Bill Requires A State Permit For Mexico-Based Rail Crews

The text as introduced · 343 words

By: Raymond
H.B. No. 3387

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the safety standards of certain rail employees;

requiring an occupational permit.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 199, Transportation Code, is amended by

adding Section 199.004 to read as follows:

Sec. 199.004. SAFETY STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN RAIL EMPLOYEES.

(a) In this section, "covered rail employee" means a railroad

employee whose primary reporting point is in the United Mexican

States.

(b) A railroad may not employ a covered rail employee to

perform a railroad service in this state unless the railroad:

(1) obtains from the department a permit that

authorizes covered rail employees to perform those services; and

(2) certifies to the department as part of the

permitting process that each covered rail employee is in compliance

with the safety standards applicable to a railroad employee whose

primary reporting point is in the United States.

(c) The department shall publish in the Texas Register

notice of an application for a permit to employ covered rail

employees not later than the fifth day after the department

receives the application. The notice must contain:

(1) the application; and

(2) any supporting documentation.

(d) For each application for a permit under this section,

the department shall:

(1) hold a public hearing;

(2) allow public comment for at least 30 days before

making a decision on the permit;

(3) publish in the Texas Register the department's

decision on the application; and

(4) notify each standing committee of the legislature

with jurisdiction over railroad safety of the department's decision

on the application.

(e) In making a decision on an application for a permit

under this section, the department may:

(1) inspect a railroad's safety training of covered

rail employees; and

(2) access any rail facility where safety training is

conducted, including a rail facility from which trains are

dispatched to the border with the United Mexican States.

(f) The commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement

this section.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.