Taking Responsible Action for Community Safety Act

Taking Responsible Action for Community Safety Act - Revises requirements with respect to the consolidation, merger, or acquisition of control (transaction) involving rail carriers to require public hearings in the affected communities if public hearings on a proposed transaction are held.

Requires the Surface Transportation Board, in a proceeding with respect to a transaction that involves at least one Class I railroad (under current law, merger or control of at least two Class I railroads), to consider the effect on the public interest, including the safety and environmental effect of the proposed merger on local communities, intercity rail passenger transportation, commuter rail passenger transportation, and the public interest.

Prohibits the Board from approving mergers if their adverse impacts on safety and on affected communities outweigh their transportation benefits. Authorizes the Board to impose conditions to mitigate the effect of mergers on local communities.

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3410 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3410

To require Surface Transportation Board consideration of the impacts of 
   certain railroad transactions on local communities, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 30, 2009

  Ms. Bean (for herself, Mr. Oberstar, Mrs. Biggert, Mr. Roskam, Ms. 
 Berkley, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Braley of Iowa, Ms. DeGette, Ms. Wasserman 
 Schultz, Mr. Foster, Ms. Harman, Mr. Kind, Mr. Manzullo, Mr. Thompson 
    of California, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Holden, Mr. Visclosky, and Mrs. 
  Halvorson) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require Surface Transportation Board consideration of the impacts of 
   certain railroad transactions on local communities, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Taking Responsible Action for 
Community Safety Act''.

SEC. 2. EFFECT OF MERGERS ON LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND RAIL PASSENGER 
              TRANSPORTATION.

    Section 11324 of title 49, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking the last sentence and inserting 
                ``The Board shall hold public hearings on the proposed 
                transaction, including public hearings in the affected 
                communities, unless the Board determines that public 
                hearings are not necessary in the public interest.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking ``which involves the merger or 
                control of at least two Class I railroads,'' and 
                inserting ``with respect to a transaction that involves 
                at least one Class I railroad,'';
                    (B) by inserting ``the effect on the public 
                interest, including'' after ``the Board shall 
                consider'';
                    (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ``on the public 
                interest'';
                    (D) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (4);
                    (E) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (5) and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (F) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraphs:
            ``(6) the safety and environmental effects of the proposed 
        transaction, including the effects on local communities, such 
        as public safety, grade crossing safety, hazardous materials 
        transportation safety, emergency response time, noise, and 
        socioeconomic impacts; and
            ``(7) the effect of the proposed transaction on intercity 
        rail passenger transportation and commuter rail passenger 
        transportation, as defined by section 24102 of this title.'';
            (3) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) as 
        subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g) and inserting a new 
        subsection (c) as follows:
    ``(c) The Board shall approve and authorize a transaction under 
this section when it finds the transaction is consistent with the 
public interest. The Board shall not approve a transaction described in 
subsection (b) if it finds that the transaction's impacts on safety and 
on all affected communities, as defined under subsection (b), outweigh 
the transportation benefits of the transaction. The Board may impose 
conditions governing a transaction under this section, including 
conditions to mitigate the effects of the transaction on local 
communities.'';
            (4) in subsection (d), as redesignated, by striking ``The 
        Board shall approve'' and all that follows through ``the 
        transaction, including'' and inserting ``The conditions the 
        Board may impose under this section include''; and
            (5) in subsection (e), as redesignated, by striking ``the 
        merger or control of at least two Class I railroads, as defined 
        by the Board'' and inserting ``a transaction described in 
        subsection (b)''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made in this Act shall be applied to all 
transactions that have not been approved by the Board as of August 1, 
2008.
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