Bill would let PSC match federal railroad reporting threshold; sponsor cites federal preemption

Senate Bill 23, carried in the House by Senator Daniel Zolnikov, would amend Montana law to allow the Montana Public Service Commission to set, by administrative rule, the dollar threshold for when railroads must report accidents to the state. Sponsors and PSC staff said the change is intended to align state reporting obligations with Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) thresholds and avoid having conflicting statutory language that could be preempted by federal law.

"This statute is likely preempted by the Federal Railroad Administration's reporting thresholds, which is $12,000," Senator Daniel Zolnikov said during the hearing. Trevor Graf, a PSC representative, told the committee that reporting thresholds change over time and that it is "pretty hard to have a railroad accident that costs less than $12,000." Graf said giving the commission rulemaking authority allows the state threshold to match federal standards and be updated between legislative sessions.

Representative Griffith asked whether the commission could set a higher threshold than the FRA. Graf answered that the commission does not intend to set a threshold higher than federal requirements; rather the change is meant to "match those federal standards in our state code" and to maintain the state's role in surveillance and reporting as part of partnership programs with federal authorities.

The committee later approved a technical amendment to change an internal reference in the draft law from "department" to "commission" for consistency with Title 69 drafting and then concurred in the amended bill during executive action. The committee recorded a concurrence vote of 14 ayes and 0 nos.

Authorities discussed in testimony included the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970 and the FRA reporting threshold for calendar year 2024. The PSC emphasized the proposal was an administrative alignment rather than a policy change affecting rail operations.