§ 24910. Rail cooperative research program

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

1. 2008

   Pub. L. 110–432 div. B title III § 306(a) · 122 Stat. 4848

   Enacted · 49 U.S.C. § 24910

   Added Pub. L. 110–432, div. B, title III, § 306(a), Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4952

   Source evidence

   Code source credit
   Added Pub. L. 110–432, div. B, title III, § 306(a), Oct. 16, 2008, 122 Stat. 4952

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   SEC. 306. RAILROAD RADIO MONITORING AUTHORITY.   Section 20107 49 USC 20107. is amended by inserting at the end the following: “(c) Railroad Radio Communications.— “(1) In general.— To carry out the Secretary’s responsibilities under this part and under chapter 51, the Secretary may authorize officers, employees, or agents of the Secretary to conduct, with or without making their presence known, the following activities in circumstances the Secretary finds to be reasonable: “(A) Intercepting a radio communication, with or without the consent of the sender or other receivers of the communication, but only where such communication is broadcast or transmitted over a radio frequency which is— “(i) authorized for use by one or more railroad carriers by the Federal Communications Commission; and “(ii) primarily used by such railroad carriers for communications in connection with railroad operations. “(B) Communicating the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the communication, subject to the restrictions in paragraph (3). “(C) Receiving or assisting in receiving the communication (or any information therein contained). “(D) Disclosing the contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the communication (or any part thereof of such communication) or using the communication (or any information contained therein), subject to the restrictions in paragraph (3), after having received the communication or acquired knowledge of the contents, substance, purport, effect, or meaning of the communication (or any part thereof). “(E) Recording the communication by any means, including writing and tape recording. “(2) Accident and incident prevention and investigation.— The Secretary, and officers, employees, and agents of the Department of Transportation authorized by the Secretary, may engage in the activities authorized by paragraph (1) for the purpose of accident and incident prevention and investigation. “(3) Use of information.— (A) Information obtained through activities authorized by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be admitted into evidence in any administrative or judicial proceeding except— “(i) in a prosecution of a felony under Federal or State criminal law; or “(ii) to impeach evidence offered by a party other than the Federal Government regarding the existence, electronic characteristics, content, substance, purport, effect, meaning, or timing of, or identity of parties to, a communication intercepted pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) in proceedings pursuant to section 5122, 5123, 20702(b), 20111, 20112, 20113, or 20114 of this title. “(B) If information obtained through activities set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) is admitted into evidence for impeachment purposes in accordance with subparagraph (A), the court, administrative law judge, or other officer before whom the proceeding is conducted may make such protective orders regarding the confidentiality or use of the information as may be appropriate in the circumstances to protect privacy and administer justice. “(C) No evidence shall be excluded in an administrative or judicial proceeding solely because the government would not have learned of the existence of or obtained such evidence but for the interception of information that is not admissible in such proceeding under subparagraph (A). “(D) Information obtained through activities set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be subject to publication or disclosure, or search or review in connection therewith, under section 552 of title 5. “(E) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect the authority of the United States to intercept a communication, and collect, retain, analyze, use, and disseminate the information obtained thereby, under a provision of law other than this subsection. “(4) Application with other law.— Section 705 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 605) and chapter 119 of title 18 shall not apply to conduct authorized by and pursuant to this subsection.” .

2. 2015

   Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2015

   Pub. L. 114–94 div. A title XI § 11316 · 129 Stat. 1312

   Added · 49 U.S.C. § 24910(b)(14)

   Pub. L. 114–94 added par. (14)

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (b)(14). Pub. L. 114–94 added par. (14).

