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SB 730 Page
THIRD READINGBill No: SB 730Author: Wolk (D) Introduced: 2/27/15 Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 4-1, 4/22/15 AYES: Mendoza, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell NOES: Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 SUBJECT: Railroads: movement of freight: trains or light engines: crew size SOURCE: Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, International Brotherhood of Teamsters DIGEST: This bill 1) prohibits a train or light engine used in connection with the movement of freight, as specified, from being operated in California unless it has a crew consisting of at least two individuals, and 2) authorizes the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to assess civil penalties for willful violations of this provision. ANALYSIS: Existing federal law:
Authorizes, under the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA), the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe regulations and issue orders for all areas of railroad safety (supplementing existing rail safety statues and regulations) and to conduct necessary research, development, testing, evaluation, and training. Provides that, under the FRSA, to the extent practicable, laws, regulations, and orders related to railroad safety and security are required to be nationally uniform, but authorizes a state to adopt or continue to enforce a law, regulation, or order related to railroad safety or security until the Secretary of Transportation (with respect to railroad safety matters), or the Secretary of Homeland Security (with respect to railroad security matters), prescribes a regulation or issues an order covering the subject matter of the state requirement. Existing state law: Provides that the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (also known as Cal/OSHA) has jurisdiction over, among other things, the occupational safety and health of employees of rail rapid transit systems, electric interurban railroads, or street railroads and the safety and health of railroad employees employed in offices and in shops devoted to the construction, maintenance or repair of railroad equipment. Provides that the CPUC is the agency charged with ensuring the safety of freight railroads, inter-city and commuter railroads, and highway-railroad crossings in the State of California. The CPUC performs these railroad safety responsibilities through the Railroad Operations and Safety Branch (ROSB) of the Safety & Enforcement Division. This bill: Prohibits, on and after February 1, 2016, a train or light engine used in connection with the movement of freight, as specified, from being operated unless it has a crew consisting of at least two individuals. Authorizes the CPUC to assess civil penalties against any person who willfully violates this provision according to the following schedule: $250 to $1,000 dollars for the first violation; $1,000 to $5,000 dollars for the second violation within a three-year period; and $5,000 to $10,000 for the third violation and each subsequent violation within a three-year period. Background Railroad operations and safety. The CPUC performs railroad safety responsibilities through the ROSB of the Safety & Enforcement Division. ROSB’s mission is to ensure that California communities and railroad employees are protected from unsafe practices on freight and passenger railroads by enforcing state and federal rail safety rules, regulations, and inspection efforts; and by carrying out proactive assessments of potential risks before they create dangerous conditions. ROSB personnel investigate rail accidents and safety related complaints, and recommend safety improvements to the CPUC, railroads, and the federal government as appropriate. In addition to enforcing the California Public Utilities Code and CPUC General Orders, ROSB inspectors enforce Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations in a state/federal enforcement partnership. According to the CPUC Web site, ROSB currently has 45 certified inspector positions that are FRA-certified and are divided into the FRA's five railroad subject areas described below: Operating Practices – enforcing regulations for main, branch and yard train operations, including hours of service, carrier operating rules, employee qualification guidelines, and carrier training and testing programs to enforce compliance with railroad occupational safety and health standards, accident and personal injury reporting requirements, and other requirements. Track – enforcing regulations for track construction, maintenance and inspections. Signal & Train Control – enforce safety rules on signal system construction, maintenance and inspection activities. Motive Power & Equipment – enforce safety rules on locomotives, freight and passenger rail cars, air brakes, and other safety appliances maintenance and inspection activities. Hazardous Materials – enforcing regulations for rail movements of hazardous materials, such as petroleum and chemical products; and inspection of hazardous materials shippers. Railroad safety statistics. