AN ACT relating to railroad safety.

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AN ACT relating to railroad safety. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 174 IS CREATED TO 3
READ AS FOLLOWS: 4
(1) The Transportation Cabinet shall establish a state rail safety inspection program. 5
The cabinet may appoint and hire state rail safety inspectors and other personnel 6
as necessary to carry out the program. 7
(2) The cabinet shall apply to and enter into agreements with the Federal Railroad 8
Administration to participate in the federal State Safety Participation Program to 9
train and certify inspectors under 49 U.S.C. secs. 20103, 20105, 20106 , and 10
20113, and 49 C.F.R. pt. 212. 11
(3) A state rail safety inspector may: 12
(a)_ Inspect mainline track, secondary track, and yard and industry track; 13
(b) Inspect railroad right -of-way, including adjacent or intersecting drainage, 14
culverts, bridges, overhead structures, and traffic and other public 15
crossings; 16
(c) Inspect yards and physical plants; 17
(d) Inspect train equipment; 18
(e) Inspect railroad operations; 19
(f) Inspect railroad-highway grade crossings; 20
(g) Inspect railroad signal and train control systems; 21
(h) Review and enforce safety requirements; 22
(i) Review maintenance and repair records; and 23
(j) Review railroad security measures. 24
(4) A state rail safety inspector may perform but is not limited to the duties described 25
in the federal State Safety Participation Program. An inspector may train, be 26
certified, and participate in any of the federal State Safety Participation Program 27
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disciplines, including: 1
(a) Track, signal, and train control; 2
(b) Motive power and equipment; 3
(c) Operating practices compliance; 4
(d) Hazardous material; and 5
(e) Highway-rail grade crossings. 6
(5) To the extent allowed by the Federal Railroad Administration and authorized by 7
the cabinet, an inspector may is sue citations for violations of administrative 8
regulations adopted pursuant to this section to ensure railroad employees and 9
public safety and welfare. 10
(6) The cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS 11
Chapter 13A to carry out the provisions of this section. 12
SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 174 IS CREATED TO 13
READ AS FOLLOWS: 14
(1) The Railroad Transportation Advisory Board is established as an advisory body to 15
the executive and legislative branches of government on matters pertaining to rail 16
transportation. 17
(2) The Railroad Transportation Advisory Board shall be composed of seven (7) 18
members, to be appointed as follows: 19
(a) Four (4) members representing railroads in the Commonwealth, t o be 20
appointed by the Governor from a list of nine (9) nominees, with a list of 21
three (3) nominees each supplied by: 22
1. The Kentucky Railroad Association; 23
2. A major railroad operating in Kentucky; and 24
3. An organized rail labor organization. 25
In appointin g members under subparagraph 1. of this paragraph, the 26
Governor shall give consideration to including two (2) representatives from 27
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railroad management and two (2) representatives from railroad union 1
labor; 2
(b) Two (2) at -large members who are not employed by a railroad and who 3
reside in a county or counties where a rail carrier operates, to be appointed 4
by the Governor from a list of six (6) nominees, with a list of three (3) 5
nominees each supplied by: 6
1. The Kentucky Association of Counties; and 7
2. The Kentucky League of Cities; and 8
(c) One (1) member of the Transportation Cabinet to be appointed by the 9
secretary of the Transportation Cabinet. 10
(3) After the initial appointments, members of the Railroad Tra nsportation Advisory 11
Board shall serve terms of four (4) years. Members shall be eligible to succeed 12
themselves and shall serve until their successor is appointed. 13
(4) Members of the Railroad Transportation Advisory Board shall not be paid for 14
their servic es as board members and shall not be reimbursed for any expenses 15
involved in attending board meetings. 16
(5) The Railroad Transportation Advisory Board shall elect a chair and a vice chair 17
from its members who shall serve in those capacities until replaced. A majority of 18
the board shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of conducting business. The 19
board shall be subject to the provisions of the Kentucky Open Records Act, KRS 20
61.870 to 61.884. 21
(6) The Railroad Transportation Advisory Board shall meet bienni ally, or when 22
called by the chair, or at the request of the secretary of the Transportation 23
Cabinet. The board shall receive assistance in carrying out its administrative 24
functions from the Transportation Cabinet and shall be attached to the 25
Transportation Cabinet for administrative purposes. 26
(7) The Railroad Transportation Advisory Board shall: 27
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(a) Advise the Transportation Cabinet, the Governor's Office, and the General 1
Assembly on matters relating to rail transportation; 2
(b) Identify initiatives and prio rities to reduce the frequency of blocked 3
highway rail crossings, improve emergency preparedness and resilience, 4
and improve rail safety; 5
(c) Evaluate the use of technology to detect and address mechanical and other 6
issues to reduce the risk of derailments, accidents, and other incidents; and 7
(d) Assess the Commonwealth's participation in a state rail safety inspection 8
program. 9