Railroad Competition and Service Improvement Act of 2007
Latest action · Oct 23, 2007 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 110-886.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 21, 2007
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Railroad Competition and Service Improvement Act of 2007 - Sets forth Surface Transportation Board directives calling for effective competition among rail carriers and reliable rail transportation service for rail customers.
Requires a rail carrier, upon shipper request, to establish rates for transportation and provide requested service between any two points on the carrier's system.
Prohibits the Board from issuing a certificate authorizing construction and operation of railroad lines, short line purchases by Class II and Class III rail carriers, or consolidation, merger, and acquisition of control of rail carriers, or exempt from such certificate requirements any person, transaction, or service with respect to such activity, if the activity involves a transfer of interest in a line of railroad, from a Class I rail carrier to a Class II or III rail carrier, and the activity would: (1) restrict the ability of the Class II or Class III rail carrier to interchange traffic with other rail carriers; (2) restrict competition of rail carriers in the region affected by the activity in a manner that would violate U.S. antitrust laws; or (3) require higher per car interchange rates for Class II or Class III rail carriers to interchange traffic with other rail carriers. Prescribes procedures for Board review of any activity alleged to have resulted in a restriction of competition.
Makes mandatory (currently, discretionary) entry by rail carriers into reciprocal switching agreements where the Board finds it is practicable and in the public interest, or where such agreements are necessary to provide competitive rail service.
Requires the Board to designate any state or substantial part of a state as an area of inadequate rail competition after making certain findings.
Requires the Board to post rail service complaints on its website.
Sets forth time limits for the Board to act on complaints filed alleging unlawfulness of a new or revised rail rate, rule, or practice.
Establishes the Office of Rail Customer Advocacy.
Grants rail customers access to a Board process for determining rail rate reasonableness in railroad market dominance cases.
Requires submission to arbitration of certain rail rate, service, and other disputes.
Authorizes the Board to investigate rail carrier violations on its own initiative (under current law, the Board is authorized to investigate only on complaint). Requires the Board (currently, discretionary) to initiate an investigation upon receiving a complaint alleging rail carrier violations.
Cosponsors 12
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 21, 2007 to Jul 21, 2008, with 9 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Mar 21, 2007 |
| D-ND | Byron L. Dorgan | Original | Mar 21, 2007 |
| R-LA | David Vitter | Original | Mar 21, 2007 |
| D-MT | Jon Tester | Original | Mar 21, 2007 |
| R-ID | Larry E. Craig | Original | Mar 21, 2007 |
| D-WA | Maria Cantwell | Original | Mar 21, 2007 |
| D-LA | Mary L. Landrieu | Original | Mar 21, 2007 |
| D-MT | Max Baucus | Original | Mar 21, 2007 |
| R-ID | Mike Crapo | Original | Mar 21, 2007 |
| D-SD | Tim Johnson | May 7, 2007 | |
| R-SD | John Thune | May 8, 2007 | |
| D-WI | Russell D. Feingold | Jul 21, 2008 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 23, 2007Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security. Hearings held. With printed Hearing: S.Hrg. 110-886.
- Mar 21, 2007Introduced in Senate
- Mar 21, 2007Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
- Mar 21, 2007Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3527-3528)
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2125 | Railroad Competition and Service Improvement Act of 2007 | Related bill | May 4, 2007 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Transportation and Public Works.
- Administrative fees
- Administrative procedure
- Commerce
- Commercial arbitration
- Competition
- Congress
- Congressional reporting requirements
- Damages
- Department of Transportation
- Economics and Public Finance
- Executive reorganization
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government publicity
- Governmental investigations
- Independent regulatory commissions
- Law
- Railroad engineering
- Railroad freight operations
- Railroad rates
- Surface Transportation Board
- Transportation and Public Works
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 21, 2007Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.
