,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fgij ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,december #ag1 #bjbe,ms4 ,garcia of ,texas 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,mrvan1 ,ms4 ,norton1 and ,mr4 ,kennedy of ,new ,york7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,transportation and ,infrastructure ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 to limit railroad carriers from blocking railway-highway crossings1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,don't ,b,lock ,our ,communities ,act or the ,d-,,bloc ,act4 #b4 ,establishment of #aj-minute time limit for blocking public highway-rail grade crossings 7a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,,ii of chapter #bja of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #bjagb4 ,time limit for blocking public highway-rail grade crossing 7a7 ,time limit ,a railroad carrier may not cause a blocked crossing incident that is longer than #aj minutes in duration1 unless the blocked crossing incident is caused by-- 7#a7 a casualty or serious injury2 7#b7 an accident2 7#c7 a track obstruction2 7#d7 actions necessary to comply with ,federal rail safety laws1 regulations1 or orders issued thereunder unless the action to comply could reasonably occur at a different time or location2 7#e7 actions necessary to adhere to section #bdcjh2 7#f7 a train fully contained within rail yard limits or fully contained in a rail siding2 7#g7 an act of ,god2 or 7#h7 a derailment or a safety appliance equipment failure that prevents the train from advancing4 7b7 ,investigation of frequently blocked crossings ,for any public highway-rail grade crossing that has had #c or more blocked crossing incidents that exceed the time limit set forth in subsection 7a7 and are reported to the blocked crossing portal1 and such incidents have occurred on at least #c calendar days within a #cj-;day period1 the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 provide an electronic notice of the number of reported blocked crossing incidents to the railroad carrier that owns the public highway-rail grade crossing2 7#b7 investigate the causes of the blocked crossing incidents2 and 7#c7 investigate possible measures to reduce the frequency and duration of blocked crossing incidents at such grade crossing4 7c7 ,recordkeeping 7#a7 ,in general ,a railroad carrier shall1 upon receiving a notice under subsection 7b71 maintain train location data records for the public highway-rail grade crossing that was the subject of the notice4 7#b7 ,contents of records ,the train location data records required under paragraph 7#a7 shall include-- 7,a7 a list of all blocked crossing incidents at the public highway-rail grade crossing that is the subject of the report exceeding #aj minutes2 7,b7 the cause of the blocked crossing incident 7to the extent available72 7,c7 train length2 and 7,d7 the estimated duration of each blocked crossing incident4 7#c7 ,consultation ,beginning on the date on which a railroad carrier receives a notice under subsection 7b71 the ,secretary may consult with the carrier for a period of #fj days to address concerns with blocked crossing incidents at the public highway-rail grade crossing that is the subject of the notice4 7#d7 ,expiration of data collection ,the requirement to maintain records under paragraph 7#a7 shall cease with respect to a public highway-rail grade crossing noticed under subsection 7b77#b7 if there are no reports submitted to the blocked crossing portal for blocked crossing incidents reported to occur at such grade crossing during the previous #cfe consecutive calendar days4 7d7 ,civil penalties 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may issue civil penalties in accordance with section #bacja to railroad carriers for violations of subsection 7a7 occurring #fj days after the date of submission of a notice under subsection 7b74 7#b7 ,release of records ,upon the request of1 and under requirements set by1 the ,secretary1 railroad carriers shall provide the records maintained pursuant to subsection 7c77#a7 to the ,administrator of the ,federal ,railroad ,administration4 7#c7 ,alternate route exemption ,civil penalties may not be issued for violations of subsection 7a7 that occur at a public highway-rail grade crossing if no alternate route created by a public highway-rail grade separation exists within a half mile by road of such public highway-rail grade crossing4 7#d7 ,grade separation project ,civil penalties may not