SF 250 (LSB 2367XS (2) 88)

SENATE FILE 250

BY  T. TAYLOR, DANIELSON, KINNEY, J. SMITH, LYKAM, and R. TAYLOR

A BILL FOR

An Act concerning matters relating to the transportation of railroad workers, and providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 327F.39, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended by adding the following new paragraphs:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  0e.  “Employee”, when used in connection with the transportation of railroad workers, means a driver who performs a service for the railroad worker transportation company, either for wages or as an independent contractor.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  00e.  “Employer”, when used in connection with the transportation of railroad workers, means a railroad worker transportation company.
    Sec. 2.  Section 327F.39, subsection 1, paragraph h, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   h.  “Railroad worker transportation company” means a person, other than a railroad corporation company, organized for the purpose of or engaged in the business of transporting, for hire, railroad workers to or from their places of employment or in the course of their employment in motor vehicles designed to carry seven or more persons but fewer than sixteen persons including the driver.
    Sec. 3.  Section 327F.39, subsection 3, Code 2019, is amended by adding the following new paragraphs after unnumbered paragraph 1:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  a.  An employer who owns or operates a motor vehicle for the transportation of railroad workers shall inspect the motor vehicle or cause the motor vehicle to be inspected annually in compliance with 49 C.F.R. §396.17, by a person qualified to perform the inspection as provided in 49 C.F.R. §396.19. In addition, the employer shall require each employee who drives a motor vehicle for the transportation of railroad workers to complete a written daily report as provided in 49 C.F.R. §396.11.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  b.  An employer shall establish a maintenance and repair program that provides for inspection of each motor vehicle operated by its employees for the transportation of railroad workers prior to the first service of the vehicle and at each twenty-five-thousand-mile interval thereafter, to assure overall cleanliness of the vehicle, that parts and accessories are in safe and operable condition, and that the vehicle is equipped with all of the following in good repair:
   (1)  Tires with sufficient tread as prescribed in 49 C.F.R. §393.75.
   (2)  A fully inflated spare tire.
   (3)  A secure location for personal baggage, including proper baggage restraints.
   (4)  Fully operational safety belts or safety harnesses for all passenger seats.
   (5)  A heater and air conditioner that are properly working, including properly working fans.
   (6)  An emergency road kit that contains, at a minimum, flares or reflective triangles, a fire extinguisher, and a readily available first aid kit in compliance with 29 C.F.R. §1910.151, which includes the articles described in appendix A of that section.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  c.  The operator of a motor vehicle used for the transportation of railroad workers shall activate the vehicle’s emergency signal lamps when the vehicle is stopped on or near the roadway.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  d.  A motor vehicle used for the transportation of railroad workers shall not be operated in a condition that is likely to cause an accident or a mechanical breakdown.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  e.  An employer shall maintain records relating to the maintenance and repair program for each motor vehicle operated by its employees for the transportation of railroad workers. The records shall include all of the following:
   (1)  Identifying information for the motor vehicle, including the vehicle identification number; make, model, and year of manufacture; and the railroad company’s identification number, if provided.
   (2)  Owner information if the employer is not the owner of the vehicle.
   (3)  The history of inspections, repairs, and maintenance that describes each activity and the date the activity was performed.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  f.  Records required under this subsection shall be maintained by an employer at the employer’s principal place of business for one year. If a motor vehicle leaves the employer’s control, the records pertaining to that vehicle shall be maintained by the employer at the employer’s principal place of business for six months.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  g.  An employer and the employer’s officers, agents, and employees who are involved with the inspection or maintenance of motor vehicles shall comply with the employer’s maintenance and repair program as provided under this subsection.
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  h.  A motor vehicle used by a railroad worker transportation company to transport railroad workers shall have signage on each side and on the rear of the vehicle containing the words “railroad worker transportation company” in letters no smaller than one inch in height.
    Sec. 4.  Section 327F.39, Code 2019, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5A.  Driver qualifications.
   a.  An employer shall maintain a driver qualification file for each employee who drives a motor vehicle for the transportation of railroad workers. The driver qualification file shall include all of the following:
   (1)  A certificate of physical examination signed and dated within the previous two years by a physician licensed under chapter 148 certifying that the employee is physically able to operate a motor vehicle.
