[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4545 Reported in House (RH)]

                                                 Union Calendar No. 355

103d CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 4545

                          [Report No. 103-655]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

    To amend the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, and for other 
                               purposes.

August 3, 1994_________________________________________________________

                             August 3, 1994

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
          on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed





                                                 Union Calendar No. 355
103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4545

                          [Report No. 103-655]

    To amend the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 8, 1994

    Mr. Swift (by request) introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

                             August 3, 1994

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
          on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 8, 
                                 1994]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Railroad Safety 
Authorization Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 20117(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
adding after subparagraph (B) the following new subparagraphs:
            ``(C) $68,289,000 for fiscal year 1995.
            ``(D) $75,112,000 for fiscal year 1996.
            ``(E) $82,563,000 for fiscal year 1997.
            ``(F) $90,739,000 for fiscal year 1998.''.

SEC. 3. HOURS OF SERVICE PILOT PROJECTS.

    (a) Amendment.--Chapter 211 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 21108. PILOT PROJECTS.

    ``(a) Waiver.--A railroad or railroads and all labor organizations 
representing any class or craft of directly affected covered service 
employees of the railroad or railroads, may jointly petition the 
Secretary of Transportation for approval of a waiver, in whole or in 
part, of compliance with this chapter, to enable the establishment of 
one or more pilot projects to demonstrate the possible benefits of 
implementing alternatives to the strict application of the requirements 
of this chapter to such class or craft of employees, including 
requirements concerning maximum on-duty and minimum off-duty periods. 
Based on such a joint petition, the Secretary may, after notice and 
opportunity for comment, waive in whole or in part compliance with this 
chapter for a period of no more than two years, if the Secretary 
determines that such waiver of compliance is in the public interest and 
is consistent with railroad safety. Any such waiver may, based on a new 
petition, be extended for additional periods of up to two years, after 
notice and opportunity for comment. An explanation of any waiver 
granted under this section shall be published in the Federal Register.
    ``(b) Report.--The Secretary of Transportation shall submit to 
Congress, no later than January 1, 1997, a report that--
            ``(1) explains and analyzes the effectiveness of all pilot 
        projects established pursuant to a waiver granted under 
        subsection (a);
            ``(2) describes the status of all other waivers granted 
        under subsection (a) and their related pilot projects, if any; 
        and
            ``(3) recommends appropriate legislative changes to this 
        chapter.
    ``(c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term `directly 
affected covered service employees' means covered service employees to 
whose hours of service the terms of the waiver petitioned for 
specifically apply.''.
    (b) Table of Sections Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 
211 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following new item:

``21108. Pilot projects.''.

SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT REGARDING HOURS OF SERVICE VIOLATIONS.

    Section 21303(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting ``or violating any provision of a waiver applicable to that 
person that has been granted under section 21108 of this title,'' after 
``chapter 211 of this title''.

SEC. 5. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT REGARDING FEDERAL RAILROAD SAFETY.

    Section 20111(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting ``this chapter or any of the laws transferred to the 
jurisdiction of the Secretary of Transportation by subsection (e) (1), 
(2), and (6)(A) of section 6 of the Department of Transportation Act, 
as in effect on June 1, 1994, or'' after ``individual's violation of''.

SEC. 6. BIENNIAL FEDERAL RAILROAD SAFETY REPORTING.

    (a) Section 20116 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking in its heading ``Annual'' and inserting in 
        lieu thereof ``Biennial'';
            (2) by striking ``not later than July 1 of each year a 
        report on carrying out this chapter for the prior calendar 
        year. The report shall include the following information about 
        the prior year'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``every two 
        years, on or before July 1 of the year due, a comprehensive 
        report on the administration of this chapter for the preceding 
        two calendar years. The report shall include the following 
        information about such calendar years''; and
            (3) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, by calendar year'' 
        after ``casualties by cause''.
    (b) The item relating to section 20116 in the table of sections for 
chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as 
follows:

``20116. Biennial report.''.

SEC. 7. REPORT ON BRIDGE DISPLACEMENT DETECTION SYSTEMS.

    Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall transmit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
of the House of Representatives a report concerning any action that has 
been taken by the Secretary on railroad bridge displacement detection 
systems.

SEC. 8. TRACK SAFETY.

    Section 20142 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``September 3, 1994'' 
        and inserting in lieu thereof ``September 1, 1995'';
            (2) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ``, including cold 
        weather installation procedures'' after ``attendant 
        structure''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Identification of Internal Rail Defects.--In carrying out 
subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary shall consider whether or not to 
prescribe regulations and issue orders concerning--
            ``(1) inspection procedures to identify internal rail 
        defects, before they reach imminent failure size, in rail that 
        has significant shelling; and
            ``(2) any specific actions that should be taken when a rail 
        surface condition, such as shelling, prevents the 
        identification of internal defects.''.
            Amend the title so as to read as follows: ``A bill to amend 
        the rail safety provisions of title 49, United States Code, and 
        for other purposes.''.