Railroad Safety and Accountability Act

Subchapter I of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

The Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration shall maintain an advisory committee, to be known as the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee, for the purpose of providing advice and recommendations to the Administrator regarding the development of railroad safety regulatory programs, including the issuance of new regulations, review and revision of existing regulations, and identification of non-regulatory alternatives for improving railroad safety.

The Railroad Safety Advisory Committee shall have the following responsibilities:

(1) To provide a forum for collaborative rulemaking and regulatory program development with respect to railroad safety.

(2) To develop, through collaborative processes involving all segments of the railroad community, regulatory standards and mutually satisfactory solutions on railroad safety regulatory issues for recommended adoption by the Administrator.

(3) To identify and assess the facts and data underlying any real or perceived railroad safety problems, identify cost-effective solutions to such problems based upon agree-upon facts, and identify, if applicable, regulatory changes necessary to guide and implement such solutions.

(4) Any other responsibilities consistent with the purpose described in subsection (a), as determined by the Administrator.

The Railroad Safety Advisory Committee shall be comprised of not fewer than 1 representative from each major stakeholder group of the Federal Railroad Administration, including freight and passenger railroad carriers, Amtrak, organizations that represent local governments, rail passenger organizations, railroad labor organizations (including organizations representing each of operating crafts, maintenance of way employees, shop and mechanical crafts, clerks, and dispatching employees), safety-related railroad employees, and railroad suppliers and manufacturers.

The Railroad Safety Advisory Committee may employ such staff as the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee determines necessary to carry out the purpose described in subsection (a).

The Administrator may request the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee establish a working group for the purpose of providing specific advice and recommendations regarding a task with respect to which the Administrator is considering acting.

If the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee, based on consideration and consensus of its members, accepts a request under paragraph (1), the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee shall—

(A) establish a working group to develop consensus recommendations for action the Administrator may take with respect to the task; and

(B) ensure the working group is comprised of individuals that—

(i) possess the appropriate expertise to assess and develop such recommendations; and

(ii) are representative of the interests of stakeholders implicated by the task.

The Administrator shall meet quarterly with the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee to—

(1) consult with the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee regarding the development of railroad safety regulatory programs of the Federal Railroad Administration;

(2) advise the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee on emerging issues, statutory requirements, and other identified needs with respect to railroad safety; and

(3) receive and discuss the views and recommendations of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee in determining regulatory priorities of the Federal Railroad Administration.

Beginning in the first calendar year after the date of enactment of this section, the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee shall submit to Congress an annual report summarizing the activities of the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee for the period covered by the report.

Except as provided in paragraph (2), chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply to the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee.

Section 1013 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee.

There is authorized to be appropriated out of the Highway Trust Fund such funds as may be necessary to carry out this section.

The analysis for subchapter I of chapter 201 of title 49, United States Code, by inserting after the item relating to section 20121 the following new item: