CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

HOUSE BILL 1841

Chapter 170, Laws of 2020

(partial veto)

66TH LEGISLATURE

2020 REGULAR SESSION

TRAINS--MINIMUM CREW SIZE

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2020

HOUSE BILL 1841

AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

ByRepresentatives Riccelli, Chandler, Blake, Boehnke, Macri, Eslick, Santos, Young, Ryu, Jenkin, Sells, Stokesbary, Senn, Griffey, Harris, Stonier, Morgan, Walsh, Gregerson, Lovick, Fey, Volz, Wylie, Hoff, Ramos, Chambers, Stanford, McCaslin, Fitzgibbon, Van Werven, Peterson, MacEwen, Dent, Graham, Hudgins, Valdez, Pollet, Ortiz-Self, Ybarra, Walen, Ormsby, Dolan, Frame, Cody, Jinkins, Tarleton, Appleton, Bergquist, Callan, Chapman, Pellicciotti, Shewmake, Kilduff, Lekanoff, Davis, Pettigrew, Doglio, and Entenman

AN ACT Relating to establishing minimum crew size on certain trains; adding new sections to chapter 81.40 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 81.40.010 and 81.40.035; prescribing penalties; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 81.40 RCW to read as follows:

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Class I" means a railroad carrier designated as a class I railroad by the United States surface transportation board and its subsidiaries or is owned and operated by entities whose combined total railroad operational ownership and controlling interest meets the United States surface transportation board designation as a class I railroad carrier.

(2) "Class III" means a railroad carrier designated as a class III railroad by the United States surface transportation board.

(3) "Commission" means the utilities and transportation commission created in chapter 80.01 RCW.

(4) "Crewmember" means a railroad operating craft employee who has been trained and meets the requirements and qualifications as determined by the federal railroad administration for a railroad operating service employee.

(5) "Other railroad carrier" means a railroad carrier that is not a class I carrier.

(6) "Railroad carrier" means a carrier of persons or property upon vehicles, other than streetcars, operated upon stationary rails, the route of which is principally outside incorporated cities and towns. "Railroad carrier" includes any officers and agents of the railroad carrier.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 81.40 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Except as provided in section 4 of this act, any person, corporation, company, or officer of the court operating any railroad, railway, or any part of any railroad or railway, in the state of Washington, and engaged, as a common carrier, in the transportation of freight or passengers, shall operate and manage all trains and switching assignments over its road with crews consisting of no less than two crewmembers.

(2) Class III railroad carriers operating on their roads while at a speed of twenty-five miles per hour or less are exempt from subsection (1) of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 81.40 RCW to read as follows:

(1) On the effective date of this section, automatic waivers to the train crew size requirement in section 3 of this act shall be granted to other railroad carriers.

(2) Such automatic waivers will remain in effect until ordered by the commission.

(3) The commission must act to ensure that railroad carriers supplement trains entering Washington state with the requisite number of train crewmembers pursuant to this act, at the closest regular station stop or crew change point located in proximity to and adjacent with either side of the state border, having been established and in use by the carrier on January 1, 2020.

(4)(a) The commission may order railroad carriers to increase the number of railroad employees in areas of increased risk to the public, passengers, railroad employees, or the environment, or on specific trains, routes, or to switch assignments on their road with additional numbers of crewmembers, and may direct the placement of additional crewmembers, if it is determined that such an increase in staffing or the placement of additional crewmembers is necessary to protect the safety, health, and welfare of the public, passengers, or railroad employees, to prevent harm to the environment or to address site specific safety or security hazards.

(b) In issuing such an order, the commission may consider relevant factors including, but not limited to, the volatility of the commodities being transported, train volume, risk mitigation measures, environmental and operating factors that impact vulnerabilities, risk exposure to passengers, the general public, railroad employees, communities, or the environment along the train route, security risks including sabotage or terrorism threat levels, a railroad carrier's prior history of accidents, compliance violations, operating practices, infrastructure investments including track and equipment maintenance issues or lack thereof, employee training and support programs, first responder access, and any other relevant factors in the interest of safety.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 81.40 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Pursuant to the enforcement of the provisions of this act, the highest priority and paramount obligation of the commission must be its duty to ensure the safety and protection of the public, passengers, railroad employees, communities, environment, and areas of cultural significance in the furtherance of the highest degree of safety in railroad transportation.

(2) Each train or engine run in violation of section 3 of this act constitutes a separate offense. However, section 3 of this act does not apply in the case of disability of one or more members of any train crew while out on the road between division terminals, or assigned to wrecking trains.

(3) Any person, corporation, company, or officer of the court operating any railroad, or part of any railroad or railway within the state of Washington, and engaged as a common carrier, in the transportation of freight or passengers, who violates any of the provisions of section 3 of this act may be subject to fines of not less than one thousand dollars and not more than one hundred thousand dollars for each offense, as determined by the commission through order.

(4) The commission may impose fines exceeding the provisions in subsection (3) of this section when a serious injury or fatality occurs involving a carrier's violation of this act. All relevant factors may be considered including, but not limited to, the class, assets, profitability, and operational safety record of the carrier, as well as deterrence in ascertaining an appropriate punitive penalty, as determined by the commission through order.

(5) It is the duty of the commission to enforce this section.

(1) RCW 81.40.010 (Full train crews—Passenger—Safety review—Penalty—Enforcement) and 2003 c 53 s 386, 1992 c 102 s 1, & 1961 c 14 s 81.40.010; and

(2) RCW 81.40.035 (Freight train crews) and 1967 c 2 s 2.