093_HB2562

 
                                     LRB093 09324 DRH 09557 b

 1        AN ACT in relation to transportation.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  1.  Short  title.  This  Act may be cited as the
 5    Intermodal Container Safety Act.

 6        Section 5.  Findings. The Legislature finds and  declares
 7    the following:
 8        (a)  Under  Section  15-111 of the Illinois Vehicle Code,
 9    vehicles must meet certain gross vehicle weight  restrictions
10    to  travel  on  State  roadways.  In  addition,  most  states
11    regulate  the  allowable gross weight on a single axle or set
12    of axles.  Often,  however,  these  axle  weight  limits  are
13    violated because containers are loaded with cargo well beyond
14    any vehicle's axle or overall weight-bearing capacity.
15        (b)  Transporting   overweight   containers   on   public
16    roadways  presents  significant dangers to the driver and the
17    public. Due to the weight, balance, and force of the load,  a
18    driver   transporting  an  overweight  or  improperly  loaded
19    container requires increased  braking  distance  to  reach  a
20    complete  stop. Moreover, a higher center of gravity, coupled
21    with an overweight or unbalanced load, increases the risk  of
22    chassis  separation  and  a flipped rig when a driver makes a
23    turn.
24        (c)  The Secretary of State  should  pursue  more  strict
25    enforcement  of  existing  State  and  federal laws regarding
26    improperly packed or unsafely  loaded  intermodal  containers
27    and maximum vehicle weight restrictions.

28        Section 10.  Applicability
29        (a)  Any  marine  terminal  that  receives and dispatches
30    intermodal containers must implement the intermodal container
 
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 1    safety program, as described in this Act.
 2        (b)  A Marine terminal operator may  not  tender  to,  or
 3    interchange  with,  a  motor  carrier an intermodal container
 4    that, when loaded upon  a  vehicle,  causes  the  vehicle  to
 5    exceed  the State's axle weight restrictions or federal gross
 6    vehicle weight restrictions.  Any  marine  terminal  operator
 7    tendering  to  a  motor  carrier  a  container violating this
 8    subsection (b) is guilty of a petty offense punishable  by  a
 9    fine of $500 per occurrence.
10        (c)  A  marine  terminal  operator  may not tender to, or
11    interchange with, a motor  carrier  an  intermodal  container
12    that,  upon inspection, is determined to be improperly packed
13    or unsafely loaded. Any marine terminal operator tendering to
14    a motor carrier a container violating this subsection (c)  is
15    guilty  of  a  petty offense punishable by a fine of $500 per
16    occurrence.
17        (d)  Nothing in  this  Act  is  meant  to  supersede  the
18    federal  weight  restrictions  provided  in  49  C.F.R. 5903.
19    Rather, this Act imposes compliance with  both  the  Illinois
20    Vehicle  Code's  axle  weight  restrictions and federal gross
21    vehicle weight restrictions.

22        Section 15.  Intermodal container safety program.
23        (a)  Marine terminal operators must weigh and inspect all
24    containers upon the  container's  arrival  at  the  terminal.
25    Containers  that  weigh less than or equal to an amount that,
26    when loaded upon a vehicle, does not  cause  the  vehicle  to
27    exceed   the   State's  axle  weight  restrictions,  and  are
28    determined upon inspection to be safely loaded  and  properly
29    packed, must be marked with a green tag and placed in an area
30    designated for interchange to a motor carrier. The tag must:
31             (1)  indicate  the  names of the persons who weighed
32        and  inspected the container;
33             (2)  show the date and time that the  container  was
 
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 1        weighed and inspected;
 2             (3)  indicate   the  weight  of  the  container  and
 3        determination of the inspection; and
 4             (4)  designate the  appropriate  vehicle,  with  the
 5        necessary   number   of   axles,  for  transporting  that
 6        container.
 7        (b)  The  tag  must  be  provided  by  the  ocean  marine
 8    terminal operator and must meet specifications determined  by
 9    the Secretary of State.
10        (c)  If,  however, a container weighs more than an amount
11    that, when loaded upon  a  vehicle,  causes  the  vehicle  to
12    exceed the State's axle weight restrictions, or is determined
13    upon  inspection  to be improperly packed or unsafely loaded,
14    the container must be marked with  a  red  tag  and  must  be
15    transported  to  a  facility  located  at  the  ocean  marine
16    terminal to be unloaded and repacked.
17        Alternatively,  the  marine  terminal operator may return
18    the overweight container to its original sender.  The  marine
19    terminal must bear the costs of transporting the container to
20    the  facility  and  unloading  and  repacking  the container,
21    however; and to ensure both compliance and  reimbursement,  a
22    container may be embargoed until payment is received.
23        (d)  Once a container has been unloaded and repacked, and
24    has been determined to be of proper weight and safely loaded,
25    it must be green-tagged and transported to an area designated
26    for interchange to a motor carrier.
27        (e)  If  an  overweight,  improperly  packed, or unsafely
28    loaded  container,  regardless  of  whether   it   has   been
29    green-tagged  or  red-tagged,  is  interchanged  to  a  motor
30    carrier, and the motor carrier has not yet left the terminal:
31             (1)  the  driver  may  request that the container be
32        reweighed or  repacked  by  the  entity  responsible  for
33        weighing and inspecting the container under this Act;
34             (2)  the  driver  must  be compensated by the marine
 
