HBA-EVB H.B. 2423 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2423 By: Alexander Transportation 4/6/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law requires a full crew, consisting of a specified number of persons, for passenger, freight, gravel, or construction trains and light engines. H.B. 2423 changes crew requirements for freight, gravel, and construction trains and makes those requirements also applicable to mixed trains and work trains. H.B. 2423 also requires a qualified engineer to operate a control locomotive at any time the locomotive is in motion. This bill authorizes a qualified railroad trainman to dismount the train to perform necessary job duties. This bill also establishes the qualifications for a qualified engineer and a qualified railroad trainman. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Article 6380, V.T.C.S., as follows: Art. 6380. FULL CREW. (a) Establishes criteria for a qualified engineer or a qualified railroad trainman for the purposes of this article. (b) Creates Subsection (b) from existing text. Prohibits any railroad company or receiver of any railroad company doing business in this state from running over its road, or part of its road, outside of the yard limits, any freight train, gravel train, mixed train, work train, or construction train with less than a two-person crew, including one qualified engineer and one qualified railroad trainman, rather than one engineer, one fireman, one conductor, and two brakemen. Makes nonsubstantive changes. (c) Prohibits the application of the provisions of this article from applying to any railroad company or receiver thereof, of a railroad in this state, less than twenty miles in length. Prohibits the application of Subsection (b) of this article in case of a passenger train, freight train, gravel train, mixed train, work train, or construction train crew or switching crew disability. (d) Requires a qualified engineer to operate the control locomotive of a moving freight train, gravel train, mixed train, work train, or construction train. Authorizes a qualified railroad trainman on such a train to dismount the train to perform necessary duties, including rail switching activities. (e) Provides that this article applies to all trains operated in this state to the extent that it does not conflict with federal law. (f) Creates this subsection from existing text. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.