A BILL (LB676)
FOR
AN ACT relating to railroad crossings; to prohibit the obstruction of highways
in certain classes of cities and villages and other areas; to provide
penalties; to provide exemptions; to provide an affirmative defense; to define
terms; and to outright repeal sections 17-225 and
74-594,
Reissue Revised Statutes of
Be
it enacted by the people of the State of
Section 1. (1) No person
railroad carrier shall occupy or block any public highway,
street, or alley in any city of the first class, city of the second class or
village, or any unincorporated area of the state with standing freight
or passenger cars, locomotives, or with any other rolling stock for more than
ten minutes at a time. (note: railroad
carrier definition eliminates the inclusion of crew members as violators) (standing inclusion is just a common sense addition as
many switching movements or slow speed movements commonly take more than 10
minutes)
(2)
A state or local law enforcement officer may issue citations for violations of
subsection (1) of this section. Citations shall be addressed to the name
of the railroad carrier only and will not require signatures of members of any
train crew, yard crew, or locomotive crew. Any person railroad
carrier violating subsection (1) of this section, upon conviction thereof,
also shall be fined a sum not less than five hundred dollars nor
more than five thousand dollars. (Added
language parts from
(3)
This section shall not apply to:
(a)
Any member of a train crew, yard crew, or locomotive crew acting under
the upon reasonable proof that the occupying or blocking of the
public highway, street, or alley was necessary to comply with orders or
instructions, either written, visual or oral, from his or her
employer or its officers or supervisory officials; (Current
statute language “presumes guilt” by assuming the crew is guilty until proven
innocent) (many of our instructions are visual, as in proceed or stop signals,
this language was from a Schimek amendment in 1999)
(b) Any member of a train
crew, yard crew, or locomotive crew acting under incorrect, incomplete, or lack
of instructions from his or her employer or its officers or supervisory
officials.
(c)
(b) A grain dealer licensed under the Grain
Dealer Act; and
(b and c are not really needed with the
definition of “railroad carrier” included)
(d)
(c) A warehouse licensee under the Grain Warehouse Act.
(4)
This section does not relieve an employer from any responsibility placed upon
the employer by any other law or ordinance. This section is supplemental to any
other law or ordinance.
(5)
A person railroad carrier may have an affirmative defense
to a violation of subsection (1) of this section if the public highway, street,
or alley was occupied or blocked due to an emergency condition, including a
serious rail accident, derailment, or a critical mechanical failure, a track or
bridge washout, or a storm, flood, or other emergency.
(6)
For purposes of this section:
(a)
Occupy or block means to prevent motor vehicular traffic from safely crossing
over the grade crossing and continuing on the public highway, street, or alley.
(b) Person means
any individual, partnership, firm, limited liability company,
corporation, company, association, or any other legal entity. Railroad carrier shall mean means any
common carrier engaged in the carrying of freight or passengers over any line
of railroad, or part thereof, within the State of
(c) Railroad means any line of railroad track,
or part thereof, located within the State of
Sec. 2. Any railroad cited
for any violation of section 1 of this act may only address the citation with
the respective crew members as follows:
(1)
Such railroad shall accord any crew members a due process hearing that
the railroad deems may have violated written railroad rules or published
policy, prior to the issuance of any decision adversely affecting the
employment of such employees;
(2)
Such railroad, prior to the due process hearing, shall provide any accused crew
members with copies of all documentation the employees request that are
relevant to receipt of the citation;
(3)
Such railroad, prior to the due process hearing, shall provide any accused crew
members with the required witnesses at the expense of the railroad;
(4)
Such railroad shall accord the accused crew members the due process hearing
within twenty days after receipt of the citation; and
(5)
Such railroad shall notify the accused members in writing of the requirements
set forth in this section. (Section 2 will almost certainly interfere
with our contracts discipline process no matter how it is worded. The BLET
contract dept. has said this section in non-negotiable and if it stays we will
use all means at our disposal to remove it.) (Section 2 also only provides any
value in discipline cases where the railroad is cited. If the railroads want to
discipline us in the vast majority of cases where they are not cited, they can
and will)
Sec. 2 3.
The following sections is are
outright repealed:
Section
17-225, Reissue Revised Statutes of
Section 74-594, Reissue
Revised Statutes of
(Added
section 74-594 as seemingly needed to clean up)
Railroads;
blocking crossings; penalty.
It shall be unlawful for any railroad company or for any of
its officers, agents,
servants or employees to obstruct with car or cars, engine or
engines, or with any other
rolling stock, for more than ten minutes at a time, any public
highway, street or alley in
any unincorporated town or village in the State of
firm or individual violating any provision of this section
shall, upon conviction thereof,
be
fined in any sum not less than ten dollars nor more than one hundred dollars.
Source:
Laws 1907, c. 109, § 1, p. 384; Laws 1907, c. 109, § 2, p. 384;
R.S.1913, § 5075; C.S.1922, § 4247; C.S.1929, § 17-225.