97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB5738

 

Introduced 2/16/2012, by Rep. Brandon W. Phelps

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
See Index

    Amends the Crossing of Railroad Right-of-way Act. Changes the short title to the Crossing and Encroachment of Railroad Right-of-way Act. Defines "encroachment" and "annual payment conversion" and makes changes to the definitions of "special circumstances" and "utility". Provides that a utility shall be deemed to have authorization to commence encroachment activity 90 days after the (i) mailing of the notice, (ii) completion of the engineering specifications, and (iii) payment of the fee. Provides that a utility that locates its facilities within the railroad right-of-way for an encroachment shall pay the rail carrier or land management company $3,000 for each 1,500 feet or portion thereof of encroachment, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties. Creates a new provision that provides that a utility may pay a rail carrier or land management company an amount equal to 10 times the agreed annual or periodic payment for a crossing or encroachment agreement in effect at the time of request by the utility. Creates a new provision that provides that agreed annual or periodic fees charged to utilities by rail carriers or land management companies for crossing or encroachment agreements may not be increased for the initial 5-year period of the agreement and thereafter may not be increased more than 2% annually. Makes changes in provisions concerning crossing and encroachment fees; powers not limited; conflicting provisions; and applicability.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Crossing of Railroad Right-of-way Act is
5amended by changing Sections 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 35 and
6by adding Sections 27 and 28 as follows:
 
7    (220 ILCS 70/1)
8    Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Crossing
9and Encroachment of Railroad Right-of-way Act.
10(Source: P.A. 96-595, eff. 8-18-09.)
 
11    (220 ILCS 70/5)
12    Sec. 5. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the
13context otherwise requires:
14    "Crossing" means the construction, operation, repair, or
15maintenance of a facility over, under, along, or across a
16railroad right-of-way by a utility when the right-of-way is
17owned by a land management company or a rail carrier and not a
18registered rail carrier.
19    "Encroachment" means the construction, operation, repair,
20or maintenance of a facility over, under, or along a railroad
21right-of-way by a utility when the right-of-way is owned by a
22rail carrier or a land management company, not to exceed 15,000

 

 

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1feet in length
2    "Direct expenses" includes, but is not limited to, any or
3all of the following:
4        (1) The cost of inspecting and monitoring the crossing
5    site.
6        (2) Administrative and engineering costs for review of
7    specifications and for entering a crossing on the
8    railroad's books, maps, and property records and other
9    reasonable administrative and engineering costs incurred
10    as a result of the crossing.
11        (3) Document and preparation fees associated with a
12    crossing, and any engineering specifications related to
13    the crossing.
14        (4) Damages assessed in connection with the rights
15    granted to a utility with respect to a crossing.
16    "Facility" means any cable, conduit, wire, pipe, casing
17pipe, supporting poles and guys, manhole, or other material or
18equipment, that is used by a utility to furnish any of the
19following:
20        (1) Communications, video, or information services.
21        (2) Electricity.
22        (3) Gas by piped system.
23        (4) Sanitary and storm sewer service.
24        (5) Water by piped system.
25    "Land management company" means an entity that is the
26owner, manager, or agent of a railroad right-of-way and is not

 

 

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1a registered rail carrier.
2    "Railroad right-of-way" means one or more of the following:
3        (1) A right-of-way or other interest in real estate
4    that is owned or operated by a rail carrier or a land
5    management company and not a registered rail carrier.
6        (2) Any other interest in a former railroad
7    right-of-way that has been acquired or is operated by a
8    rail carrier or a land management company or similar
9    entity.
10    "Special circumstances" means either or both of the
11following:
12        (1) The existence of characteristics of a segment of
13    railroad right-of-way or of a proposed utility facility
14    that increases the direct expenses associated with a
15    proposed crossing. The characteristics of a segment of a
16    railroad right-of-way not found in a typical segment of a
17    railroad right-of-way that enhance the value or increase
18    the damages or the engineering or construction expenses for
19    the land management company associated with a proposed
20    crossing, or to the current or reasonably anticipated use
21    by a land management company of the railroad right-of-way,
22    necessitating additional terms and conditions or
23    compensation associated with a crossing.
24        (2) A proposed crossing that involves (i) a significant
25    and imminent likelihood of danger to the public health or
26    safety, (ii) a serious threat to the safe operations of the

 

 

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1    railroad, or (iii) the current use of the railroad
2    right-of-way necessitating additional terms and conditions
3    associated with the crossing. Variances from the standard
4    specifications requested by the land management company.
5    "Special circumstances" may include, but is not limited to,
6the railroad right-of-way segment's relationship to other
7property, location in urban or other developed areas, the
8existence of unique topography or natural resources, or other
9characteristics or dangers inherent in the particular crossing
10or segment of the railroad right-of-way.
11    "Utility" shall include (1) public utilities as defined in
12Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act and their affiliate
13companies, (2) telecommunications carriers as defined in
14Section 13-202 of the Public Utilities Act, (3) electric
15cooperatives as defined in Section 3.4 of the Electric Supplier
16Act, (4) telephone or telecommunications cooperatives as
17defined in Section 13-212 of the Public Utilities Act, (5)
18rural water or waste water systems with 10,000 connections or
19less, (6) a holder as defined in Section 21-201 of the Public
20Utilities Act, and (7) municipalities owning or operating
21utility systems consisting of public utilities as that term is
22defined in Section 11-117-2 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
23    "Annual payment conversion" means a one-time payment for
24individual existing crossing and encroachment agreements that
25have annual or periodic payment terms in effect as of and
26subsequent to January 1, 2013; such one-time payment converts

 

 

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1an agreement to paid-in-full status and shall convey a
2permanent right to the utility to keep the subject facilities
3in place.
4(Source: P.A. 96-595, eff. 8-18-09.)
 
