§24501. Status and applicable laws

(a) Status.-Amtrak Commuter-

(1) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amtrak;

(2) provides by contract commuter rail passenger transportation for a commuter authority with which Amtrak Commuter makes a contract to provide the transportation under this chapter;

(3) has no common carrier obligations to provide rail passenger or rail freight transportation; and

(4) is not a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government.

(b) Application of Safety and Employee Relations Laws and Regulations.-Chapter 105 of this title does not apply to Amtrak Commuter. However, laws and regulations governing safety, employee representation for collective bargaining purposes, the handling of disputes between carriers and employees, employee retirement, annuity, and unemployment systems, and other dealings with employees that apply to a rail carrier providing transportation subject to subchapter I of chapter 105 apply to Amtrak Commuter.

(c) Application of Certain Additional Laws.-This part and, to the extent consistent with this part, the District of Columbia Business Corporation Act (D.C. Code §29–301 et seq.) apply to Amtrak Commuter.

(d) Nonapplication of Rate, Route, and Service Laws.-A State or other law related to rates, routes, or service in connection with rail passenger transportation does not apply to Amtrak Commuter.

(e) Preemption Related to Employee Work Requirements.-A State may not adopt or continue in force a law, rule, regulation, order, or standard requiring Amtrak Commuter to employ a specified number of individuals to perform a particular task, function, or operation.

(f) Exemption From Additional Taxes.-(1) In this subsection-

(A) "additional tax" means a tax or fee-

(i) on the acquisition, improvement, ownership, or operation of personal property by Amtrak Commuter; and

(ii) on real property, except a tax or fee on the acquisition of real property or on the value of real property not attributable to improvements made, or the operation of those improvements, by Amtrak Commuter.

(B) "Amtrak Commuter" includes a rail carrier subsidiary of Amtrak Commuter and a lessor or lessee of Amtrak Commuter or one of its rail carrier subsidiaries.

(2) Amtrak Commuter is not required to pay an additional tax because of an expenditure to acquire or improve real property, equipment, a facility, or right-of-way material or structures used to provide rail passenger transportation, even if that use is indirect.

(g) Tax Exemption for Certain Commuter Authorities.-A commuter authority with which Amtrak Commuter could have made a contract to provide commuter rail passenger transportation under this chapter but which decided to provide its own rail passenger transportation beginning on January 1, 1983, is exempt, effective October 1, 1981, from paying a tax or fee to the same extent Amtrak is exempt.

(h) Nonapplication of Agreements for Financial Support and Trackage Rights.-An agreement under which financial support was provided on January 2, 1974, to a commuter authority to continue rail passenger transportation does not apply to Amtrak Commuter. However, Amtrak and the Consolidated Rail Corporation retain appropriate trackage rights over rail property owned or leased by the authority. Compensation for the rights shall be reasonable.

( Pub. L. 103–272, §1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 919 ; Pub. L. 103–429, §6(21), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4379 .)

Historical and Revision Notes
Pub. L. 103–272

Revised Section	Source (U.S. Code)	Source (Statutes at Large)
24501(a)	45:581(a), (b)(1) (1st sentence), (2).	Oct. 30, 1970, Pub. L. 91–518, 84 Stat. 1327 , §§501(a)–(c)(4), 503(b), 504(f); added Aug. 13, 1981, Pub. L. 97–35, §1137, 95 Stat. 647 , 648, 649.
24501(b)	45:581(c)(1).
24501(c)	45:581(b)(1) (last sentence).
	45:583(b).
24501(d)	45:581(c)(2).
24501(e)	45:797j (words "or the Amtrak Commuter Services Corporation").	Jan. 2, 1974, Pub. L. 93–236, 87 Stat. 985 , §711 (words "or the Amtrak Commuter Services Corporation"); added Aug. 13, 1981, Pub. L. 97–35, §1143(a), 95 Stat. 667 .
24501(f)	45:581(c)(3).
24501(g)	45:581(c)(5).	Oct. 30, 1970, Pub. L. 91–518, 84 Stat. 1327 , §501(c)(5); added Sept. 30, 1988, Pub. L. 100–457, §336, 102 Stat. 2153 .
24501(h)	45:581(c)(4).
	45:584(f).

Subsection (a)(1) is substituted for 45:581(a) to eliminate surplus and executed words.

In subsection (a)(4), the words "department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government" are substituted for "agency or instrumentality of the Federal Government" for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.

In subsection (b), the words "(treated as a separate rail carrier)", "same", and "the jurisdiction of the Commission under" are omitted as surplus. The words "subchapter I of chapter 105" are substituted for "chapter 105" for clarity and consistency.

In subsection (c), the text of 45:583(b) is omitted as unnecessary.

In subsection (d), the words "including any modification or discontinuance thereof" are omitted as surplus.

Subsection (f) is substituted for 45:581(c)(3) for clarity and consistency in this part by restating 45:546(n).

In subsection (g), the words "Notwithstanding any other provision of law" and "directly" are omitted as surplus.

In subsection (h), the text of 45:581(c)(4) is omitted as obsolete because 15:20 was repealed by section 3 of the Antitrust Amendments Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–588, 104 Stat. 2880). The words "lease or", "(for passenger and freight operations respectively)", and "just and" are omitted as surplus.

Pub. L. 103–429

This amends 49:24501(f) to make it consistent with 49:24301(k).

References in Text

The District of Columbia Business Corporation Act, referred to in subsec. (c), is act June 8, 1954, ch. 269, 68 Stat. 179 , as amended, which appears in chapter 3 (§29–301 et seq.) of Title 29, Corporations, of the District of Columbia Code.

Amendments

1994-Subsec. (f)(1). Pub. L. 103–429, §6(21)(A), added par. (1) and struck out former par. (1) which read as follows: "In this subsection, 'additional tax' means a tax or fee-

"(A) on the acquisition, improvement, ownership, or operation of personal property by Amtrak Commuter; and

"(B) on real property, except a tax or fee on the acquisition of real property or on the value of real property not attributable to improvements made, or the operation of those improvements, by Amtrak Commuter."

Subsec. (f)(2). Pub. L. 103–429, §6(21)(B), inserted ", even if that use is indirect" after "transportation".

Effective Date of 1994 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 103–429 effective July 5, 1994, see section 9 of Pub. L. 103–429, set out as a note under section 321 of this title.