Florida Senate - 2020                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 676
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì9508266Î950826                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  01/22/2020           .                                
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       The Committee on Infrastructure and Security (Mayfield)
       recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete everything after the enacting clause
    4  and insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 341.601, Florida Statutes, is created to
    6  read:
    7         341.601Short title.—Sections 341.601-341.611 may be cited
    8  as the “Florida High-Speed Passenger Rail Safety Act.”
    9         Section 2. Section 341.602, Florida Statutes, is created to
   10  read:
   11         341.602Definitions.—As used in ss. 341.601-341.611, the
   12  term:
   13         (1)“Department” means the Department of Transportation.
   14         (2)“Freight railroad carrier” means any person, railroad
   15  corporation, or other legal entity engaged in the business of
   16  providing freight rail transportation.
   17         (3)“Governmental entity” means the state, any of its
   18  agencies, or any of its political subdivisions.
   19         (4)“Hazardous materials” includes all materials, wastes,
   20  or substances designated or defined as hazardous by 49 C.F.R.
   21  parts 100-199 and their implementing regulations, by 42 U.S.C.
   22  s. 9601, or in any state law, rule, or program that regulates
   23  the handling or transporting of such materials, wastes, or
   24  substances.
   25         (5)“High-speed passenger rail system” means any intrastate
   26  passenger rail system that operates or proposes to operate its
   27  passenger trains at a maximum speed in excess of 80 miles per
   28  hour.
   29         (6)“Public railroad-highway grade crossing” means a
   30  location at which a railroad track is crossed at grade by a
   31  public road.
   32         (7)“Rail corridor” means a linear, continuous strip of
   33  real property that is used for rail service. The term includes
   34  the corridor and structures essential to railroad operations,
   35  including the land, buildings, improvements, rights-of-way,
   36  easements, rail lines, roadbeds, guideway structures, switches,
   37  yards, parking facilities, power relays, switching houses, rail
   38  stations, any ancillary developments, and any other facilities
   39  or equipment used for the purposes of construction, operation,
   40  or maintenance of a railroad that provides rail service.
   41         (8)“Railroad company” means any individual, partnership,
   42  association, corporation, or company and its respective lessees,
   43  trustees, or court-appointed receivers which develops or
   44  provides ground transportation that runs on rails, and includes,
   45  but is not limited to, any of the following:
   46         (a)A high-speed passenger rail system.
   47         (b)A freight railroad carrier.
   48         (c)A company that owns a rail corridor.
   49         (9) “Sealed corridor” means a rail corridor that uses
   50  safety measures to block all lanes of travel where a roadway
   51  crosses a railroad track and that uses pedestrian treatments at
   52  grade crossings and controls between crossings to prevent
   53  trespassing.
   54         Section 3. Section 341.603, Florida Statutes, is created to
   55  read:
   56         341.603Legislative intent.—It is the intent of the
   57  Legislature to:
   58         (1)Encourage the creation of safe and economical
   59  transportation options, including high-speed passenger rail
   60  systems, for this state’s residents and visitors.
   61         (2)Promote and enhance the safe operation of high-speed
   62  passenger rail systems within this state to protect the health,
   63  safety, and welfare of the public.
   64         Section 4. Section 341.604, Florida Statutes, is created to
   65  read:
   66         341.604Applicability.—This act applies to any railroad
   67  company that operates a high-speed passenger rail system and any
   68  railroad company that allows a high-speed passenger rail system
   69  to operate on or within its rail corridor.
   70         Section 5. Section 341.605, Florida Statutes, is created to
   71  read:
   72         341.605Powers and duties of the department; rules.—
   73         (1)To the extent that such authority is not preempted by
   74  federal law or regulation, the department shall:
   75         (a)Regulate railroad companies in this state.
   76         (b)Obtain from any party all necessary information to
   77  enable it to perform its duties and carry out the requirements
   78  of this act.
