of sec12 tion 552b of title 5 with respect to any in13 formation which is proposed to be withheld 

14 from the public under subparagraph 

15 (B)(ii); or 

16 ‘‘(ii) to authorize the Board to with17 hold from any individual any record that is 

18 accessible to that individual under section 

19 552a of title 5, United States Code.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

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

22 3, is further amended— 

23 (1) by striking the section heading and insert24 ing the following: 
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1 ‘‘§ 1304. Reports’’; 

2 (2) by inserting ‘‘(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—’’ be3 fore ‘‘The Board’’; 

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

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

6 the Board has initiated an investigation on its own 

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

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

9 ‘‘(b) RATE CASE REVIEW METRICS.— 

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

11 post a quarterly report of rail rate review cases 

12 pending or completed by the Board during the pre13 vious quarter that includes— 

14 ‘‘(A) summary information of the case, in15 cluding the docket number, case name, com16 modity or commodities involved, and rate review 

17 guideline or guidelines used; 

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

19 proceeding began; 

20 ‘‘(C) the date for the completion of dis21 covery; 

22 ‘‘(D) the date for the completion of the evi23 dentiary record; 

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

25 briefs; 
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1 ‘‘(F) the date on which the Board issued 

2 the final decision; and 

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

4 ‘‘(2) WEBSITE POSTING.—Each quarterly re5 port shall be posted on the Board’s public website.’’. 

6 (b) COMPILATION OF COMPLAINTS AT SURFACE

7 TRANSPORTATION BOARD.— 

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

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

10 the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(c) COMPLAINTS.— 

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

13 and maintain a database of complaints received by 

14 the Board. 

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

16 post a quarterly report of formal and informal serv17 ice complaints received by the Board during the pre18 vious quarter that includes— 

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

20 received by the Board; 

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

22 ‘‘(C) the geographic region of each com23 plaint; and 

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

25 appropriate. 
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1 ‘‘(3) WRITTEN CONSENT.—The quarterly report 

2 may identify a complainant that submitted an infor3 mal complaint only upon the written consent of the 

4 complainant. 

5 ‘‘(4) WEBSITE POSTING.—Each quarterly re6 port shall be posted on the Board’s public website.’’. 

7 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

8 Section 1305, as redesignated by section 3, is amend9 ed by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and inserting 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) $33,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; 

12 ‘‘(2) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; 

13 ‘‘(3) $35,500,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

14 ‘‘(4) $35,500,000 for fiscal year 2019; and 

15 ‘‘(5) $36,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.’’. 

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

17 (a) DESIGNATION OF AGENT AND SERVICE OF NO18 TICE.—Section 1323, as redesignated by section 3(a), is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘in the Dis21 trict of Columbia,’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘in the Dis23 trict of Columbia’’. 

24 (b) SERVICE OF PROCESS IN COURT PRO25 CEEDINGS.—Section 1324(a), as redesignated by section 
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1 3(a), is amended by striking ‘‘in the District of Columbia’’ 

2 each place such phrase appears. 

3 SEC. 9. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION INSPECTOR 

4 GENERAL AUTHORITY. 

5 Subchapter II of chapter 13, as redesignated by sec6 tion 3(a)(2), is amended by inserting after section 1325, 

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

8 ‘‘§ 1326. Authority of the Inspector General 

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

10 Department of Transportation, in accordance with the 

11 mission of the Inspector General to prevent and detect 

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

13 financial management, property management, and busi14 ness operations of the Surface Transportation Board, in15 cluding internal accounting and administrative control 

16 systems, to determine the Board’s compliance with appli17 cable Federal laws, rules, and regulations. 

18 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—In carrying out this section, the In19 spector General shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) keep the Chairman of the Board, the Com21 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

22 the Senate, and the Committee on Transportation 

23 and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives 

24 fully and currently informed about problems relating 
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1 to administration of the internal accounting and ad2 ministrative control systems of the Board; 

3 ‘‘(2) issue findings and recommendations for 

4 actions to address the problems referred to in para5 graph (1); and 

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

7 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

8 Senate, and the Committee on Transportation and 

9 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that 

10 describe any progress made in implementing actions 

11 to address the problems referred to in paragraph 

12 (1). 

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

14 section, the Inspector General may exercise authorities 

15 granted to the Inspector General under subsections (a) 

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

17 (5 U.S.C. App.). 

