Senate File 2171 - Introduced
SENATE FILE
BY BEALL, DOTZLER, DVORSKY,
DANIELSON, SENG, and
COURTNEY
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act concerning the transportation of railroad workers by
2 companies organized for that purpose and providing penalties.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 321.449, subsection 4, Code 2007, is
1 2 amended to read as follows:
1 3 4. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, rules
1 4 adopted under this section for drivers of commercial vehicles
1 5 shall not apply to a driver of a commercial vehicle who is
1 6 engaged exclusively in intrastate commerce, when the
1 7 commercial vehicle's gross vehicle weight rating is twenty=six
1 8 thousand pounds or less, unless the vehicle is used to
1 9 transport hazardous materials requiring a placard or if the
1 10 vehicle is designed to transport more than fifteen passengers,
1 11 including the driver. For the purpose of complying with the
1 12 hours of service recordkeeping requirements under 49 C.F.R. }
1 13 395.1(e)(5), a driver's report of daily beginning and ending
1 14 on=duty time submitted to the motor carrier at the end of each
1 15 workweek shall be considered acceptable motor carrier time
1 16 records. In addition, rules adopted under this section shall
1 17 not apply to a driver operating intrastate for a farm
1 18 operation as defined in section 352.2, or for an agricultural
1 19 interest when the commercial vehicle is operated between the
1 20 farm as defined in section 352.2 and another farm, between the
1 21 farm and a market for farm products, or between the farm and
1 22 an agribusiness location. A driver or a driver=salesperson
1 23 for a private carrier, who is not for hire and who is engaged
1 24 exclusively in intrastate commerce, may drive twelve hours, be
1 25 on duty sixteen hours in a twenty=four=hour period and be on
1 26 duty seventy hours in seven consecutive days or eighty hours
1 27 in eight consecutive days. For=hire drivers who are engaged
1 28 exclusively in intrastate commerce and who operate trucks and
1 29 truck tractors exclusively for the movement of construction
1 30 materials and equipment to and from construction projects may
1 31 also drive twelve hours, be on duty sixteen hours in a
1 32 twenty=four=hour period, and be on duty seventy hours in seven
1 33 consecutive days or eighty hours in eight consecutive days. A
1 34 "driver=salesperson" means as defined in 49 C.F.R. } 395.2, as
1 35 adopted by the department by rule. A driver of a vehicle
2 1 operated for hire and designed to transport seven or more
2 2 persons but not more than fifteen persons, including the
2 3 driver, shall not be on duty more than twelve hours, including
2 4 no more than ten hours of driving time, in a twenty=four=hour
2 5 period and shall not drive for any period of time following
2 6 less than eight hours off duty when operating intrastate.
2 7 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 327F.0A DEFINITIONS.
2 8 As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
2 9 requires:
2 10 1. "Administrator" means the department's administrator
2 11 for rail and water, or the administrator's designee.
2 12 2. "Department" means the department of transportation.
2 13 3. "Director" means the director of transportation.
2 14 4. "Place of employment" means that location where one or
2 15 more workers are actually performing the labor for which they
2 16 are employed.
2 17 5. "Worker" means an individual employed for any period of
2 18 time to perform work for which the individual is compensated,
2 19 whether full=time or part=time.
2 20 Sec. 3. Section 327F.39, subsection 1, Code 2007, is
2 21 amended to read as follows:
2 22 1. DEFINITIONS. As used in this section, unless the
2 23 context otherwise requires:
2 24 a. "Department" means the state department of
2 25 transportation.
2 26 b. "Director" means the director of transportation.
2 27 c. "Administrator" means the department's administrator
2 28 for rail and water, or the administrator's designee.
2 29 d. a. "Motor vehicle" means a vehicle which is
2 30 self=propelled and designed primarily for highway use, and
2 31 which may or may not be equipped with retractably flanged
2 32 wheels for operation on railroad tracks.
2 33 e. b. "Owner" means a person having the lawful use or
2 34 control of a motor vehicle as holder of the legal title of the
2 35 motor vehicle or under contract or lease or otherwise.
3 1 f. "Place of employment" means that location where one or
3 2 more workers are actually performing the labor incident to
3 3 their employment.
3 4 g. "Worker" means an individual employed for any period in
3 5 work for which the individual is compensated, whether
3 6 full=time or part=time.
3 7 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 327F.40 RAILROAD WORKER
3 8 TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES.
3 9 The following provisions apply to the transportation of
3 10 railroad workers by a railroad worker transportation company.
3 11 1. DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this section, the
3 12 following definitions apply:
3 13 a. "Employee" means a person employed for wages by a
3 14 railroad worker transportation company. An independent
3 15 contractor is not an employee.
3 16 b. "Railroad worker transportation company" or "company"
3 17 means a person, other than a railway corporation, organized
3 18 for the purpose of or engaged in the business of transporting,
3 19 for hire, railroad workers to or from their places of
3 20 employment or in the course of their employment in motor
3 21 vehicles designed to carry fifteen or fewer passengers.
3 22 2. APPLICABILITY. This section applies to a company
3 23 transporting railroad workers intrastate that derives seventy
3 24 percent or more of its revenue from transportation of railroad
3 25 workers intrastate, interstate, or both.