   (2)  Documentation that the employer has reviewed the driver’s driving record within the previous twelve months.
   (3)  Documentation relating to the driver’s violation of any applicable motor vehicle laws or ordinances.
   (4)  Other documentation related to the driver’s qualification or ability to drive a motor vehicle.
   (5)  The driver’s application for employment as provided by 49 C.F.R. §391.21.
   (6)  References from previous employers, if required by the current employer.
   (7)  A copy of the driver’s current class D driver’s license or an equivalent driver’s license.
   b.  A person shall be disqualified from driving for an employer if the driver is convicted of two or more serious traffic violations committed within a three-year period in this state or another state. For purposes of this section, “serious traffic violation” means any violation committed while operating a motor vehicle if the violation resulted in the suspension or revocation of the person’s driver’s license, or any of the following violations, whether or not the violation resulted in driver’s license suspension or revocation:
   (1)  A violation of chapter 321J or an equivalent law of another state.
   (2)  A safety belt or safety harness violation.
   (3)  A violation of commercial motor vehicle laws.
   (4)  A speeding violation for a speed of fifteen miles per hour or more over the legal limit.
   (5)  Negligent homicide.
   (6)  Using a motor vehicle in the commission of a felony.
   (7)  Evading arrest.
   (8)  Using a motor vehicle to flee law enforcement.
   (9)  Careless driving.
   (10)  Prohibited passing of another vehicle.
   (11)  Unlawfully passing a stopped school bus.
   (12)  Failure to obey an official traffic-control signal or device.
   (13)  Failure to obey a railroad crossing gate.
   (14)  Driving while the person’s driver’s license or operating privilege is suspended, canceled, revoked, denied, or barred.
   (15)  Driving the wrong way on a one-way street.
   c.  Prior to allowing a person to perform the duties of a driver, an employer shall require the person to submit to testing for alcohol and controlled substances as provided in 49 C.F.R. pts. 40 and 382. A person shall not be allowed to perform the duties of a driver unless the alcohol test result for the person indicates an alcohol concentration of zero and the controlled substances test result from a medical review officer, as defined in 49 C.F.R. §40.3, indicates a verified negative.
   d.  (1)  As soon as practicable following an accident involving a motor vehicle owned or operated by an employer, the employer shall test each surviving driver for alcohol and controlled substances if any of the following apply:
   (a)  The accident involved the death of a person.
   (b)  The driver received a citation for a moving violation arising from the accident and the accident involved bodily injury to a person who immediately received medical treatment after the accident.
   (c)  The driver received a citation for a moving violation arising from the accident and the accident involved disabling damage to one or more motor vehicles involved in the accident.
   (2)  Testing for the presence of alcohol shall be conducted immediately following the accident or no later than eight hours after the accident. Testing for the presence of controlled substances shall be conducted immediately following the accident or no later than thirty-two hours after the accident. The test results shall be submitted to the department. The employer shall maintain a record of the test results for five years following the date of the accident.
   e.  A person shall be disqualified from driving for the employer upon the occurrence of any of the following:
   (1)  The person’s alcohol and controlled substances test results are not in compliance with paragraph “c”.
   (2)  The person refuses to provide a specimen for alcohol testing, testing for controlled substances, or both.
   (3)  The person submits an adulterated specimen, a dilute positive specimen, or a substituted specimen for an alcohol test or a test for controlled substances.
   f.  Testing of an employee for the presence of alcohol or a controlled substance under this subsection shall be performed in accordance with section 730.5.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  5B.  Financial liability coverage.
   a.  An employer shall maintain financial liability coverage in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident, and subject to the limit for one person, three million dollars because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident, for each motor vehicle owned or operated by the employer to transport railroad workers.
   b.  An employer shall maintain uninsured, underinsured, and hit-and-run motor vehicle coverage in the amounts specified in paragraph “a”, for each motor vehicle owned or operated by the employer to transport railroad workers.
