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HF494 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to the operation of railroad trains by a crew of two or more persons, and providing penalties.

A bill for an act relating to the operation of railroad trains by a crew of two or more persons, and providing penalties.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
SIECK
Last action
2026-01-28
Official status
Subcommittee recommends passage.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

A bill for an act relating to the operation of railroad trains by a crew of two or more persons, and providing penalties.

A bill for an act relating to the operation of railroad trains by a crew of two or more persons, and providing penalties.

What This Bill Does

  • A bill for an act relating to the operation of railroad trains by a crew of two or more persons, and providing penalties.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-28 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee recommends passage.

  2. 2026-01-27 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee Meeting: 01/28/2026 12:30PM RM 103.

  3. 2026-01-20 Iowa Legislature

    Subcommittee: Sieck, Gosa and Wood. H.J. 125 .

  4. 2025-12-31 Iowa Legislature

    * * * * * END OF 2025 ACTIONS * * * * *

  5. 2025-02-20 Iowa Legislature

    Introduced, referred to Transportation. H.J. 374 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to the operation of railroad trains by a crew of two or more persons, and providing penalties.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
House

File

494

-

Introduced

HOUSE

FILE

494

BY

SIECK

(COMPANION

TO

SF

38

BY

SHIPLEY)

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

the

operation

of

railroad

trains

by

a

crew

1

of

two

or

more

persons,

and

providing

penalties.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

TLSB

1882YH

(1)

91

th/ns

H.F.

494

Section

1.

NEW

SECTION

.

327F.33

Crew

size

——

penalties.

1

1.

A

locomotive

or

railroad

train

operated

by

a

class

I

rail

2

carrier

or

class

II

rail

carrier,

as

those

terms

are

defined

by

3

the

federal

surface

transportation

board,

when

operating

on

a

4

railroad

track

in

connection

with

the

movement

of

passengers

or

5

freight,

shall

be

operated

by

a

crew

consisting

of

at

least

two

6

qualified

railroad

employees.

7

2.

a.

A

railroad

company

found

guilty

of

violating

8

subsection

1

shall,

upon

conviction,

be

subject

to

one

of

the

9

following

penalties:

10

(1)

For

a

first

offense,

a

schedule

“three”

penalty

as

11

provided

in

section

327C.5.

12

(2)

For

a

second

or

subsequent

offense,

a

schedule

“five”

13

penalty

as

provided

in

section

327C.5.

A

second

offense

under

14

this

section

shall

be

a

first

violation

for

the

purposes

of

15

calculating

the

schedule

“five”

penalty.

16

b.

For

purposes

of

determining

whether

a

conviction

is

a

17

first,

second,

or

subsequent

offense,

only

offenses

committed

18

within

the

three-year

period

prior

to

the

most

recent

offense

19

shall

be

considered.

20

EXPLANATION

21

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

22

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

23

This

bill

requires

a

locomotive

or

railroad

train

operated

24

by

a

class

I

rail

carrier

or

class

II

rail

carrier,

when

25

operating

on

a

railroad

track

in

connection

with

the

movement

26

of

passengers

or

freight,

to

be

operated

by

a

crew

consisting

27

of

at

least

two

qualified

railroad

employees.

The

federal

28

surface

transportation

board

(STB)

is

an

independent

federal

29

agency

that

is

charged

with

the

economic

regulation

of

various

30

modes

of

surface

transportation

including

primarily

freight

31

rail.

The

STB

has

defined

three

classes

of

railway

carriers,

32

designated

as

class

I,

class

II,

and

class

III,

respectively,

33

according

to

annual

revenue

criteria.

The

STB

threshold

for

34

a

class

I

carrier

includes

a

carrier

earning

revenue

greater

35

-1-

LSB

1882YH

(1)

91

th/ns

1/

2

H.F.

494

than

$1,053,709,560.

A

class

II

carrier

is

a

carrier

earning

1

revenue

between

$47,299,851

and

$1,053,709,560.

2

The

bill

provides

that

a

railroad

company

found

guilty

of

3

violating

this

requirement

is

subject

to

a

penalty

of

not

less

4

than

$500

and

not

more

than

$1,000

for

a

first

offense,

not

5

less

than

$500

and

not

more

than

$5,000

for

a

second

offense,

6

and

not

less

than

$5,000

and

not

more

than

$10,000

for

a

third

7

or

subsequent

offense.

For

purposes

of

determining

whether

a

8

conviction

is

a

first,

second,

or

subsequent

offense,

the

bill

9

provides

that

only

offenses

committed

within

the

three-year

10

period

prior

to

the

most

recent

offense

shall

be

considered.

11

-2-

LSB

1882YH

(1)

91

th/ns

2/

2