   79         (c)Keep a record of its findings, decisions, and
   80  determinations made, and investigations conducted, under this
   81  act.
   82         (d)Adopt rules by January 1, 2021, to administer this act.
   83  Such rules must include minimum standards or criteria for:
   84         1. Public railroad-highway grade crossing design,
   85  including, but not limited to, installation of appropriate
   86  safety equipment, such as remote health monitoring and traffic
   87  signal preemption systems;
   88         2. Implementation of sealed corridors and of safety
   89  measures to be used at sealed corridors;
   90         3. Installation or realignment of crossing gates at
   91  severely skewed, acute-angled public railroad-highway grade
   92  crossings along the rail corridor; and
   93         4. Field surveys of the rail corridor to be conducted for
   94  the purpose of identifying areas where fencing is necessary to
   95  protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public,
   96  including, but not limited to, minimum requirements for
   97  construction and materials.
   98         (2) The department may impose on a railroad company an
   99  administrative penalty not exceeding $10,000 for each violation
  100  of the rules adopted by the department as provided in this
  101  section. Each violation constitutes a separate violation.
  102         Section 6. Section 341.606, Florida Statutes, is created to
  103  read:
  104         341.606 Training for local communities and local agencies.
  105  If a high-speed passenger rail system operates on a rail
  106  corridor or on a set of tracks which is also used to transport
  107  hazardous materials, the Division of Emergency Management must
  108  offer the local communities and local agencies located along the
  109  rail corridor training specifically designed to help them
  110  respond to an accident involving rail passengers or hazardous
  111  materials.
  112         Section 7. Section 341.607, Florida Statutes, is created to
  113  read:
  114         341.607Reporting requirements; rulemaking.—
  115         (1)A railroad company that operates a high-speed passenger
  116  rail system shall furnish to the department a copy of the
  117  accident reports filed with the Federal Railroad Administration
  118  for each train accident that occurs within the rail corridor.
  119         (2)The department shall annually publish on its website a
  120  compendium of the reports that include any fatalities, injuries,
  121  or accidents during the reporting timeframe which occurred
  122  within a rail corridor where a high-speed passenger rail system
  123  operates, unless notified by the Federal Government that the
  124  compendium is inconsistent with federal requirements.
  125         (3)A railroad company that transports liquefied natural
  126  gas on the same tracks, or within the same rail corridor, used
  127  by a high-speed passenger rail system within this state shall
  128  submit an annual report to the department containing the size of
  129  the average and largest liquefied natural gas train, as measured
  130  in metric tons, operated in this state by the railroad company
  131  in the previous calendar year.
  132         (4)All reporting requirements are for informational
  133  purposes only. The information reported may not be used to
  134  economically regulate the railroad company.
  135         (5) The department, in coordination with the Federal
  136  Railroad Administration and other public and private entities,
  137  as necessary, shall adopt by rule criteria to determine a
  138  reasonable worst-case unplanned release of liquefied natural
  139  gas.
  140         Section 8. Section 341.608, Florida Statutes, is created to
  141  read:
  142         341.608Minimum safety standards for high-speed passenger
  143  rail systems.—In addition to complying with federal law, Federal
  144  Railroad Administration regulations, and other applicable
  145  federal regulations, a railroad company operating a high-speed
  146  passenger rail system shall comply with the rules adopted by the
  147  department pursuant to s. 341.605.
  148         Section 9. Section 341.609, Florida Statutes, is created to
  149  read:
  150         341.609Maintenance and repair of roadbeds, tracks,
  151  culverts, and certain streets and sidewalks.—
  152         (1)If the railroad company that constructs or operates a
  153  high-speed passenger rail system is required to install safety
  154  improvements that modify the width of a roadbed, the company is
  155  responsible for ensuring that the impacted roadbed meets the
  156  department’s transition requirements as set forth in the most
  157  recent edition of the department’s Design Standards and the
  158  Manual of Uniform Minimum Standards for Design, Construction,
  159  and Maintenance for Streets and Highways.