    Sec. 5.  Section 327F.39, subsection 6, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   6.  Rule violations Violations.  When the administrator finds that a motor vehicle used to transport workers to and from their places of employment or during the course of their employment violates is not in compliance with this section or a rule adopted under this section, the administrator shall make, enter, and serve upon the owner of the motor vehicle an order as necessary to protect the safety of workers transported in the motor vehicle. The administrator may direct in the order, as a condition to the continued use of the motor vehicle for transporting workers to and from their places of employment or during the course of their employment, that additions, repairs, improvements, or changes be made and that safety devices and safeguards be furnished and used as required to satisfy the rules in the manner and within the time specified in the order. The order may also require that any driver of the motor vehicle satisfy the minimum standards for a driver under the this section or rules adopted under this section.
    Sec. 6.  Section 327F.39, Code 2019, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  6A.  Access provided to department.  An employer shall provide the department, or an agent or employee of the department, with access to the following:
   a.  A facility owned or controlled by the employer, for the purpose of determining compliance with this section.
   b.  Records related to an accident involving a vehicle owned or operated by the employer.
    Sec. 7.  Section 327F.39, subsection 7, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   7.  Penalty.
   a.  Violation Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a violation by the owner of a motor vehicle of this section, a rule adopted under this section, or an order issued under subsection 6, or willful failure to comply with such an order is, upon conviction, subject to a schedule “one” penalty as provided under section 327C.5.
   b.  A violation of subsection 5 or rules adopted pursuant to subsection 5 by a railroad worker transportation company or a railroad company is punishable as a schedule “one” penalty under section 327C.5.
   c.  A railroad worker transportation company or a railroad company that violates this section or a rule adopted pursuant to this section may be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand dollars in addition to any other penalty provided by law.
   d.  Each violation of this section or a rule adopted pursuant to this section constitutes a separate and distinct offense, and for violations of a continuing nature, each day that a violation continues constitutes a separate offense.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to companies that operate motor vehicles and employ drivers for the transportation of railroad workers.
   Under the bill, the term employer means a railroad worker transportation company. The term employee refers to a driver who performs a service for a railroad worker transportation company, either for wages or as an independent contractor.
   The bill requires an employer to provide for annual inspection of the employer’s motor vehicles by a qualified person. In addition, each employee who drives a motor vehicle must complete a daily written vehicle report. An employer is also required to establish a maintenance and repair program that includes inspection of each motor vehicle prior to the first service of the vehicle and at each 25,000-mile interval thereafter, with such inspections focusing on cleanliness and the condition of vehicle parts and accessories specified in the bill. An employer is required to maintain records relating to vehicle maintenance and repair for one year, or for a vehicle no longer in the employer’s control, six months. The bill further requires a motor vehicle used by a railroad worker transportation company to transport railroad workers to have signage on each side and on the rear of the vehicle containing the words “railroad worker transportation company” in letters no smaller than one inch in height.
   The bill requires an employer to maintain a driver qualification file for each employee that includes specified documentation relating to the employee’s driving record and employment record. The bill states that an employee is disqualified from driving for an employer if the driver is convicted of two or more serious traffic violations committed within three years in Iowa or in any other state. For purposes of the bill, serious traffic violation means any violation committed while operating a motor vehicle if the violation resulted in suspension or revocation of the person’s driver’s license, or certain violations specified in the bill, whether or not the violation resulted in license suspension or revocation.
   The bill requires drivers to be tested for the presence of alcohol and controlled substances as a condition of employment. In addition, an employer is required to have a driver tested for alcohol and controlled substances following certain accidents occurring in the course of the driver’s employment. Grounds for disqualification of a driver include a test result indicating an alcohol concentration above zero or a controlled substance test result other than a verified negative; refusing to provide a specimen for testing; or adulteration, dilution, or substitution of a specimen. 
   The bill requires an employer to maintain financial liability coverage in the amount of $500,000 per person, up to a maximum of $3 million per motor vehicle owned or operated by the employer, and uninsured, underinsured, and hit-and-run motorist coverage in the same amounts.
   The bill requires an employer to provide the department of transportation with access to the employer’s facilities and to records relating to accidents involving the employer’s motor vehicles.
   Pursuant to current law, a violation of the provisions relating to the transportation of railroad workers is punishable by a schedule “one” penalty, which is a fine of $100. The bill allows an additional civil penalty of up to $2,000 to be imposed for any violation of the bill by a railroad company or a railroad worker transportation company. Each violation of the provisions relating to the transportation of railroad workers constitutes a separate and distinct offense, and for violations of a continuing nature, each day that a violation continues constitutes a separate offense.