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation –FRA, the nation has had two straight years of record-breaking safety performance, along with significant reductions in all types of accidents since Fiscal Year 2008. (Safety Fact Sheet, February 2014.) Overall, the FRA found that human factor caused accidents were down by 38%, track defects down by 37% ,and equipment defects down by 41%. In California, the CPUC reported the following activities in its 2013-14 Annual Railroad Safety Activity Report: Performed 3,692 inspections and follow-up inspections to monitor the railroads’ compliance and remedial actions; Identified 11,445 federal regulation non-compliance defects (which are notices to railroads of an existing issue – railroads are directed to replace, repair or remove the defects. Violations exist when the defects are not remediated or conditions are so that they warrant a civil penalty and immediate remedial action); Completed 349 CPUC General Orders (GO) that identified 938 defects; Recommended 259 violations of FRA regulations; Cited 11 violations of state regulations; and, Responded to and resolved 28 informal safety complaints. The CPUC Office of Rail Safety can assess penalties depending on the violation. For violations of federal railroad safety regulations, ROSB railroad safety inspectors make recommendations to the FRA for the assessment of penalties. A railroad issued such a citation may accept the fine imposed or contest it through a process of appeal. The Lac-Mégantic Canada Incident. On July 6, 2013, there was a derailment of an unattended Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway freight train containing crude oil in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada. In this accident, the train had been operated by one person who failed to secure the hand brakes properly before retiring for the night. The train rolled down the grade uncontrollably and crashed and exploded killing 47 people. In response to this tragic incident, the U.S. Department of Transportation created three Railroad Safety Advisory Committee (RSAC) Working Groups – Appropriate Train Crew Size, Securement, and Hazardous Materials Issues. The RSAC held emergency meetings to evaluate and consider wide-ranging proposals to enhance railroad safety including the safe shipment of crude oil by rail. On April 9, 2014, following deliberations of the working groups, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s FRA announced its intention to issue a proposed rule requiring two-person train crews on crude oil trains and establishing minimum crew size standards for most main line freight and passenger rail operations. According to the FRA Administrator Joseph C. Szabo, “We believe that safety is enhanced with the use of a multiple person crew—safety dictates that you never allow a single point of failure. Ensuring that trains are adequately staffed for the type of service operated is a critically important to ensure safety redundancy.” The FRA has not yet adopted regulations for implementation of this minimum crew size rule. Existing California law has no minimum size of railroad crew requirements. Similar to the federal efforts on the issue, this bill prohibits, on and after February 1, 2016, a train or light engine used in connection with the movement of freight, as specified, from being operated unless it has a crew consisting of at least two individuals. According to the FRSA, it is the policy of Congress that rail safety regulations be nationally uniform to whatever extent practicable. However, a state is permitted to continue to regulate with respect to any rail safety matter until such time as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation issues a rule covering the same subject matter. Also, a state is permitted to adopt additional or more stringent standards than the federal standards if the state rule does not create an undue burden on interstate commerce, is not incompatible with federal standards, and is necessary to eliminate or reduce local safety hazards (FRSA of 1970). Similar efforts at the state and national level. In addition to the pending two-person train crew rule at the federal level, there are several states that have either implemented or are considering similar requirements. In the State of Wisconsin no person operating or controlling any railroad, as defined, may allow the operation of any railroad train or locomotive unless it has a crew of at least two individuals. It goes even further by requiring that one of the individuals be a certified railroad locomotive engineer and imposing penalties for violations ($25-100 for a first offense, $100-500 for a 2nd offense within three years, and $500-1000 for a 3rd offence within three years). Two-person railroad crew legislation is also pending in other states including Washington, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa, Utah and North Dakota. Wisconsin – case seeking invalidation of “two-person crew.” On July 23, 1999, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit made a decision in the case of Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company, Soo Line Railroad Company, Union Pacific Railroad Company, and Wisconsin Central Ltd. vs. Attorney General, et al of Wisconsin and the United Transportation Union. The railroads brought action against Wisconsin Attorney General and district attorneys seeking invalidation of Wisconsin’s “two-person crew” statute because FRA regulations allegedly preempted same safety concerns. The court held that crew qualification requirements were preempted by federal law but held that two-person crews were not. Prior Legislation SB 200 (O’Connell, 1999) would have provided that a common carrier may run freight or work trains only if it employs on that train at least two persons, one of whom is a railroad trainman, as defined. The bill would have also made violations of this requirement a misdemeanor. SB 200 died in the Assembly. