BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 962|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 962
Author: Nunez (D)
Amended: 4/21/05 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE ENERGY, U.& C. COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/30/05
AYES: Escutia, Alarcon, Battin, Bowen, Cox, Dunn, Kehoe,
Murray, Simitian
NO VOTE RECORDED: Morrow, Campbell
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 72-6, 5/31/05 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Railroad safety
SOURCE : California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
DIGEST : This bill imposes certain safety requirements on
a railroad corporation regarding signage, markers, flagging
systems and the transport of hazardous materials.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) to annually report to the
Legislature on railroad sites that are hazardous. Under
current law the CPUC has been delegated authority to
enforce federal rail safety rules.
This bill:
CONTINUED
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1. Establishes rules for signage on railways which direct
specific types and colors of flags and signs to indicate
particular railway conditions and hazards.
2. Prohibits railroads from leaving trains containing
hazardous materials unattended outside of their
terminals. Railroads are prohibited from permitting
trains containing hazardous materials from crossing roads
unattended.
3. Requires railroads to notify the CPUC and their
collective bargaining representatives of any new
utilization of remote control locomotives.
4. Requires railroads to immediately notify the CPUC
regarding accidents concurrent with the notification
provided to the Federal Railroad Administration's
National Response Center.
Background
Train accidents, excluding highway-rail crossing accidents,
have doubled in Southern California since 1997 according to
the Federal Railroad Administration. Numerous catastrophic
railroad accidents have recently occurred in California:
1. May 1989 - A runaway train derails near San Bernardino
killing four and destroying seven homes.
2. June 1991 - A train derailment near Dunsmuir ruptures a
tank car, spilling herbicides and sterilizing 38 miles of
the Upper Sacramento River.
3. February 1996 - A runaway train at the Cajon pass kills
two and forces the closure of I-15 and SR 138 for two
days.
4. April 2002 - A freight train collides head-on with a
Metrolink commuter train near Placentia killing three.
5. June 2003 - A runaway train rolls uncontrolled for 33
miles before intentional derailment in the City of
Commerce destroying several homes.
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6. October 2004 - A train derails in Pico Rivera
destroying one house and causing evacuation of a
neighborhood.
7. April 2005 - A train derails in Rialto causing
evacuation of 200 citizens.
According to the CPUC, these accidents were all
preventable, caused by failure to follow operating
procedures or mechanical failures.
The railroad industry has established operating rules for
its trains. Those rules include appropriate warning flags
when speed restrictions apply due to track conditions or
the presence of maintenance workers. The operating rules
established in this bill are the operating rules the
railroads have established for themselves.
Comments
Jurisdiction . The Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970
directed the Secretary of Transportation to develop uniform
national regulations concerning railroad safety and created
the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to enforce those
regulations. These regulations have preempted state law in
the interest of promoting interstate commerce. Enforcement
of the FRA regulations has been delegated to the CPUC. The
operating rules codified in this bill are railroad industry
rules, not FRA regulations. Once codified in state law the
CPUC will have enforcement authority. Because the FRA has
not developed equivalent regulations the author believes
that these rules are not preempted.
It's Just a Missile . Last month in the San Bernardino area
a Department of Defense (DoD) missile was left unattended
on a side track. The railcar carrying that missile was
broken into, setting off alarms within the DoD and causing
the shutdown of a nearby freeway. This incident
illustrates the concern about leaving railcars containing
hazardous materials unprotected. This bill prohibits
railroads from leaving railcars containing hazardous
materials unattended outside of terminals. Nor can
railroads permit these trains from crossing roads
unattended. The bill defines unattended as the absence of
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a crewmember onboard the train or within a line of sight to
the portion of the train containing hazardous materials.
This provision would prohibit the use of remote control
locomotives on trains containing hazardous materials.
Related legislation . SB 419 (Simitian), creates a
hazardous tank car database, is pending in the Assembly
Transportation Committee. SB 578 (Escutia), requires
notification to emergency responders in the event of an
uncontrolled movement of hazardous materials, is pending in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee. SB 1047 (Bowen),
which deal with reporting requirements on railroad
accidents and hazardous materials spills, is pending in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee. SJR 13 (Escutia), which
urges Congress to delegate more railroad safety authority
to the states, is pending in this committee
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/30/05)
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council (source)
California Public Utilities Commission (with amendments)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aghazarian, Arambula, Baca, Bass, Benoit, Berg,
Bermudez, Blakeslee, Bogh, Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan,
Chavez, Chu, Cogdill, Cohn, Coto, Daucher, De La Torre,
Dymally, Emmerson, Evans, Frommer, Garcia, Goldberg,
Hancock, Harman, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton, Houston,
Huff, Jones, Karnette, Keene, Klehs, Koretz, Laird, Leno,
Levine, Lieber, Liu, Matthews, Maze, McCarthy, Montanez,
Mullin, Nakanishi, Nation, Nava, Negrete McLeod, Niello,
Oropeza, Parra, Pavley, Plescia, Richman, Ridley-Thomas,
Sharon Runner, Ruskin, Saldana, Salinas, Spitzer,
Strickland, Torrico, Tran, Umberg, Vargas, Walters, Wolk,
Wyland, Yee, Nunez
NOES: DeVore, Haynes, La Suer, Leslie, Mountjoy, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gordon, La Malfa
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NC:do 8/17/05 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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