be issued for violations of subsection 7a7 if the violation occurs at a public highway-rail grade crossing for which there is a proposed grade separation project-- 7,a7 that has received written agreement from the relevant local authorities2 and 7,b7 for which rail carrier and project funding from all parties has been budgeted4 7#e7 ,considerations ,in determining civil penalties under this section1 the ,secretary shall consider increased penalties in a case in which a pattern of the blocked crossing incidents continue to cause delays to ,state or local emergency services4 7e7 ,application to ,amtrak and commuter railroads ,this section shall not apply to ,amtrak or commuter authorities1 including ,amtrak and commuter authorities' operations run or dispatched by a ,class ,i railroad4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,blocked crossing portal ,the term blocked crossing portal means the national blocked crossing portal initiated by the ,federal ,railroad ,administration in #bjai and required by section #bbdjd of the ,infrastructure ,investment and ,jobs ,act 7#di ,u4,s4,c4 #bbijg note74 7#b7 ,blocked crossing incident ,the term blocked crossing incident means a circumstance in which a train1 locomotive1 rail car1 or other rail equipment is stopped in a manner that obstructs travel at a public highway-rail grade crossing4 7#c7 ,public highway-rail grade crossing ,the term public highway-rail grade crossing means a location within a ,state in which a public highway1 road1 or street1 including associated sidewalks and pathways1 crosses #a or more railroad tracks at grade4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the analysis for subchapter ,,ii of chapter #bja of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new item3 #bjagb4 ,time limit for blocking public highway-rail grade crossing4 4 #c4 ,blocked crossing portal 7a7 ,blocked crossing portal ,section #bbdjd of the ,infrastructure ,investment and ,jobs ,act 7#di ,u4,s4,c4 #bbijg note7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a71 by striking #c-year2 7#b7 by striking subsection 7h72 7#c7 by redesignating subsection 7i7 as subsection 7h72 and 7#d7 by striking subsections 7j7 and 7k7 and inserting the following3 7i7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this section may be construed to invalidate any authority of the ,secretary with respect to blocked highway-rail grade crossings4 4 7b7 ,publication of blocked crossing information ,not later than #fj days after the date of enactment of the ,d-,,bloc ,act1 each ,class ,i railroad carrier shall publish on the home page of the publicly-available website of the railroad carrier an active link to the blocked crossing portal initiated by the ,federal ,railroad ,administration in #bjai and required by section #bbdjd of the ,infrastructure ,investment and ,jobs ,act 7#di ,u4,s4,c4 #bbijg note74 #d4 ,railroad point of contact for blocked crossing matters ,section #bjaeb of title #di1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a7-- 7i7 in subparagraph 7,c71 by striking or at the end2 7ii7 by redesignating subparagraph 7,d7 as subparagraph 7,e72 and 7iii7 by inserting the following after subparagraph 7,c73 7,d7 blocked crossing incident1 as defined in section #bjagb2 or 2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#d7-- 7i7 by striking paragraph 7#a77;,c7 or 7,d7 and inserting subparagraph 7,c71 7,d71 or 7,e7 of paragraph 7#a72 and 7ii7 by striking and at the end2 7,c7 in paragraph 7#e71 by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon2 and 7,d7 by adding at the end the following3 7#f7 upon receiving a report of a blocked crossing pursuant to paragraph 7#a77;,d71 the railroad carrier shall1 within #ad days of receipt of the report-- 7,a7 verify that the public highway-rail grade crossing1 as defined in section #bjagb1 was blocked for a period of at least #aj minutes2 and 7,b7 upon positive verification of the report1 enter the report into the blocked crossing portal initiated by the ,federal ,railroad ,administration in #bjai and required by section #bbdjd of the ,infrastructure ,investment and ,jobs ,act 7#di ,u4,s4,c4 #bbijg note72 and 7#g7 promptly inform the ,secretary of any update to the number maintained under paragraph 7#a74 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7c7 ,publication of telephone numbers ,the ,secretary shall make any telephone number established under subsection 7a7 publicly available on the website of the ,department of ,transportation4 4