§10501. General jurisdiction
(a) Subject to this chapter and other law, the Interstate Commerce Commission has jurisdiction over transportation-
(1) by rail carrier, express carrier, sleeping car carrier, water common carrier, and pipeline carrier that is-
(A) only by railroad;
(B) by railroad and water, when the transportation is under common control, management, or arrangement for a continuous carriage or shipment; or
(C) by pipeline or by pipeline and railroad or water when transporting a commodity other than water, gas, or oil; and
(2) to the extent such jurisdiction is not limited by subsection (b) of this section or the extent the transportation is in the United States and is between a place in-
(A) a State and a place in another State;
(B) the District of Columbia and another place in the District of Columbia;
(C) a State and a place in a territory or possession of the United States;
(D) a territory or possession of the United States and a place in another such territory or possession;
(E) a territory or possession of the United States and another place in the same territory or possession;
(F) the United States and another place in the United States through a foreign country; or
(G) the United States and a place in a foreign country.
(b) The Commission does not have jurisdiction under subsection (a) of this section over-
(1) the transportation of passengers or property, or the receipt, delivery, storage, or handling of property, entirely in a State (other than the District of Columbia) and not transported between a place in the United States and a place in a foreign country except as otherwise provided in this subtitle; or
(2) transportation by a water common carrier when that transportation would be subject to this subchapter only because the water common carrier absorbs, out of its port-to-port water rates or out of its proportional through rates, a switching, terminal, lighterage, car rental, trackage, handling, or other charge by a rail carrier for services in the switching, drayage, lighterage, or corporate limits of a port terminal or district.
(c) This subtitle does not affect the power of a State, in exercising its police power, to require reasonable intrastate transportation by carriers providing transportation subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under this subchapter unless (1) the transportation is deemed to be subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission pursuant to section 11501(b)(4)(B) of this title, or (2) the State requirement is inconsistent with an order of the Commission issued under this subtitle or is prohibited under this subtitle.
(d) The jurisdiction of the Commission and of State authorities (to the extent such authorities are authorized to administer the standards and procedures of this subtitle pursuant to this section and section 11501(b) of this title) over transportation by rail carriers, and the remedies provided in this subtitle with respect to the rates, classifications, rules, and practices of such carriers, is exclusive.
(
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 10501(a) (introductory words), (1) | 49:1(1)(a), (b), (2) (through 1st comma). | Feb. 4, 1887, ch. 104, §1(1), (2), |
| 10501(a)(2) | 49:1(1) (words after last comma and words following cl. (b)), (2) (words between 1st and 2d commas). | |
| 10501(b) | 49:1(2) (2d comma through period). | |
| 10501(c) | 49:1(17)(a) (proviso). | Feb. 4, 1887, ch. 104, |
In the introductory matter of subsection (a), before clause (1), the words "Subject to this chapter and other provisions of law" are inserted to inform the reader that other sections of the chapter and subtitle qualify the grant of jurisdiction to the Interstate Commerce Commission under the section. The words "the Interstate Commerce Commission has jurisdiction" are substituted for "The provisions of this chapter shall apply to" in 49:1(1) and (2) to eliminate surplus language and for clarity because the intent of the words is to grant the Commission jurisdiction. The words "over transportation" are substituted for the words "to common carriers engaged in" in 49:1(1) and "to such transportation of passengers and property" in 49:1(2) to eliminate redundancy and for consistency with the other general jurisdictional statements at the beginning of each of the subchapters of chapter 105 of the revised title, giving the Commission jurisdiction over transportation.
In subsection (a)(1), before clause (A), the words "rail carrier, express carrier, sleeping car carrier, water common carrier, and pipeline carrier" are substituted for "common carriers" for clarity and because a definition of "common carrier" has been adopted for the subtitle that is broader and includes common carriers other than those to which 49:1(1) and (2) apply.
In subsection (a)(1)(A), the word "only" is substituted for "wholly" for clarity.
In subsection (a)(1)(B), the word "partly" is omitted as surplus.
In subsection (a)(1)(C), the words "natural or artificial" in 49:1(1)(b), before "gas" are omitted as surplus. The word "or" is substituted for "and" in the phrase "except water and . . . gas" in 49:1(1)(b), for clarification because the exemption does not require the pipeline transportation of both water and gas before the exception applies. The exclusion of pipeline transportation of oil from the jurisdiction of the Commission is inserted in view of section 306 of the Department of Energy Organization Act (
In subsection (a)(2)(A), the words "District of Columbia" are omitted in view of the definition of "State" in section 10102 of the revised title.
In subsection (b)(1), the words "a State (other than the District of Columbia)" are inserted to exclude the District of Columbia from the jurisdictional exemption in view of 49:1(2) that does not now exempt the District of Columbia but would become exempt, but for the exclusion, as the result of the definition of "State" adopted for the revised title. The words "except as otherwise provided in this subtitle" are inserted for clarity.
In subsection (b)(2), the words "passengers or property" are omitted as unnecessary in view of the definition of "transportation" that applies to the subtitle.
In subsection (c), the words "does not affect" are substituted for "nothing . . . shall impair or affect" for clarity and to eliminate redundancy. The word "power" is substituted for "right" for clarity and consistency. The words "freight and passenger service" are omitted as surplus. The word "unless" is substituted for "except insofar" and "except" for clarity. The word "lawful" is omitted as surplus. The words "just and" are omitted for consistency with other provisions of the revised title. See the revision note to section 10101 of the revised title.
Amendments
1994-Subsec. (d).
1980-Subsec. (a)(2).
Subsec. (c).
Subsec. (d).
Effective Date of 1980 Amendment
Amendment by
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 11126 of this title.