SB1738sam001 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Sen. Antonio Munoz

Filed: 3/7/2007

09500SB1738sam001 LRB095 11149 DRH 31802 a

AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1738

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1738 by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the following:

"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Local Community Rail Security Act of 2007.

Section 5. Findings and Purposes.

(a) The General Assembly finds:

(1) The safety and security of community facilities will be enhanced if rail operators in the State provide first responders with adequate information about facilities and safety plans.

(2) The threat of sabotage, terrorism, and other crimes to rail facilities which transport hazardous materials is real and has been documented by countless studies at all levels of government.

(3) Our State's first responders lack adequate knowledge of the facilities of rail operators in the State and emergency plans for those facilities, if those plans exist, that would allow our first responders to react quickly and effectively to an emergency.

(4) Studies at all levels of government have demonstrated that the employees of rail operators in the State, and others who work on the facilities of those rail operators, are untrained to prevent acts of sabotage or terrorism or other crimes, are required to engage in practices which heighten the risk of those acts or other crimes, and lack the equipment to respond to those acts if they should occur.

(b) It is the purpose of this Act:

(1) To protect those who use community facilities from acts of sabotage or terrorism or other crimes directed at rail facilities in the State.

(2) To provide first responders with information about the facilities of rail operators in the State, and the procedures of rail operators in the event of sabotage, terrorism, or other crimes to those facilities.

(3) To ensure that rail employees have the proper training, communications equipment, and procedures to prevent acts of sabotage or terrorism or other crimes and to respond in the event of those acts or other crimes;

(4) To require that rail operators in the state have in place plans to respond to acts of sabotage or terrorism or other crimes, that rail operators communicate those plans to first responders, and that rail operators observe practices that will minimize the risk to community facilities.

Section 10. Risk assessment.

(a) Not later than 180 days after the effective date of this Act, every operator of rail facilities in the State shall provide to local and State law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, transportation officials, and other first responders a risk assessment of all rail facilities in the State. The risk assessment shall describe:

(1) all facilities and their functions;

(2) the types of cargo that move through those facilities;

(3) any hazardous cargo that moves through those facilities, including approximate amounts of that cargo;

(4) any storage of hazardous cargo in rail facilities;

(5) the distance from rail facilities that transport or store hazardous cargo to community facilities such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other sensitive community facilities;

(6) a description of the practices of the rail operator that prevent acts of sabotage or terrorism or other crimes on rail facilities;

(7) all training programs that the rail operator requires for its employees;

(8) the emergency response procedures of the rail operator to deal with acts of sabotage or terrorism or other crimes;

(9) the procedures of the rail operator to communicate with local and State law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, transportation officials, and other first responders in the event of acts of sabotage or terrorism or other crimes.

Section 15. Infrastructure protection from acts of sabotage or terrorism.

(a) Not later than 360 days after the effective date of this Act, all rail operators shall have in place a program to protect rail infrastructure in the State from acts of sabotage or terrorism or other crimes, which shall be called an infrastructure protection program.

(b) The infrastructure protection program shall provide specifically for the security of critical infrastructure. Critical infrastructure shall include all points of vulnerability of the rail system that handle hazardous cargo, such as bridges, tunnels, and signal systems. For critical infrastructure, the railroad operator shall:

(1) provide notice to State and local law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, transportation officials, and other first responders of the location, size, function, and importance of the critical infrastructure;

(2) provide and describe methods of ensuring the protection of critical infrastructure from acts of sabotage, terrorism, or other crimes, which methods shall include, at a minimum, 24-hour surveillance, monitoring, and protection of those facilities;

(3) provide training to personnel of the railroad operator to ensure that the railroad personnel are trained and equipped to prevent acts of sabotage or terrorism or other crimes and to respond in the event of such acts or other crimes.

(c) The infrastructure protection program shall include inspection of all rail facilities, including rights of way, yards, and other facilities, that handle hazardous cargo that moves within 15 miles of community facilities, such as schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other sensitive community facilities, on a regular basis by personnel trained to determine the condition of the rail facilities and the vulnerability of the rail facilities to acts of sabotage or terrorism or other crimes.

(d) (1) Each rail operator in the State shall provide to local and State law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, transportation officials, and other first responders a copy of its infrastructure protection program.

(2) The Department of Transportation shall review the infrastructure protection program and shall have the authority to order a rail operator to improve, modify, or change its program to comply with the requirements of this Act. The Department shall have the authority to fine the rail operator $50,000 per day for failure to comply with its orders or this Act.

(e) The infrastructure protection program shall be updated by the rail operator at least once every year, and the updated plan shall be submitted to local and State law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, transportation officials, and other first responders.

Section 20. Community facilities protection.

(a) Rail operators in the State shall observe the following requirements for all facilities that handle cargo that passes within 15 miles of a community facility:

(1) secure all facilities that handle or store hazardous materials by providing adequate security personnel;

(2) store hazardous materials only in secure facilities designed for such storage, which shall not include rights of way;

(3) never leave locomotive equipment running while unattended or leave any unattended locomotive equipment unlocked;

(4) have adequate personnel qualified to operate trains available to assist, replace, or relieve train operators who need assistance;

(5) ensure that the cabs of occupied locomotives can be secured against outsiders who threaten hijack, sabotage, or terrorism;

(6) ensure that all employees connected with rail facilities that transport hazardous materials within 15 miles of a community facility receive training related to security, shipment of hazardous materials, and terrorism prevention at least once every 12 months.

(b) The Department of Transportation shall have the authority to fine any rail operator or any contractor covered by this Section up to $50,000 per day for failure to comply with this Section.

Section 25. Communications. Each rail operator in the State must provide communications capability:

(1) to alert local and State law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, transportation officials, and other first responders in the event of sabotage, terrorism, or other crimes, and railroad radio does not satisfy the requirements of this Section;

(2) to provide bridge tenders on moveable bridges the ability to alert local and State law enforcement personnel, emergency personnel, transportation officials, and other first responders in the event of sabotage, terrorism, or other crimes; and

(3) to notify rail workers of the local or national threat level for the rail industry.

Section 30. Coverage. This Act applies to rail operators, any contractors or subcontractors working on the facilities of the rail operator, and any other individual or corporation performing work on rail facilities in the State.

Section 35. Prohibition on punitive action.

(a) No rail operator or any other person covered by this Act may take punitive action of any kind against an employee who reports violations of this Act.

(b) An employee subjected to punitive action in violation of this Section may seek damages in the amount of not more than $1,000,000 from any employer who takes that action, in addition to other remedies, such as back pay, reinstatement, and other damages.

Section 40. Application. This Act applies to the rail operator, any contractors or subcontractors working on the facilities of the rail operator, and any other individual or corporation performing work on rail facilities in this State.

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.".