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 1        terminal at $100 per hour for time spent transporting the
 2        container to the unloading  and  repacking  facility  and
 3        locating a container that, when loaded upon vehicle, does
 4        not  cause  the vehicle to exceed the State's axle weight
 5        restrictions or highway safety rules; and
 6             (3)  any request for reweighing or repacking and any
 7        corrective action taken, or  the  reason  why  corrective
 8        action  was not taken, must be recorded in the intermodal
 9        container maintenance file, as provided in Section 20.
10        Alternatively, the driver may contact a  law  enforcement
11    agency with regard to the weight of the container.
12        (f)  A marine terminal operator may not threaten, coerce,
13    or otherwise retaliate against a driver for requesting that a
14    container  be  reweighed  or repacked or for contacting a law
15    enforcement agency with regard to the weight or safety of  an
16    intermodal  container.  Violation of this subsection (f) is a
17    Class B misdemeanor.
18        (g)  If an overweight,  improperly  packed,  or  unsafely
19    loaded  container is interchanged to a motor carrier, and the
20    motor carrier has left the terminal, the marine  terminal  is
21    responsible  for  any  time during which the motor carrier is
22    detained by State officials for violations of this  Act.  The
23    marine  terminal must pay the driver at the rate specified in
24    the contract plus $100 per hour for all time spent related to
25    the infraction.
26        (h)  Any citation, summons,  or  complaint  issued  as  a
27    result  of a violation of a State axle weight limitation must
28    be issued to the marine  terminal  operator  responsible  for
29    weighing and inspecting the container.

30        Section 20.  Maintenance and inspection of records.
31        (a)  Records  regarding the weight and inspection of each
32    container entering an ocean marine terminal must be:
33             (1)  maintained for 90 days at the  marine  terminal
 
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 1        where each container is weighed and inspected;
 2             (2)  made  available  upon request by any authorized
 3        employee of the Secretary of State; and
 4             (3)  made available during normal business hours  to
 5        any  motor  carrier, driver, or authorized representative
 6        of a motor carrier who has been engaged  to  transport  a
 7        container from the marine terminal.
 8        (b)  Records  must be kept for any container that must be
 9    unloaded and repacked under Section 15. The records must be:
10             (1)  maintained for 2 years at the marine terminal;
11             (2)  made available upon request by  any  authorized
12        employee  of the Secretary of State; and
13             (3)  made  available during normal business hours to
14        any motor carrier, driver, or  authorized  representative
15        of  a  motor  carrier who has been engaged to transport a
16        container from the marine terminal.
17        (c)  Requests made under subdivision (e)(i) of Section 15
18    that a container be reweighed or repacked must be recorded in
19    the intermodal container safety file and must  be  maintained
20    and  made  available  according  to  subsection  (a)  of this
21    Section.
22        (d)  These records may be kept in a  computer  system  if
23    printouts of the records are provided upon request.

24        Section  25.  Compliance  with  and  enforcement  of  the
25    intermodal container safety program.
26        (a)  The  Secretary  of State must, on a random basis and
27    at least once per year, conduct  on-site  reviews  of  marine
28    terminals to determine whether the terminal is complying with
29    the  requirements  of  this Act, including but not limited to
30    weighing and inspecting intermodal containers, their tagging,
31    segregation and repacking, and record keeping.
32        (b)  If the Secretary  of  State  determines  through  an
33    inspection  that  a  marine  terminal  operator has failed to
 
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 1    comply with any requirement of this Act:
 2             (1)  the Secretary must require the marine  terminal
 3        to comply immediately with the requirements of the Act;
 4             (2)  the  marine  terminal  operator  is guilty of a
 5        petty offense punishable by a fine of $100 for every  day
 6        of noncompliance after the day of inspection;
 7             (3)  after  10  days of noncompliance, the Secretary
 8        must immediately forward a recommendation to the Illinois
 9        Commerce  Commission  to  suspend  the  terminal's  motor
10        carrier of property license, and forward a recommendation
11        to the Federal Motor Carrier  Safety  Administration  for
12        administrative  or  other action deemed necessary against
13        the marine terminal's interstate operating authority.
14        (c)  If a marine terminal has not complied with this  Act
15    within   20   days  of  the  inspection  which  revealed  the
16    noncompliance,  or   if   an   inspection   results   in   an
17    unsatisfactory   rating   due  to  conditions  presenting  an
18    imminent danger  to  public  safety,  the  Illinois  Commerce
19    Commission  must  revoke  the  terminal's  motor  carrier  of
20    property license.

21        Section 30.  Inspection by a State Police officer.
22        (a)  Any  State Police officer, in the performance of his
23    or her duties, is authorized to enter at any  time  a  marine
24    terminal  to  weigh or inspect any intermodal containers that
25    have been green-tagged.
26        (b)  If the  officer  determines  that  any  green-tagged
27    container,  when  loaded  upon a vehicle with the appropriate
28    number of axles as specified on the green  tag,  would  cause
29    that  vehicle  to exceed the State's axle weight restrictions
30    or federal gross  vehicle  weight  restrictions,  or  if  the
31    officer  determines  that a container is improperly packed or
32    unsafely loaded, the marine terminal operator is guilty of  a
33    petty  offense  punishable by a fine of $1,000 per overweight
 
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 1    or unsafe container, in addition to the penalties  listed  in
 2    Section 25.

 3        Section  35.  Rules.  The  Secretary  of State must adopt
 4    rules for implementing this Act.

 5        Section 40.  Effect of this  Act.  Nothing  in  this  Act
 6    relieves  a  commercial driver or commercial motor carrier of
 7    any duty imposed by State or federal law regarding  the  safe
 8    operation of a commercial motor vehicle.