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OR

Senate Passes Surface Transportation Reforms

Jun 23, 2015, 12:52 PM by SPAN
On June 18, the Senate approved S. 808, the bi-partisan Surface Transportation Board (STB) Reauthorization Act of 2015 by unanimous consent.

This legislation includes reasonable, non-prescriptive reforms to the STB to improve their processes as well as policies to promote competition that are consistent with the principals in the Staggers Act. Everyone at the hearing went on record at least “not opposing” the Senate STB bill. This is a significant step towards getting the House to adopt the Senate bill in a conference.

Chairman Thune also held a confirmation hearing earlier this month where he strongly recommended reappointing Dan Elliott to another term as chairman of the STB.  Other highlights of the bill include an expansion of the Board from 3 to 5 members, new investigatory authority, rate review timelines, a GAO study reviewing railroad rate bundling/contracting which was included specifically for chemical shippers, a new arbitration process, and other significant improvements. The fate of this measure is unclear in the House of Representatives.