Railroad Police Certification Act of 1990 (Introduced in House)
HR 4789 IH
101st CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4789
To provide authority to railroad police officers to cross jurisdictional boundaries for the protection of interstate commerce and the security of the United States railway system.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 10, 1990
Mr. ECKART (for himself and Mr. FEIGHAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Energy and Commerce and the Judiciary
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A BILL
To provide authority to railroad police officers to cross jurisdictional boundaries for the protection of interstate commerce and the security of the United States railway system.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Railroad Police Certification Act of 1990'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) crimes against property entrusted to railroads are interstate in nature;
(2) railroad police officers face procedural and logistical problems in being commissioned in States in which the property of their employer is located;
(3) railroad police officers risk civil suits for false arrest, and personal harm to themselves if they must disarm, when crossing State lines on official business; and
(4) the inability of railroad police officers to carry out their official duties on an interstate basis jeopardizes the safety of railroad employees, passengers, and the public, and the security of cargo moving in interstate commerce.
SEC. 3. RAILROAD POLICE AUTHORITY.
A railroad police officer who is employed by a rail carrier and certified or commissioned as a police officer under the laws of any State shall, in accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary of Transportation, be authorized to enforce the laws of any jurisdiction in which the rail carrier owns property, for the purpose of protecting--
(1) the employees, passengers, or patrons of the rail carrier;
(2) the property, equipment, and facilities owned, leased, operated, or maintained by the rail carrier;
(3) property moving in interstate or foreign commerce in the possession of the rail carrier; and
(4) personnel, equipment, and materials moving via railroad that are vital to the national defense,
to the extent of the authority of a police officer properly certified or commissioned under the laws of that jurisdiction.