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TITLE II—PROTECTION OF
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
AGREEMENTS
SEC. 201. SCOPE OF AUTHORITY.
Section 11321 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘all other law’’
and all that follows through ‘‘acquired through the
transaction’’ and inserting ‘‘State and local laws to
the extent they regulate combinations, mergers, and
acquisitions of control of rail carriers, as necessary
to let that rail carrier, corporation, or person carry
out the transaction’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section:
‘‘(c) After a transaction approved or exempted by the
Board under this subchapter (or by the Interstate Com-
merce Commission under this subchapter or any prede-
cessor statute) is completed, the activities of a rail carrier
participating in or resulting from such transaction shall
be subject to State and Federal law to the same extent
as those of any other similarly situated rail carrier that
has not participated in or resulted from such a trans-
action. Completion of a transaction for purposes of this
section shall be deemed to occur 1 year after the acquiring
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rail carrier assumes responsibility for the property trans-
ferred.’’.
SEC. 202. EMPLOYEE PROTECTION.
Section 11326 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section,
when approval is sought for a transaction under sections
11324 and 11325, the Board shall require the rail carrier
to provide a fair arrangement at least as protective of the
interests of employees who are affected by the transaction
as the terms imposed under section 11347 of this title,
as in effect on the day before December 29, 1995.
‘‘(2) The arrangement and the order approving a
transaction referred to in paragraph (1) shall be subject
to the following conditions:
‘‘(A) The employees of the affected rail carrier
shall not be in a worse position related to their em-
ployment as a result of the transaction during the
6-year period beginning on the date on which the
employee is adversely affected by an action taken by
the affected rail carrier as a result of the transaction
(or if an employee was employed for a lesser period
of time by the rail carrier before the action became
effective, for that lesser period).
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‘‘(B)(i) The rail carrier and the authorized rep-
resentatives of the rail carrier’s employees shall ne-
gotiate under the Railway Labor Act any arrange-
ment regarding the selection of forces or assignment
of employees caused by the Board’s order of ap-
proval under sections 11324 or 11325.
‘‘(ii) Arbitration of the proposed arrangement
may only occur if both parties agree to that process.
‘‘(iii) The Board shall not intervene in the ne-
gotiations or arbitration under this subparagraph
unless requested to do so by both parties involved.
‘‘(iv) The Board shall not, under any cir-
cumstances, have the authority under this title to—
‘‘(I) break, modify, alter, override, or abro-
gate, in whole or in part, any provision in any
collective 
bargaining 
agreement 
or 
imple-
menting agreement made between a rail carrier
and the authorized representatives of its em-
ployees under the Railway Labor Act; or
‘‘(II) provide the authority described in
subclause (I) to any other person.
‘‘(3) Beginning on the date of the enactment of the
Surface Transportation Board Reform Act of 2001, this
subsection shall apply to any transaction proposed by a
rail carrier under conditions previously imposed by the
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former Interstate Commerce Commission or the Surface
Transportation Board under—
‘‘(A) section 5(2)(f) of the Interstate Commerce
Commission Act before October 1, 1978;
‘‘(B) section 11347 of this title, before Decem-
ber 29, 1995; or
‘‘(C) this section.’’.
TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 301. EFFECT OF MERGERS ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES
AND RAIL PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION.
Section 11324 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (b)—
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (4);
(B) by striking the period at the end of
paragraph (5) and inserting a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraphs:
‘‘(6) the safety and environmental effects of the
proposed transaction, including the effect on local
communities, and the public interest in enforcing
Federal, State, and local safety and environmental
laws; and
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‘‘(7) the effect of the proposed transaction on
rail passenger transportation.’’; and
(2) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘The Board
shall impose conditions under this subsection to
mitigate the effects of the transaction on local com-
munities when such conditions are in the public in-
terest. In imposing such conditions, the Board shall
consider the effect of those conditions on local com-
munities, and shall consider the public interest in
the enforcement of Federal, State, and local safety
and environmental laws.’’ after ‘‘effects are allevi-
ated.’’.
SEC. 302. USE OF FACILITIES BY COMMUTER AUTHORITIES.
(a) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 241 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘§ 24105. Use of facilities by commuter authorities
‘‘A commuter authority may make an agreement with
a rail carrier or regional transportation authority to use
facilities of, and have services provided by, the carrier or
authority in the same manner and under the same condi-
tions as may Amtrak under section 24308. In carrying
out this section, the Board shall ensure that commuter
authorities are able to provide commuter rail passenger
transportation that develops the potential of modern rail
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transportation to meet the commuter rail passenger trans-
portation needs of the United States.’’.
(b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for
such chapter 241 is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:
‘‘24105. Use of facilities by commuter authorities.’’.
SEC. 303. SIDE TRACKS.
Section 10906 of title 49, United States Code, and
the item relating thereto in the table of sections of chapter
109 of that title, are repealed.
SEC. 304. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF WATER CARRIER TAR-
IFFS.
Section 13702(b) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(1) TARIFF
AVAILABILITY.—A carrier pro-
viding transportation or service described in sub-
section (a)(1) shall make its tariffs available elec-
tronically to any person, without time, quantity, or
other limitation, through appropriate access from re-
mote locations, and a reasonable charge may be as-
sessed for such access. No charge may be assessed
a Federal agency for such access.’’;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘tariff filings’’
and inserting ‘‘tariffs’’;
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(3) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘filed under
this subsection’’; and
(4) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘filing com-
plete tariffs under this subsection’’ and inserting
‘‘changing their complete electronic tariffs’’.
TITLE IV—AUTHORIZATION OF
APPROPRIATIONS
SEC. 401. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 705 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(1) $17,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;
‘‘(2) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and
‘‘(3) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.’’.
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