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Public Service Commission seeks shield for rail inspection and investigative records
Summary
The Public Service Commission told the House Judiciary Committee it needs statutory protection to participate fully in NTSB-led investigations and to protect precise inspection-location data; media groups and publishers opposed broad exemptions to records access.
The House Judiciary Committee heard testimony on House Bill 1110, which would amend the North Dakota Century Code chapter governing the Public Service Commission to exempt records "related to investigative and surveillance activities" from public access in limited circumstances, and clarify that inspectors participating in National Transportation Safety Board investigations must follow NTSB nondisclosure practices.
Conrad Crockford of the Public Service Commission's compliance division said the PSC's rail safety inspectors inspect critical infrastructure and sometimes arrive at incident scenes before federal investigators. He said the NTSB party system allows entities to participate in investigations only after they agree to protect investigative details until the NTSB releases them, and that the PSC was prevented from full participation in a past derailment because of concerns about protecting records.
"House Bill 1110 will allow the PSC rail safety inspectors to participate fully in future NTSB investigations," Crockford said, adding that inspection records that identify the precise location of defects would be protected "consistent with federal procedure." He said PSC inspectors are trained and certified by the Federal Railroad Administration and that the PSC complies with federal inspection procedures.
Newspaper and broadcasting representatives objected. Jack McDonald told the committee his written testimony opposed the bill and argued the change would close records that have been public for years, including inspection records and potentially meetings. He warned the language as drafted could be read broadly and said the media groups oppose exempting records that have been open historically.
Committee members questioned scope. Crockford and the PSC clarified the amendment is intended to apply only to the PSC's rail safety program and to records tied to rail incidents and inspection details, not to all PSC records. Crockford said he would provide the committee documentation on NTSB party-system agreements and federal procedures to clarify when records become subject to NTSB nondisclosure requirements.
The committee closed the hearing; no committee vote was recorded on the bill that day.
