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WISCONSIN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL One East Main Street, Suite 401 P.O. Box 2536 Madison, WI 53701-2536
(608) 266-1304 Fax: (608) 266-3830 Email:
leg.council@legis.state.wi.us
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lc
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ISCONSIN
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EGISLATIVE
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OUNCIL
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MENDMENT
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EMO
2005 Assembly Bill 588
Assembly Substitute
Amendment 1
Memo published: March 6, 2006
Contact: Don Salm, Senior Staff Attorney (266-8540)
Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 (hereafter, the substitute) to 2005 Assembly Bill 588 does
the following:
1. The bill repeals certain provisions of current law providing the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) authority over locomotive spark arresters. The substitute removes the
repeal of these provisions (i.e., retains current law and DNRs authority).
2. The bill creates new statutory language specifying the Office of Commissioner of Railroads
(OCR) regulatory jurisdiction related to railroad safety and authorizing OCR to participate in
federal safety investigations. The substitute removes this provision (and related provisions),
thereby restoring current law on this issue (as affected by other provisions of the bill).
3. The substitute repeals s. 189.02 (5) and (6), Stats., which: (a) allow the Department of
Transportation (DOT) to request OCR to hold hearings and advise on railroad-related plans,
policies, and programs; and (b) allow DOT to provide, by rule, for OCR review of DOT
determinations.
4. The substitute generally removes ch. 191 (titled Railroads; Construction) from the scope
of the bill, except for minor technical changes.
5. The bill repeals s. 192.15, Stats., related to engine equipment. (Locomotive equipment is
covered under the Locomotive Boiler Inspection Act (LBIA)). The substitute removes the
repeal, restoring current law.
6. The bill repeals s. 192.29 (2), Stats., which authorizes OCR to order stop sign installation at
crossings. The substitute removes the repeal of this provision, restoring current law (with
one technical change).
7. The bill amends a provision in current law requiring railroads to ring the engine bell before
crossings within a city or municipality. The bill instead requires them to sound their horn in
compliance with federal law. The bill also repeals state law requirements relating to
sounding train horns, whistles, and bells before crossings outside municipalities. (These
requirements with respect to train horns appear to be preempted by federal law.) - 2 -
The substitute removes the repeal of these provisions and restores current law only to the
extent the provisions require trains to ring bells within a specified distance of a crossing,
whether it is within or outside a municipality.
8. The substitute removes a provision from the bill that basically repeats a provision in 2005
Wisconsin Act 95.
9. The bill repeals s. 192.292, Stats., relating to the length of time a train can obstruct a
highway (which, for preemption purposes, can also be seen as a restriction on how long
trains can be). The substitute removes the repeal, thus restoring current law (but making
changes to the penalty).
10. The substitute repeals s. 192.32 (1) (c), Stats. Section 192.32, Stats., generally prohibits
most persons (but not railroad employees) from walking on or being on railroad tracks.
Some exceptions exist, including crossings on public highways. The substitute repeals the
exception allowing any person to walk directly across the tracks or railroad right-of-way.
[Note: Walking directly across on a highway is still permissible.]
11. The bill repeals s. 192.324, Stats., which provides OCR authority to receive complaints, hold
hearings, and order changes with respect to walks, railings, or other safety issues on railroad
bridges. The substitute removes the repeal, thus restoring current law.
12. The bill repeals s. 192.52, Stats., which requires OCR approval for railroads to move or close
railroad repair and maintenance shops and terminals. The substitute removes the repeal,
thus restoring current law. The substitute also expands the provision so that it is not limited
to steam railroads.
13. The substitute repeals ss. 192.71 and 192.72, Stats., which describe railroad authority with
respect to certain railroad lands.
14. The substitute specifies that the provisions relating to water carriers apply to common
carriers and to contract carriers that are not private contract carriers.
15. The bill repeals OCR authority to order the repair or reconstruction of any inadequate or
unsafe railroad track or railroad structure. The substitute removes this repeal with respect to
tracks, thereby restoring current law on this issue, but retains the bills repeal of OCR
authority to make such orders with respect to railroad structures.
16. The substitute makes technical changes to recognize OCR authority with respect to certain
complaints for which, under the bill and the substitute, OCR continues to have authority
over railroads. In addition, the substitute eliminates OCRs authority to direct DOT to
investigate complaints, reserving such investigation to OCR.
17. The substitute removes OCR authority newly created in the bill, regarding any railroad
practice or activity over which [OCR] has regulatory jurisdiction, to direct DOT to
investigate and for OCR to conduct a hearing. This change corresponds to the change
described in item 16., above.
18. The bill repeals s. 195.31, Stats., which provides OCR authority to receive complaints (or act
on its own), hold hearings, and order the repair, alteration, or reconstruction of certain
railroad bridges found to be unsafe. The substitute removes the repeal, thus restoring
current law. - 3 -
19. The substitute removes the word monthly before accident (on page 37, line 11 of the
bill), thus covering any such report provided to the federal government and not just monthly
reports.
20. The substitute inserts a nonstatutory provision to clarify that the bill does not negate or void
any prior OCR order.
21. The substitute makes technical changes in various places to alter the phrasing of certain
language related to federal preemption and changes various penalties.
[Note: The fact that provisions are restored to current law in the substitute does not mean that
they are not preempted. It only means that they remain in the Wisconsin statutes. A court may still find
that the provision is unenforceable based upon federal law preemption.]
Legislative History
Assembly Substitute Amendment 1 was introduced by Representative Townsend. On March 1,
2006, the Assembly Committee on Highway Safety, in executive session, voted to adopt Assembly
Substitute Amendment 1 on a vote of Ayes, 8; Noes, 0. The committee then voted to recommend
passage of the bill, as amended, on a vote of Ayes, 8; Noes, 0.
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