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   SEC. 11316. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. (a) Assistance to Families of Passengers Involved in Rail Passenger Accidents.— Section 1139 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking “phone number” and inserting “telephone number”; (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking “post trauma communication with families” and inserting “post-trauma communication with families”; and (3) in subsection (j), by striking “railroad passenger accident” each place it appears and inserting “rail passenger accident”. (b) Solid Waste Rail Transfer Facility Land-Use Exemption.— Section 10909 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “Clean Railroad Act of 2008” and inserting “Clean Railroads Act of 2008”; and (2) in subsection (e), by striking “Upon the granting of petition from the State” and inserting “Upon the granting of a petition from the State”. (c) Rulemaking Process.— Section 20116 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) by inserting “(2)” before “the code, rule, standard, requirement, or practice has been subject to notice and comment under a rule or order issued under this part.” and indenting accordingly; (2) by inserting “(1)” after “unless” and indenting accordingly; (3) in paragraph (1), as redesignated, by striking “order, or” and inserting “order; or”; and (4) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), as redesignated, by striking “unless” and inserting “unless—”. (d) Enforcement Report.— Section 20120(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “website” and inserting “Web site”; (2) in paragraph (1), by striking “accident and incidence reporting” and inserting “accident and incident reporting”; (3) in paragraph (2)(G), by inserting “and” at the end; and (4) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking “Administrative Hearing Officer or Administrative Law Judge” and inserting “administrative hearing officer or administrative law judge”. (e) Railroad Safety Risk Reduction Program.— Section 20156 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (c), by inserting a comma after “In developing its railroad safety risk reduction program”; and (2) in subsection (g)(1)— (A) by inserting a comma after “good faith”; and (B) by striking “non-profit” and inserting “nonprofit”. (f) Roadway User Sight Distance at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings.— Section 20159 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “the Secretary” and inserting “the Secretary of Transportation”. (g) National Crossing Inventory.— Section 20160 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking “concerning each previously unreported crossing through which it operates or with respect to the trackage over which it operates” and inserting “concerning each previously unreported crossing through which it operates with respect to the trackage over which it operates”; and (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking “concerning each crossing through which it operates or with respect to the trackage over which it operates” and inserting “concerning each crossing through which it operates with respect to the trackage over which it operates”. (h) Minimum Training Standards and Plans.— Section 20162(a)(3) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “railroad compliance with Federal standards” and inserting “railroad carrier compliance with Federal standards”. (i) Development and Use of Rail Safety Technology.— Section 20164(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “after enactment of the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2008” and inserting “after the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008”. (j) Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008.— (1) Table of contents.— Section 1(b) of division A of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–432; 122 Stat. 4848) is amended— (A) in the item relating to section 307 by striking “website” and inserting “Web site”; (B) in the item relating to title VI by striking “solid waste facilities” and inserting “solid waste rail transfer facilities”; and (C) in the item relating to section 602 by striking “solid waste transfer facilities” and inserting “solid waste rail transfer facilities”. (2) Definitions.— Section 2(a)(1) of division A of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–432; 122 Stat. 4849) 49 USC 20102 note. is amended in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting a comma after “at grade”. (3) Railroad safety strategy.— Section 102(a)(6) of title I of division A of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 20101 note) is amended by striking “Improving the safety of railroad bridges, tunnels, and related infrastructure to prevent accidents, incidents, injuries, and fatalities caused by catastrophic failures and other bridge and tunnel failures.” and inserting “Improving the safety of railroad bridges, tunnels, and related infrastructure to prevent accidents, incidents, injuries, and fatalities caused by catastrophic and other failures of such infrastructure.”. (4) Operation lifesaver.— Section 206(a) of title II of division A of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 22501 note) is amended by striking “Public Service Announcements” and inserting “public service announcements”. (5) Update of federal railroad administration’s web site.— Section 307 of title III of division A of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 103 note) is amended— (A) in the heading by striking “federal railroad administration’s website” and inserting “federal railroad administration web site”; (B) by striking “website” each place it appears and inserting “Web site”; and (C) by striking “website’s” and inserting “Web site’s”. (6) Alcohol and controlled substance testing for maintenance-of-way employees.— Section 412 of title IV of division A of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 20140 note) is amended by striking “Secretary of Transportation” and inserting “Secretary”. (7) Tunnel information.— Section 414 of title IV of division A of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 20103 note) is amended— (A) by striking “parts 171.8, 173.115” and inserting “sections 171.8, 173.115”; and (B) by striking “part 1520.5” and inserting “section 1520.5”. (8) Safety inspections in mexico.— Section 416 of title IV of division A of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (49 U.S.C. 20107 note) is amended— (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “Secretary of Transportation” and inserting “Secretary”; and (B) in paragraph (4), by striking “subsection” and inserting “section”. (9) Heading of title vi.— The heading of title VI of division A of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (122 Stat. 4900) is amended by striking “SOLID WASTE FACILITIES” and inserting “SOLID WASTE RAIL TRANSFER FACILITIES”. (10) Heading of section 602.— The heading of section 602 of title VI of division A of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (122 Stat. 4900) is amended by striking “solid waste transfer facilities” and inserting “solid waste rail transfer facilities”. (k) Contingent Interest Recoveries.— Section 22106(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “interest thereof” and inserting “interest thereon”. (l) Mission.— Section 24101(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking “of subsection (d)” and inserting “set forth in subsection (c)”. (m) Table of Contents Amendment.— The table of contents for chapter 243 of title 49, United States Code, 49 USC prec. 24301. is amended by striking the item relating to section 24316 and inserting the following: “24316. Plans to address the needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents.”. (n) Amtrak.— Chapter 247 of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in section 24706— (A) in subsection (a)— (i) in paragraph (1) by striking “a discontinuance under section 24704 or or”; and (ii) in paragraph (2) by striking “section 24704 or”; and (B) in subsection (b) by striking “section 24704 or”; and (2) in section 24709 by striking “The Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General,” and inserting “The Secretary of Homeland Security,”. (o) Rail Cooperative Research Program.— Section 24910(b) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) in paragraph (12) by striking “and” at the end; (2) in paragraph (13) by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and (3) by adding at the end the following: “(14) to improve overall safety of intercity passenger and freight rail operations.” . (p) Secretarial Oversight.— Section 24403 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by striking subsection (b).

   Effective date note
   Amendment by Pub. L. 114–94 effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as a note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

3. 2019

   Department of Transportation Reports Harmonization Act

   Pub. L. 115–420 § 6(b) · 132 Stat. 5444

   Added · 49 U.S.C. § 24910(c)(3)

   Pub. L. 115–420 added par. (3)

   Source evidence

   Code amendment note
   Subsec. (c)(3). Pub. L. 115–420 added par. (3).

   Enacted provision · exact public law section
   (b) National Rail Cooperative Research Program Oversight Committee.— Section 24910(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “(3) Sunset.— The advisory board established under this subsection ceases to exist effective January 1, 2019.” .

3 of 3 references resolved to an enrolled provision