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT: (Verified 4/22/15) Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, International Brotherhood of Teamsters California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO California Public Utilities Commission California Teamsters Public Affairs Council United Transportation Union OPPOSITION: (Verified 4/22/15) BNSF Railway Company California Railroad Industry California Short Line Railroad Association Union Pacific Railroad Company ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author, SB 730 protects communities by requiring trains and light engines carrying freight within California to be operated with an adequate crew size for both public safety reasons and the protection of railroad workers. According to proponents, this bill is designed to maintain the status quo in freight operations in this state, as the overwhelming majority of trains operated in the U.S. run with a two person crew. Despite that fact, however, they argue that it is clear that the intention of the railroad industry is to move to a one person crew. The shift to one-person crews raises safety concerns, especially in light of accidents involving the transport of hazardous materials through urban areas such as the derailment of a fuel train, run by a one-man crew, in Quebec in 2013 which killed 47 people, along with several other destructive derailments of fuel trains in the U.S. Proponents argue that if this were just about staffing, that would be one thing, but this is about public safety. Freight trains are longer, heavier and have more hazardous, toxic, dangerous and explosive materials being hauled than ever before. As such, an accident can be devastating and deadly. Proponents argue that every effort should be made to minimize the exposure and impact of this danger to the general public. Advanced technology has made the railroads safer; however, proponents argue that nothing can replace an extra set of eyes and ears when trains drive through populated areas. A single operator in an emergency situation cannot properly assess the situation, secure the train, and notify police, fire and other necessary officials in a timely manner. Lastly, proponents state that the federal government and other states are grappling with how to increase railroad safety and 14 states have introduced minimum crew legislation this year. Additionally, the CPUC has voted unanimously to support SB 730 stating that requiring two-person crews is a straightforward way of ensuring two qualified crew members continue to operate freight trains in California until such time as the rules and practices of safe operation may be updated for safer operation with smaller crews. According to the CPUC, of all the industries subject to CPUC oversight (energy, water, telecommunications, and transportation) rail accidents result in the greatest number of fatalities each year. ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The California Railroad Industry opposes this bill because it will unnecessarily and unreasonably interfere with the ability of railroad management and union leaders to fully bargain over the best and safest crew size for each assignment in California. They argue that state legislation that attempts to alter terms of collective bargaining agreements would harm the process and would permanently undermine the principle of labor and management cooperation that underpins the Railway Labor Act. Opponents argue that, historically, safety and technology improvements have been a primary catalyst for negotiations related to crew size. As a result of these improvements, rail labor and rail management have agreed to reductions in crew size from as many as five persons in the 1980s to two persons on most territories operating today. They argue that these reductions in crew size were achieved without compromise to safety as witnessed by a decline in rail employee injuries, train accident and grade crossing collision rates by 79 percent or more. Hazardous material accidents rates are down 91 percent. Additionally, opponents argue that the collectively bargained crew size also provides the parties with flexibility to address needs that arise from advancements in technology, design, and planning. The railroads are not asking for one-person crews at this time, however, they are opposing this legislation so that if safe operating practices and technology make single person crews viable in the future, then that option is not foreclosed in California. Opponents point to Positive Train Control, which is designed to automatically stop a train before certain accidents caused by human error can occur, as a contemporary example of pursuing such technological advancements. Prepared by: Alma Perez / L. & I.R. / (916) 651-1556 5/6/15 17:02:31 **** END **** Directory: cache cache -> Assembly third reading atr bill Id: ab 36 cache -> Uk metadata Report 2013 cache -> Assembly committee on health jim Wood, Chair sbpca bill Id: sb 908 cache -> Assembly committee on transportation Download 28.98 Kb. Share with your friends:
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