The Surface Transportation Board announced on August 4th that, at the invitation of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the three Board Members will testify on the topic of “Freight Rail Reform: Implementation of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015” at a full-committee hearing to be held on Thursday, August 11, 2016, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The STB Reauthorization Act of 2015, P.L. 114-110, marks the Board’s first reauthorization since its 1996 creation.
The hearing will focus on implementation of the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, signed into law on December 18, 2015. The hearing will examine the STB’s completed and ongoing work to implement the law’s reforms and ways to maximize their impact to improve dispute resolution, enable more proactive problem-solving, increase transparency, and enhance decision-making processes. The hearing will additionally explore emerging rail issues as part of the Committee’s oversight role and to help ensure a competitive, efficient, and reliable national rail system.
The STB is an independent adjudicatory and economic-regulatory agency primarily charged by Congress with resolving railroad rate and service disputes and reviewing proposed railroad mergers. The agency has jurisdiction over railroad rate and service issues and rail restructuring transactions (mergers, line sales, line construction, and line abandonments).
Further information may be found by clicking HERE.