5    (220 ILCS 70/10)
6    Sec. 10. Terms and conditions for a crossing or
7encroachment.
8    (a) After 30 days from (1) the mailing of the notice, (2)
9completing the engineering specifications, and (3) payment of
10the fee if applicable, the utility, absent a claim of special
11circumstances, shall be deemed to have authorization to
12commence the crossing activity.
13    (a-5) The utility shall be deemed to have authorization to
14commence the encroachment activity 90 days after the (i)
15mailing of the notice, (ii) completion of the engineering
16specifications, and (iii) payment of the fee.
17    (b) The rail carrier or the land management company and the
18utility must maintain and repair its own property within the
19railroad right-of-way and bear responsibility for its own acts
20and omissions, except that the utility shall be responsible for
21any bodily injury or property damage that typically would be
22covered under a standard railroad protective liability
23insurance policy.
24    (c) A utility shall have immediate access to a crossing and
25an encroachment for repair and maintenance of existing

 

 

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1facilities in case of emergency.
2    (d) Applicable engineering standards shall be complied
3with for utility facilities crossing or encroaching upon
4railroad rights-of-way.
5    (e) The utility shall be provided an expedited crossing or
6encroachment , absent a claim of special circumstances, after
7payment by the utility of the standard crossing or encroachment
8fee, if applicable, and submission of completed engineering
9specifications to the rail carrier or land management company.
10The engineering specifications shall address the applicable
11clearance requirements as established by the National
12Electrical Safety Code.
13    (f) The utility and the rail carrier or land management
14company may agree to other terms and conditions necessary to
15provide for reasonable use of a railroad right-of-way by a
16utility.
17(Source: P.A. 96-595, eff. 8-18-09.)
 
18    (220 ILCS 70/15)
19    Sec. 15. Crossing and encroachment fees fee. Unless
20otherwise agreed by the parties and subject to Section 20, a
21utility that locates its facilities within the railroad
22right-of-way for a crossing, other than a crossing along the
23public streets, roads, alleys, and other public ways roads of
24the State pursuant to the Telephone Line Right of Way Act,
25shall pay the rail carrier or land management company a

 

 

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1one-time standard crossing fee of $1,500 for each crossing.
2Unless otherwise agreed by the parties and subject to Section
320, a utility that locates its facilities within the railroad
4right-of-way for an encroachment shall pay the rail carrier or
5land management company $3,000 for each 1,500 feet or portion
6thereof of encroachment plus the costs associated with
7modifications to existing insurance contracts of the utility
8and the land management company. The standard crossing or
9encroachment fees fee shall be in lieu of any license, permit,
10application, or any other fees or charges to reimburse the rail
11carrier or land management company for the direct expenses
12incurred by the rail carrier or land management company as a
13result of the crossing or encroachment. The utility shall also
14reimburse the rail carrier or land management company for any
15actual flagging expenses associated with a crossing or
16encroachment in addition to the standard crossing or
17encroachment fee.
18(Source: P.A. 96-595, eff. 8-18-09.)
 
19    (220 ILCS 70/20)
20    Sec. 20. Powers not limited.
21    (a) Notwithstanding Section 10, nothing shall prevent a
22rail carrier or land management company and a utility from
23otherwise negotiating the terms and conditions applicable to a
24crossing or encroachment or the resolution of any disputes
25relating to the crossing or encroachment.

 

 

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1    (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), this Section shall not
2impair the authority of a utility to secure crossing or
3encroachment rights by easement pursuant to the exercise of the
4power of eminent domain.
5(Source: P.A. 96-595, eff. 8-18-09.)
 
6    (220 ILCS 70/27 new)
7    Sec. 27. Annual payment conversion. A utility may pay to
8the rail carrier or land management company an amount equal to
910 times the agreed annual or periodic payment for a crossing
10or encroachment agreement in effect at the time of request by
11the utility. The rail carrier or land management company shall
12then, within 45 days, provide the utility a permanent right for
13the subject agreement facilities to remain in place.
 
14    (220 ILCS 70/28 new)
15    Sec. 28. Increase in existing annual or periodic fees.
16Agreed annual or periodic fees charged to utilities by rail
17carriers or land management companies for crossing or
18encroachment agreements may not be increased for the initial
195-year period of the agreement and thereafter may not be
20increased more than 2% annually.
 
21    (220 ILCS 70/30)
22    Sec. 30. Conflicting provisions. Notwithstanding any
23provision law to the contrary, this Act shall apply in all

 

 

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1crossings and encroachments of railroad rights-of-way
2involving a rail carrier or a land management company and a
3utility and shall govern in the event of any conflict with any
4other provision of law.
5(Source: P.A. 96-595, eff. 8-18-09.)
 
6    (220 ILCS 70/35)
7    Sec. 35. Applicability. This Act applies to (i) a crossing
8or encroachment commenced prior to the effective date of this
9Act if an agreement concerning the crossing or encroachment has
10expired or is terminated and (ii) a crossing or encroachment
11commenced on or after the effective date of this Act.
12(Source: P.A. 96-595, eff. 8-18-09.)

 

 

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1 INDEX
2 Statutes amended in order of appearance
3    220 ILCS 70/1
4    220 ILCS 70/5
5    220 ILCS 70/10
6    220 ILCS 70/15
7    220 ILCS 70/20
8    220 ILCS 70/27 new
9    220 ILCS 70/28 new
10    220 ILCS 70/30
11    220 ILCS 70/35