18 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap20 propriated to the Secretary of Transportation for 

21 use by the Inspector General of the Department of 

22 Transportation such sums as may be necessary to 

23 cover expenses associated with activities pursuant to 

24 the authority exercised under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENT.—In the ab2 sence of an appropriation under this subsection for 

3 an expense referred to in paragraph (1), the Inspec4 tor General and the Board shall have a reimburse5 ment agreement to cover such expense.’’. 

6 SEC. 10. AMENDMENT TO TABLE OF SECTIONS. 

7 The table of sections for chapter 13, as redesignated 

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

9 ‘‘CHAPTER 13—SURFACE 

10 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.’’. 

11 SEC. 11. PROCEDURES FOR RATE CASES. 

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

13 is amended to read as follows: 

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

15 and expedited methods for determining the reasonableness 

16 of challenged rates in those cases in which a full stand- 
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1 alone cost presentation is too costly, given the value of 

2 the case.’’. 

3 (b) EXPEDITED HANDLING; RATE REVIEW

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

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

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

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(d)(1) The Board shall maintain procedures to en9 sure the expeditious handling of challenges to the reason10 ableness of railroad rates.’’; and 

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

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

13 in a stand-alone cost rate challenge, the Board shall com14 ply with the following timeline: 

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

16 150 days after the date on which the challenge is 

17 initiated. 

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

19 shall be completed not later than 155 days after the 

20 date on which discovery is completed under clause 

21 (i). 

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

23 later than 60 days after the date on which the devel24 opment of the evidentiary record is completed under 

25 clause (ii). 
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1 ‘‘(iv) A final Board decision shall be issued not 

2 later than 180 days after the date on which the evi3 dentiary record is completed under clause (ii). 

4 ‘‘(B) The Board may extend a timeline under sub5 paragraph (A) after a request from any party or in the 

6 interest of due process.’’. 

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

8 date of the enactment of this Act, the Surface Transpor9 tation Board shall initiate a proceeding to assess proce10 dures that are available to parties in litigation before 

11 courts to expedite such litigation and the potential applica12 tion of any such procedures to rate cases. 

13 (d) EXPIRED RAIL SERVICE CONTRACT LIMITA14 TION.—Section 10709 is amended by striking subsection 

15 (h). 

16 SEC. 12. INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY. 

17 (a) AUTHORITY TO INITIATE INVESTIGATIONS.— 

18 Section 11701(a) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘only on complaint’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘on the Board’s own initiative or upon receiving 

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

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

23 Board finds a violation of this part in a proceeding 

24 brought on its own initiative, any remedy from such 

25 proceeding may only be applied prospectively.’’. 
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1 (b) LIMITATIONS ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE

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

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

4 the following: 

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

6 own initiative, the Board shall— 

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

8 investigation, provide written notice to the parties 

9 under investigation, which shall state the basis for 

10 such investigation; 

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

12 or regional significance; 

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

14 file a written statement describing any or all facts 

15 and circumstances concerning a matter which may 

16 be the subject of such investigation; 

17 ‘‘(4) make available to the parties under inves18 tigation and Board members— 

19 ‘‘(A) any recommendations made as a re20 sult of the investigation; and 

21 ‘‘(B) a summary of the findings that sup22 port such recommendations; 

23 ‘‘(5) to the extent practicable, separate the in24 vestigative and decisionmaking functions of staff; 
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1 ‘‘(6) dismiss any investigation that is not con2 cluded by the Board with administrative finality 

3 within 1 year after the date on which it was com4 menced; and 

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

6 recommendations and summary of findings under 

7 paragraph (4)— 

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

9 action is warranted; or 

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

11 a provision under this part has been violated. 

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

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

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

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

16 violation, institute an action in the United States court 

17 of appeals for the appropriate judicial circuit for de novo 

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

19 5. 

20 ‘‘(2) The court— 

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

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

23 part, the order of the Board; and 

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

25 for such further action as the court may direct.’’. 
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1 (c) RULEMAKINGS FOR INVESTIGATIONS OF THE

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

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

4 rules, after notice and comment rulemaking, for investiga5 tions commenced on its own initiative that— 

6 (1) comply with the requirements of section 

7 11701(d) of title 49, United States Code, as added 

8 by subsection (b); 

9 (2) satisfy due process requirements; and 

10 (3) take into account ex parte constraints. 

