Senate passes S.808

The U.S. Senate on June 19, 2015 passed S.808, the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, which would authorize appropriations for STB programs, establish the STB as a government agency independent of the Department of Transportation, and authorize other key changes in the agency’s operations.

Introduced on March 19, 2015 by co-sponsors John Thune (R-S.Dak.) and Bill Nelson (D.-Fla.), S.808 would, among other provisions, increase the number of STB members from three to five, and expedite and simplify the process for deciding railroad rate reasonableness cases. For example: “The Board shall maintain one or more simplified and expedited methods for determining the reasonableness of challenged rates in those cases in which a full SAC (stand alone cost) presentation is too costly, given the value of the case.”

As expected, the Association of American Railroads issued a statement in support of S.808.“The freight rail industry is encouraged that the Senate has acted on Surface Transportation Board reauthorization legislation, and we congratulate the bi-partisan leadership of Senators Thune, Nelson, Fischer and Booker on striking the right balance of preserving a market-based structure for shippers and railroads through this bill,” said President and CEO Ed Hamberger. “This bill provides commonsense process improvements that will allow the STB to work more efficiently and, at the same time, recognizes the need for freight railroads to earn revenues that allow for billions of dollars in private spending each year to build, maintain and grow the nationwide rail network, so taxpayers don’t have to.”

There is no companion bill in the House; such a bill would be introduced by sponsors who are members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and, if passed, would then go to a House/Senate Conference Committee to be reconciled with the Senate bill. Since there is no House equivalent of S.808, the bill now goes to the House for consideration. According to one Capitol Hill observer, it is unlikely that Congress will take any action on S.808 before the August 2015 recess, most likely pushing further action on the legislation into 2016.

Click HERE to access the full text of S.808 (downloadable PDFs).