To enact section 4923.30 of the Revised Code to establish requirements for contract carriers that transport railroad employees.

Section 1. That section 4923.30 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 4923.30. (A) This section applies to all contract carriers that contract with a railroad company to transport on-duty employees of that railroad within this state and from within this state to other states.

(B) All vehicles a contract carrier uses to transport railroad employees shall be equipped with adequate seating and heating sources for the employees and a method whereby the employees are able to communicate directly with the railroad company.

(C) A contract carrier that contracts to transport railroad employees shall do all of the following:

(1) Require each operator who transports railroad employees to have a valid driver's license;

(2) Provide alcohol and drug screening under 49 C.F.R. part 40 for each operator who transports railroad employees;

(3) Conduct a criminal records check as described in section 109.572 of the Revised Code of each person who transports railroad employees;

(4) Require a completed application for employment from each prospective vehicle operator who will transport railroad employees;

(5) Conduct an annual review of the driving record of each driver who transports railroad employees and maintain a personal file that includes a driving record for each such driver;

(6) Limit the hours of service of a driver who transports railroad employees to ten hours on-duty time following eight consecutive hours off duty;

(7) Prohibit any driver from operating a vehicle that is transporting railroad employees after the driver has been on duty sixty hours in any seven consecutive days if the contract carrier does not operate commercial motor vehicles every day of the week or after the driver has been on duty seventy hours in any period of eight consecutive days if the contract carrier operates commercial motor vehicles every day of the week;

(8) Require the driver of a vehicle used to transport railroad employees to inspect the vehicle at the beginning and end of each day the vehicle is so used. Each inspection shall include the completion of an inspection checklist in a manner and format prescribed by the public utilities commission. The inspection checklist constitutes a maintenance record, and the contract carrier shall retain the inspection checklist for not less than ninety days after the date of the inspection.

(9) Keep every vehicle used to transport railroad employees in a safe and proper operating condition by maintaining the vehicle according to the maintenance schedule recommended for that vehicle by its manufacturer. The contract carrier shall maintain a record of all maintenance and repairs performed on each such vehicle and retain each record for not less than one year and six months after the date of such maintenance or repair.

(10) Keep time records for six months indicating the time all for-hire motor carrier drivers who operate vehicles that transport railroad employees report for duty, the time of relief from duty, the hours driven, and the hours on duty and off duty.

(D) The contract carrier shall make all records this section requires the contract carrier to keep available for inspection upon demand by the commission or the commission's designee.

(E) All motor vehicles a contract carrier uses to transport railroad employees within this state and from within this state to other states shall at a minimum meet all state and federal laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to safe construction and maintenance. The drivers of such motor vehicles shall operate them in full compliance with all applicable state and federal laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to their operation and the transportation of passengers at all times.

(F) Each contract carrier shall maintain no-fault insurance or liability insurance in an amount not less than five million dollars for each vehicle it uses to transport railroad employees that is designed by its manufacturer to carry sixteen or more passengers and not less than one million five hundred thousand dollars for each vehicle it uses to transport railroad employees that is designed by its manufacturer to carry fifteen or fewer passengers. Each such vehicle also shall meet all state and federal requirements for safety devices, first-aid kits, and sidewalls, canopies, tailgates, or other means of retaining freight safely.

(G) The provisions of this section establish minimum standards and shall not be construed to supersede or abrogate any law, rule, or regulation that imposes stricter standards upon the operation of contract carriers that transport railroad employees.

(H) The commission, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, shall adopt rules to implement and administer this section.

(I) Whoever violates any provision of this section or any rule adopted by the commission pursuant to this section is subject to section 4923.99 of the Revised Code.