Surface Transportation Board Reform Act of 2003

Bill: 108-hr-2192
Sponsor: Rep. Oberstar, James L. [D-MN-8]
Introduced: 2003-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works
Subjects: Administrative fees
Administrative procedure
Administrative remedies
Agriculture and Food
Authorization
Commerce
Compensation (Law)
Competition
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Contracts
Damages
Economics and Public Finance
Electronic data interchange
Environmental Protection
Environmental law enforcement
Evidence (Law)
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Grain
Independent regulatory commissions
Infrastructure
Intermodal transportation
Law
Legal fees
Liability (Law)
Licenses
Local laws
Marine transportation
Performance measurement
Railroad abandonments
Railroad commuting traffic
Railroad engineering
Railroad equipment
Railroad finance
Railroad freight operations
Railroad management
Railroad mergers
Railroad passenger traffic
Railroad rates
Railroad safety
Railroad terminals
Railroads
Restrictive trade practices
Science, Technology, Communications
Shipping rates
State laws
Surface Transportation Board

Summary:
action_date: 2003-05-21
text: Surface Transportation Board Reform Act of 2003 - Declares as primary objectives for U.S. rail transportation policy: (1) ensuring effective competition among rail carriers at origin and destination; (2) maintaining reasonable rates in the absence of such competition; (3) maintaining consistent and efficient rail transportation service to shippers, including the timely provision of railcars requested by them; and (4) ensuring that smaller carload and intermodal shippers are not precluded from assessing rail systems due to volume requirements. 
Requires a rail carrier, upon a shipper's request, to establish a rail transportation rate. Requires the Surface Transportation Board, if a shipper challenges the reasonableness of such a rate, to then determine its reasonableness without regard to specified factors.
Sets forth certain requirements with respect to: (1) acceptance of requests for grain service by rail carriers; and (2) the Board's mandate to require terminal facilities owned by a rail carrier providing rail transportation to be used by another rail carrier. 
 
Requires the Board in a proceeding involving the approval of the merger or control of at least two Class I railroads to consider, among other things, at least the: (1) safety and environmental effects of the proposed transaction; and (2) the effect of such transaction on rail passenger transportation.
Sets forth certain requirements with respect to: (1) the Board ensuring that commuter authorities are able to provide commuter rail passenger transportation that meets the commuter rail passenger transportation needs of the United States; and (2) water carriers making their tariffs containing the rates established for their transportation or service available electronically to any person.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-05-22
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads.
action_date: 2003-05-21
text: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
action_date: 2003-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2003-05-21
text: Introduced in House