BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SCR 10|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                         |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                         |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                         |
          |327-4478                          |                         |
           ------------------------------------------------------------ 
           
                                         
                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SCR 10
          Author:   Liu (D)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
          WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE


           SUBJECT  :    Railroad Safety Month

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This resolution officially designates September  
          of each year as Railroad Safety Month in California and  
          commends local, state, and federal government, industry,  
          and citizen efforts to improve railroad crossing safety and  
          support increased funding for rail safety, and strongly  
          urges all Californians to be cautious and safe around all  
          railroad tracks.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          This resolution states the following:

          1.Freight train operators, Amtrak, commuter rail operators,  
            and multiple heavy and light rail systems run through  
            densely populated areas of California on a daily basis.

          2.There are over 11,000 at-grade public rail grade  
            crossings located within 52 counties and 400 cities in  
            California which produce the highest number of  
                                                           CONTINUED





                                                                SCR 10
                                                                Page  
          2

            highway-rail grade crossing accidents in the United  
            States.  The number of accidents has increased from 142  
            in 2003 to 162 in 2007.

          3.State and federal safety programs, including the Grade  
            Separation Program, the Automatic Grade Crossing  
            Protection Maintenance Fund, and the Federal  
            Railway-Highway Crossing Improvement Program, all raise  
            rail safety awareness and have contributed to the decline  
            in train accidents this year as compared to the same  
            period last year.

          4.With growth in passenger and freight rail traffic  
            expected to double in 15 years and more than 10 million  
            new residents arriving in the state over the same time  
            period, current funding levels are insufficient to keep  
            pace with needed rail safety improvements, including  
            grade separations, overpasses, warning devices, gates,  
            and signals.

          5.Railroad operators, motor vehicle operators, and  
            pedestrians must work together to reduce the likelihood  
            of railroad-vehicle and railroad-pedestrian accidents.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Fiscal Com.:  No

          JJA:nl  3/17/09   Senate Floor Analyses 

                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

                                ****  END  ****