3.0.0 1233 2023-01-11T13:36:24Z 2023-01-11T13:36:24Z Senate S 2017-05-25 115 sscm00 Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Senate Standing Referred to 2017-05-25T15:38:03Z 2017-05-25 sscm00 Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Senate Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. IntroReferral 2017-05-25 Introduced in Senate IntroReferral 10000 9 Library of Congress B001230 Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] Tammy Baldwin D WI N F000457 Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN] Al Franken D MN 2017-05-25 True Transportation and Public Works Administrative law and regulatory procedures Administrative remedies Competition and antitrust Energy prices Executive agency funding and structure Motor fuels Public participation and lobbying Railroads Surface Transportation Board Transportation costs Transportation and Public Works 00 2017-05-25 Introduced in Senate 2018-06-06T16:55:30Z Rail Shipper Fairness Act of 2017

This bill amends federal transportation law to: (1) require rail transportation service to be efficient and reliable based on a shipper's reasonable service requirements, and (2) expand enumerated U.S. transportation policies to provide for and promote the protection of the shipping public.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) may:

  • issue emergency service orders that include rail carrier shipments moving under contract if such shipments are part of a regional service order; and
  • require reports, service plans, or other documents that cover shipments moving under contract.

Rail carriers shall be liable for damages or equitable relief as a result of inadequate or deficient service. Civil penalties for rail carriers who violate certain federal requirements are increased from $5,000 to $25,000 per violation.

The bill allows shippers to obtain rates to or from any interchange points within 100 miles of two or more rail carriers (i.e., competitive switching).

The STB shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding to develop a market-based revenue methodology for determining the reasonableness of challenged rail rates.

A rail carrier must compute fuel surcharges in accordance with changes in actual fuel prices, rather than using an index.

The STB must: (1) suspend collection of rate increases in stand-alone cost cases while a rate case is pending, and (2) replace its revenue adequacy test for rail carriers with a formula for calculating a carrier's cost of capital.

]]> Rail Shipper Fairness Act of 2017 Display Title Rail Shipper Fairness Act of 2017 Official Title as Introduced A bill to improve the efficiency and reliability of rail transportation by reforming the Surface Transportation Board, and for other purposes. Introduced in Senate IS Short Titles as Introduced Rail Shipper Fairness Act of 2017 Introduced in Senate 2017-05-25T04:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-115s1233is/xml/BILLS-115s1233is.xml 2017-05-25 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.