3 26 3. DRIVER QUALIFICATIONS. A railroad worker
3 27 transportation company shall not permit a motor vehicle to be
3 28 operated for the purpose of transporting railroad workers by
3 29 any person who is not an employee of the company. A railway
3 30 corporation that contracts for the transportation of its
3 31 workers by a railroad worker transportation company shall
3 32 require the company to establish and adhere to preemployment
3 33 assessment standards for applicants for employment which
3 34 shall, at a minimum, require an applicant to disclose any
3 35 conviction for a criminal offense and the nature of the
4 1 offense.
4 2 4. FINANCIAL LIABILITY COVERAGE. For purposes of section
4 3 321.20B, a railroad worker transportation company shall
4 4 register and maintain financial liability coverage for each
4 5 motor vehicle used for the transportation of railroad workers,
4 6 except that such coverage shall be in limits of not less than
4 7 two hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or
4 8 death of one person in any one accident and, subject to the
4 9 limit for one person, three million dollars because of bodily
4 10 injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident,
4 11 and fifteen thousand dollars because of injury to or
4 12 destruction of property of others in any one accident.
4 13 5. VEHICLE SAFETY AND CONDITION. A vehicle used by a
4 14 company for the transportation of railroad workers shall be in
4 15 compliance with the requirements of section 327F.39 applicable
4 16 to vehicles provided by a railway corporation. If a company
4 17 employs, for the transportation of railroad workers, a motor
4 18 vehicle that was previously titled on a salvage certificate of
4 19 title, the company shall obtain a periodic safety inspection
4 20 of the vehicle at intervals of not more than sixty days.
4 21 6. LIABILITY. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
4 22 a contract between a railway corporation and a company for the
4 23 transportation of railroad workers does not relieve the
4 24 railway corporation or the company from liability for damages
4 25 resulting from an accident which occurs while the railroad
4 26 workers are being transported in a motor vehicle operated by
4 27 an employee of the company.
4 28 7. PENALTIES. A railroad worker transportation company or
4 29 a railway corporation found to be in violation of this section
4 30 or a rule adopted pursuant to this section shall be subject to
4 31 a schedule "one" penalty in addition to any other penalties
4 32 that may apply.
4 33 8. RULES. The department shall adopt rules as necessary
4 34 for the administration of this section.
4 35 EXPLANATION
5 1 This bill imposes certain requirements on companies that
5 2 are hired by railway corporations to transport railroad
5 3 workers to and from work locations or in the course of their
5 4 employment.
5 5 The bill imposes hours=of=service requirements on the
5 6 driver of any vehicle operated for hire and designed to
5 7 transport seven or more persons, but not more than 15 persons.
5 8 The bill limits such a driver to 12 hours of on=duty time,
5 9 including up to 10 hours of driving time, in a 24=hour period,
5 10 with at least eight hours off duty between driving times. A
5 11 violation of hours=of=service requirements is punishable by a
5 12 scheduled fine of $25.
5 13 The bill defines "railroad worker transportation company"
5 14 to mean a company organized for the purpose of or engaged in
5 15 the business of transporting, for hire, railroad workers to or
5 16 from their places of employment or in the course of their
5 17 employment in motor vehicles designed to carry 15 or fewer
5 18 passengers. The provisions of the bill apply to any company
5 19 that derives 70 percent or more of its revenue from the
5 20 transportation of railroad workers, whether intrastate,
5 21 interstate, or both. However, the provisions of the bill
5 22 apply only to the transportation of workers within Iowa.
5 23 The bill requires that drivers used by a company for the
5 24 transportation of railroad workers must be employees of the
5 25 company. Railway corporations are responsible for requiring
5 26 companies under contract for the transportation of workers to
5 27 establish and adhere to preemployment assessment standards for
5 28 applicants for employment. Such applicants shall be required
5 29 to disclose any conviction for a criminal offense and the
5 30 nature of the offense.
5 31 The bill requires railroad worker transportation companies
5 32 to register and maintain financial liability coverage for each
5 33 of its motor vehicles used to transport workers in the amounts
5 34 of not less than $200,000 for bodily injury or death of any
5 35 one person in any one accident and, subject to the limit for
6 1 any one person, $3 million for bodily injury to or death of
6 2 two or more persons in any one accident, plus $15,000 for
6 3 injury to or destruction of property.
6 4 The bill requires that vehicles used by a railroad worker
6 5 transportation company meet the requirements for safety and
6 6 condition of the vehicle currently applicable to vehicles
6 7 provided by a railway corporation for the transportation of
6 8 workers. In addition, the bill specifies that if a company
6 9 uses a vehicle previously titled as a salvage vehicle, the
6 10 company shall obtain periodic safety inspections for the
6 11 vehicle at intervals of not less than 60 days.
6 12 The bill provides that a contract between a railway
6 13 corporation and a railroad worker transportation company does
6 14 not relieve either party from liability for damages resulting
6 15 from an accident which occurs while an employee of the company
6 16 is driving a vehicle transporting railroad workers.
6 17 Pursuant to current law, the driver of a vehicle operated
6 18 for hire and designed to carry seven or more but not more than
6 19 15 persons is subject to penalties under federal and state
6 20 motor carrier safety rules. The provisions of the bill
6 21 applicable to railway corporations and railroad worker
6 22 transportation companies are punishable by a schedule "one"
6 23 penalty, in addition to any other penalties that might apply.
6 24 A schedule "one" penalty is a fine of $100 per violation.
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