PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

Railroads, together with the nonprofit unions that represent the workers directly affected, can ask the Secretary of Transportation to approve pilot projects that temporarily waive parts of the rail safety rules in effect on the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 or the rules that will take effect 9 months after that enactment. These pilots can test alternatives to strict rules (for example, work and rest time limits). The Secretary can approve a waiver for up to two years after public notice and comment if it is in the public interest and keeps railroads safe. Waivers can be extended with a new petition for up to two more years after public comment, and an explanation of any granted waiver must be published in the Federal Register. The Secretary must send a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure by December 31, 2012, or, if no projects finish before that date, within 6 months after a pilot project finishes. The report must analyze how well the pilots worked, list the status of any waivers and related projects, and recommend any needed changes to the law. "Directly affected covered service employees" means the workers whose hours the waiver would specifically cover.

Title 49, §21108

Transportation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In General.—

As of the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, a railroad carrier or railroad carriers and all nonprofit employee labor organizations representing any class or craft of directly affected covered service employees of the railroad carrier or railroad carriers, may jointly petition the Secretary of Transportation for approval of— (1)

(2)a waiver of compliance with this chapter as it will be effective 9 months after the enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008,

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, including requirements concerning maximum on-duty and minimum off-duty periods.

(b)Granting of Waivers.—

The Secretary may, after notice and opportunity for comment, approve such waivers described in subsection (a) for a period not to exceed two years, if the Secretary determines that such a waiver of compliance is in the public interest and is consistent with railroad safety.

(c)Extensions.—

Any such waiver, based on a new petition, may 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.

(d)Report.—

The Secretary of Transportation shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, no later than December 31, 2012, or, if no projects are completed prior to December 31, 2012, no later than 6 months after the completion of a pilot project, a report that—

(1)explains and analyzes the effectiveness of any pilot project 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 any appropriate legislative changes to this chapter.

(e)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.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, referred to in subsec. (a), is the date of enactment of div. A of Pub. L. 110–432, which was approved Oct. 16, 2008.

Amendments

2008—Pub. L. 110–432 amended section generally, revising and restating provisions of former subsec. (a) relating to waivers as subsecs. (a) to (c), provisions of former subsec. (b) relating to requirement of a report to Congress as subsec. (d), and provisions of former subsec. (c) defining “directly affected covered service employees” as subsec. (e).

§21108 Pilot Projects