94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2005 and 2006
SB2401

 

Introduced 1/18/2006, by Sen. Debbie DeFrancesco Halvorson

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
625 ILCS 5/18c-7503   from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7503

    Amends the Chapter of the Illinois Vehicle Code containing the Illinois Commercial Transportation Law. Provides that the Illinois Commerce Commission may adopt, as necessary, policies, rules, or orders to ensure that an authorized representative of rail carrier employees has reasonable access to railroad property to perform any necessary inspection or investigation.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT concerning transportation.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Illinois Vehicle Code is amended by changing
5 Section 18c-7503 as follows:
 
6     (625 ILCS 5/18c-7503)  (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 18c-7503)
7     Sec. 18c-7503. Trespassing on railroad property.
8     (1) Trespassing on railroad property prohibited.
9         (a) General prohibition. Except as otherwise provided
10     in paragraph (b) of this subsection, no person may:
11             (i) walk, ride, drive or be upon or along the right
12         of way or rail yard of a rail carrier within the State,
13         at a place other than a public crossing;
14             (ii) enter or be upon any railroad property;
15             (iii) without lawful authority or the railroad
16         carrier's consent, ride on the outside of a train or
17         inside a passenger car, locomotive, or freight car,
18         including a box car, flatbed, or container;
19             (iv) willfully lead or contrive any animal to go
20         upon the railroad's rights of way for any reason other
21         than to pass over such rights of way at a marked public
22         crossing; or
23             (v) throw or cause to be thrown on to the
24         railroad's rights of way any waste paper, ashes,
25         household waste, glass, metal, tires, refuse, or
26         rubbish.
27         (b) Exceptions. This subsection shall not apply to:
28             (i) fare paying passengers on trains or employees
29         of a rail carrier;
30             (ii) railroad employees and an authorized
31         representative of rail carrier employees, while
32         performing required duties in accordance with

 

 

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1         reasonable rail carrier company guidelines;
2             (iii) a person going upon the right of way or into
3         the rail yard to save human life or to remove an object
4         that a reasonable person would believe poses an
5         imminent threat to human life or limb;
6             (iv) a person being on the station grounds or in
7         the depot of the rail carrier for the purpose of
8         transacting business;
9             (v) a person, his family, or his employees or
10         agents going across a farm crossing, as defined in this
11         Chapter, for the purpose of crossing from one part to
12         another part of a farm he owns or leases, where the
13         farm lies on both sides of the right of way;
14             (vi) a person having written permission from the
15         rail carrier to go upon the right of way or into the
16         rail yard;
17             (vii) representatives of local, State, and federal
18         governmental agencies in performance of their official
19         duties; and
20             (viii) a person having written permission from the
21         rail carrier to go in or be upon railroad property.
22         (c) Access by an authorized representative of rail
23     carrier employees. In accordance with subdivision (b)(ii)
24     of this subsection (1), the Commission may adopt, as
25     necessary, policies, rules, or orders to ensure that an
26     authorized representative of rail carrier employees has
27     reasonable access to railroad property to perform
28     inspections or investigations that are necessary to
29     determine a rail carrier's compliance with applicable
30     safety laws and regulations.
31     (2) Penalties.
32         (a) Any person found in violation of item (i), (ii),
33     (iii) or (iv) of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall be
34     guilty of a Class C misdemeanor for a first offense. In
35     addition to such other sanctions as may be deemed
36     appropriate by the court, the person shall be subject to a

 

 

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1     mandatory fine of not less than $150 or more than $500, or
2     to imprisonment for not less than 5 days nor more than 30
3     days, or both. For each subsequent offense, the person
4     shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. In addition to
5     such sanctions as may be deemed appropriate by the court,
6     the person shall be subject to a mandatory fine of not less
7     than $500 nor more than $1,000, or to imprisonment for not
8     less than 10 days or more than one year, or both.
9         (b) Any person found in violation of item (v) of
10     paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an
11     offense and in addition to such sanctions as may be deemed
12     appropriate by the court shall be subject to a fine of not
13     less than $100 nor more than $500, or community service of
14     not less than 8 hours nor more than 50 hours, or both. If
15     damage to any railroad property or bodily injury occurs to
16     another as a result of a violation of item (v) of paragraph
17     (a) of subsection (1), that person shall be charged with
18     the offense of Malicious Removal of or Damage to Railroad
19     Property or Freight pursuant to Section 18c-7502.
20         (c) Local authorities shall impose fines as
21     established in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection
22     (2) for persons found in violation of this Section or any
23     similar local ordinance.
24     (3) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
25     "Authorized representative of rail carrier employees"
26 means a person duly authorized by the labor organization
27 certified to represent a class or craft of railroad employees
28 under the applicable State or federal laws.
29     "Passenger" means a person who is traveling by train with
30 lawful authority and who does not participate in the train's
31 operation. The term "passenger" does not include stowaways.
32     "Railroad" means any form of nonhighway ground
33 transportation that runs on rails or electromagnetic
34 guideways, including:
35             (i) commuter or other short-haul railroad
36         passenger service in a metropolitan or urban area; and

 

 

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1             (ii) high-speed ground transportation systems that
2         connect metropolitan areas; but does not include rapid
3         transit operations in an urban area that are not
4         connected to the general railroad system of
5         transportation.
6     "Railroad carrier" means a person providing railroad
7 transportation.
8     "Railroad property" means all tangible property owned,
9 leased, or operated by a railroad carrier including a right of
10 way, track, bridge, yard, shop, station, tunnel, viaduct,
11 trestle, depot, warehouse, terminal, or any other structure,
12 appurtenance, or equipment owned, leased, or used in the
13 operation of any railroad carrier including trains,
14 locomotives, engines, railroad cars, work equipment, rolling
15 stock, or safety devices. "Railroad property" does not include
16 a railroad carrier's administrative buildings or offices,
17 office equipment, or intangible property such as software or
18 other information.
19     "Right of way" means the track or roadbed owned, leased, or
20 operated by a rail carrier which is located on either side of
21 its tracks and which is readily recognizable to a reasonable
22 person as being railroad property or is reasonably identified
23 as such by fencing or appropriate signs.
24     "Yard" means a system of parallel tracks, crossovers, and
25 switches where railroad cars are switched and made up into
26 trains, and where railroad cars, locomotives, and other rolling
27 stock is kept when not in use or when awaiting repair.
28 (Source: P.A. 90-655, eff. 7-30-98; 90-691, eff. 1-1-98;
29 91-532, eff. 1-1-00.)