  160         (2)This section may not be construed to impair any
  161  existing contractual agreements between a railroad company
  162  operating a high-speed passenger rail system and a governmental
  163  entity within the state.
  164         Section 10. Section 341.6101, Florida Statutes, is created
  165  to read:
  166         341.6101Safety inspections and inspectors.—
  167         (1)In accordance with the State Rail Safety Participation
  168  Program, which is designed to promote safety in all areas of
  169  railroad operations to reduce deaths, injuries, and damage to
  170  railroad property, the department’s railroad inspectors must be
  171  certified by the Federal Railroad Administration and shall
  172  coordinate their activities with those of federal inspectors in
  173  this state in compliance with 49 C.F.R. part 212 and any other
  174  federal regulations governing state safety participation.
  175         (2)Unless the results are otherwise confidential under
  176  state or federal law, the department’s railroad inspectors shall
  177  report in writing the results of their inspections in the manner
  178  and on forms prescribed by the department. The department shall
  179  make these reports available on its website for the public to
  180  access.
  181         Section 11. Section 341.611, Florida Statutes, is created
  182  to read:
  183         341.611 Severability.—If any provision of this act or its
  184  application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the
  185  invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
  186  this act which can be given effect without the invalid provision
  187  or application, and to this end, the provisions of this act are
  188  severable.
  189         Section 12. Sections 341.601-341.611 are remedial in nature
  190  and shall apply retroactively.
  191         Section 13. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
  192  
  193  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  194  And the title is amended as follows:
  195         Delete everything before the enacting clause
  196  and insert:
  197                        A bill to be entitled                      
  198         An act relating to high-speed passenger rail safety;
  199         creating s. 341.601, F.S.; providing a short title;
  200         creating s. 341.602, F.S.; defining terms; creating s.
  201         341.603, F.S.; providing legislative intent; creating
  202         s. 341.604, F.S.; providing applicability; creating s.
  203         341.605, F.S.; requiring the Department of
  204         Transportation to regulate railroad companies when
  205         that authority is not federally preempted; requiring
  206         the department to obtain information necessary to
  207         perform its duties; requiring the department to keep
  208         certain records; requiring the department to adopt
  209         rules; providing requirements for such rules;
  210         authorizing the department to impose administrative
  211         penalties; creating s. 341.606, F.S.; requiring the
  212         Division of Emergency Management to offer accident
  213         response training to certain local communities and
  214         local agencies under certain circumstances; creating
  215         s. 341.607, F.S.; requiring certain railroad companies
  216         to furnish copies of federal accident reports to the
  217         department; requiring the department to annually
  218         publish certain information on its website; requiring
  219         railroad companies that transport liquefied natural
  220         gas on or within certain tracks or corridors to submit
  221         an annual report to the department containing
  222         specified information; prohibiting the use of reported
  223         information for the purpose of economically regulating
  224         railroad companies; requiring the department, in
  225         coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration
  226         and other necessary entities, to adopt certain
  227         criteria by rule; creating s. 341.608, F.S.; requiring
  228         certain railroad companies to comply with federal law
  229         and certain regulations; creating s. 341.609, F.S.;
  230         providing that certain railroad companies are
  231         responsible for ensuring that impacted roadbeds meet
  232         specified transition requirements under certain
  233         circumstances; providing construction; creating s.
  234         341.6101, F.S.; requiring the department’s railroad
  235         inspectors, in accordance with a specified program, to
  236         meet certain certification requirements and to
  237         coordinate their activities with those of federal
  238         inspectors in this state in compliance with certain
  239         federal regulations; requiring the department’s
  240         inspectors to report the results of their inspections
  241         to the department, subject to certain requirements,
  242         unless the results are confidential under state or
  243         federal law; requiring the department to make the
  244         reports available on its website; creating s. 341.611,
  245         F.S.; providing severability; providing for
  246         retroactive application; providing an effective date.