[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1360 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1360

 To amend the limitation on liability for passenger rail accidents or 
incidents under section 28103 of title 49, United States Code, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 18, 2015

Mr. Nelson (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mrs. Boxer) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                 Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the limitation on liability for passenger rail accidents or 
incidents under section 28103 of title 49, United States Code, 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. ACCIDENT LIABILITY.

    (a) Amendments.--Section 28103 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``$200,000,000'' 
                and inserting ``$500,000,000, except as provided in 
                paragraph (3)''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3) Subject to paragraph (4), the liability cap under paragraph 
(2) shall be adjusted annually by the Secretary of Transportation to 
reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index-All Urban Consumers.
    ``(4) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 
paragraph, the Secretary--
            ``(A) shall consider whether additional adjustments are 
        needed to the liability cap under paragraph (2);
            ``(B) shall consider whether to establish or adjust 
        mandatory coverage for an entity described in subsection 
        (e)(1)(A); and
            ``(C) may promulgate regulations.''; and
            (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``$200,000,000 per 
        accident or incident'' and inserting ``$500,000,000 per 
        accident or incident, unless the Secretary, by regulation, 
        determines that a different minimum level of financial 
        responsibility is necessary or sufficient to satisfy claims 
        under this section.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall be 
effective for any passenger rail accident or incident occurring on or 
after May 12, 2015.

SEC. 2. REIMBURSEMENT.

    (a) Reimbursement.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Transportation may make a 
        grant to an entity described in section 28103(e)(1)(A) of title 
        49, United States Code, to provide a reasonable reimbursement 
        to offset any incremental increase in the cost of insurance, if 
        the Secretary determines that the additional cost of insurance 
        is a result of the amendments to that section made by section 1 
        of this Act.
            (2) Determinations.--In determining the amount of a 
        reimbursement under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider 
        such factors as the entity's ability to meet the increased 
        costs and impacts on safety and service.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out subsection (a).
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