11 SEC. 13. ARBITRATION OF CERTAIN RAIL RATES AND PRAC12 TICES DISPUTES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 117 is amended by add14 ing at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘§ 11708. Voluntary arbitration of certain rail rates 

16 and practices disputes 

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

18 date of the enactment of the Surface Transportation 

19 Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, the Board shall pro20 mulgate regulations to establish a voluntary and binding 

21 arbitration process to resolve rail rate and practice com22 plaints subject to the jurisdiction of the Board. 

23 ‘‘(b) COVERED DISPUTES.—The voluntary and bind24 ing arbitration process established pursuant to subsection 

25 (a)— 
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1 ‘‘(1) shall apply to disputes involving— 

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

3 misrouting, or mishandling of rail cars; or 

4 ‘‘(B) a carrier’s published rules and prac5 tices as applied to particular rail transpor6 tation; 

7 ‘‘(2) shall not apply to disputes— 

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

9 revocation of any license, authorization, or ex10 emption; 

11 ‘‘(B) to prescribe for the future any con12 duct, rules, or results of general, industry-wide 

13 applicability; 

14 ‘‘(C) to enforce a labor protective condi15 tion; or 

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

17 carriers; and 

18 ‘‘(3) shall not prevent parties from independ19 ently seeking or utilizing private arbitration services 

20 to resolve any disputes the parties may have. 

21 ‘‘(c) ARBITRATION PROCEDURES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Board— 

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

24 arbitration process established pursuant to sub25 section (a) available only to the relevant parties; 
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1 ‘‘(B) may make the voluntary and binding 

2 arbitration process available only— 

3 ‘‘(i) after receiving the written con4 sent to arbitrate from all relevant parties; 

5 and 

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

7 complaint; or 

8 ‘‘(II) through other procedures adopt9 ed by the Board in a rulemaking pro10 ceeding; 

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

12 make the voluntary and binding arbitration 

13 process available only to the relevant parties if 

14 the rail carrier has market dominance (as de15 termined under section 10707); and 

16 ‘‘(D) may initiate the voluntary and bind17 ing arbitration process not later than 40 days 

18 after the date on which a written complaint is 

19 filed or through other procedures adopted by 

20 the Board in a rulemaking proceeding. 

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

22 and binding arbitration process shall preclude the 

23 Board from separately reviewing a complaint or dis24 pute related to the same rail rate or practice in a 

25 covered dispute involving the same parties. 
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1 ‘‘(3) RATES.—In resolving a covered dispute in2 volving the reasonableness of a rail carrier’s rates, 

3 the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators, as applicable, 

4 shall consider the Board’s methodologies for setting 

5 maximum lawful rates, giving due consideration to 

6 the need for differential pricing to permit a rail car7 rier to collect adequate revenues (as determined 

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

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

10 reached in an arbitration process under this section— 

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

12 rail regulation economics; 

13 ‘‘(2) shall be in writing; 

14 ‘‘(3) shall contain findings of fact and conclu15 sions; 

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

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

18 any other or subsequent arbitration dispute. 

19 ‘‘(e) TIMELINES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) SELECTION.—An arbitrator or panel of ar21 bitrators shall be selected not later than 14 days 

22 after the date of the Board’s decision to initiate ar23 bitration. 

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

25 process of the voluntary and binding arbitration 
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1 process shall be completed not later than 90 days 

2 after the date on which the arbitration process is ini3 tiated unless— 

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

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

6 as applicable, grants such extension request. 

7 ‘‘(3) DECISION.—The arbitrator or panel of ar8 bitrators, as applicable, shall issue a decision not 

9 later than 30 days after the date on which the evi10 dentiary record is closed. 

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

12 of the timelines under this subsection upon the 

13 agreement of all parties in the dispute. 

14 ‘‘(f) ARBITRATORS.— 

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

16 all of the parties, an arbitration under this section 

17 shall be conducted by an arbitrator or panel of arbi18 trators, which shall be selected from a roster, main19 tained by the Board, of persons with rail transpor20 tation, economic regulation, professional or business 

21 experience, including agriculture, in the private sec22 tor. 

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

24 this section, the arbitrators shall perform their du25 ties with diligence, good faith, and in a manner con-
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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 addi-
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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 
27 

†S 808 ES

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 
28 

†S 808 ES

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. 

Passed the Senate June 18, 2015. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 808 

AN ACT 

To establish the Surface Transportation Board as 

poses. an independent establishment, and for other pur-