I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3410 
To require Surface Transportation Board consideration of the impacts of 
certain railroad transactions on local communities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 30, 2009 
Ms. BEAN (for herself, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. ROSKAM, Ms. 
BERKLEY, Mr. BILBRAY, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. 
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. KIND, Mr. MAN-
ZULLO, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. 
VISCLOSKY, and Mrs. HALVORSON) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 
A BILL 
To require Surface Transportation Board consideration of 
the impacts of certain railroad transactions on local com-
munities, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taking Responsible 
Action for Community Safety Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. EFFECT OF MERGERS ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES 
AND RAIL PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION. 
Section 11324 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking the last sentence and in-
serting ‘‘The Board shall hold public hearings 
on the proposed transaction, including public 
hearings in the affected communities, unless the 
Board determines that public hearings are not 
necessary in the public interest.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘which involves the merger 
or control of at least two Class I railroads,’’ 
and inserting ‘‘with respect to a transaction 
that involves at least one Class I railroad,’’; 
(B) by inserting ‘‘the effect on the public 
interest, including’’ after ‘‘the Board shall con-
sider’’; 
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘on the 
public interest’’; 
(D) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (4); 
(E) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (5) and inserting a semicolon; and 
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(F) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(6) the safety and environmental effects of the 
proposed transaction, including the effects on local 
communities, such as public safety, grade crossing 
safety, hazardous materials transportation safety, 
emergency response time, noise, and socioeconomic 
impacts; and 
‘‘(7) the effect of the proposed transaction on 
intercity rail passenger transportation and commuter 
rail passenger transportation, as defined by section 
24102 of this title.’’; 
(3) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), 
and (f) as subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) and in-
serting a new subsection (c) as follows: 
‘‘(c) The Board shall approve and authorize a trans-
action under this section when it finds the transaction is 
consistent with the public interest. The Board shall not 
approve a transaction described in subsection (b) if it finds 
that the transaction’s impacts on safety and on all affected 
communities, as defined under subsection (b), outweigh 
the transportation benefits of the transaction. The Board 
may impose conditions governing a transaction under this 
section, including conditions to mitigate the effects of the 
transaction on local communities.’’; 
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(4) in subsection (d), as redesignated, by strik-
ing ‘‘The Board shall approve’’ and all that follows 
through ‘‘the transaction, including’’ and inserting 
‘‘The conditions the Board may impose under this 
section include’’; and 
(5) in subsection (e), as redesignated, by strik-
ing ‘‘the merger or control of at least two Class I 
railroads, as defined by the Board’’ and inserting ‘‘a 
transaction described in subsection (b)’’. 
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made in this Act shall be applied 
to all transactions that have not been approved by the 
Board as of August 1, 2008. 
Æ 
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