093_HB2561

 
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 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 Chassis Roadability Inspection Act.

 6        Section 5.  Definitions. As used in this Act:
 7        (a)  "Marine or rail terminal" means any place,  station,
 8    depot,  or area, whether public or private, for receiving and
 9    delivering passengers, articles, commodities, baggage,  mail,
10    freight,  or  express matter and for any combination of those
11    purposes in connection with the transportation  and  movement
12    by  water  or land of persons and property, located at a port
13    or rail facility that engages in the loading and unloading of
14    the cargo of oceangoing or marine vessel intermodal chassis.
15        (b)  "Intermodal chassis" or "chassis"  means  a  trailer
16    designed to carry intermodal freight containers.

17        Section 10.  Applicability.
18        (a)  Any  marine  or  rail  terminal  that  receives  and
19    dispatches  intermodal  chassis  must implement and carry out
20    the intermodal chassis  roadability  inspection  program,  as
21    described in this Act.
22        (b)  A  marine  or  rail terminal operator may not tender
23    to, or interchange  with,  a  motor  carrier,  an  intermodal
24    chassis  that  fails  to pass the inspection required by this
25    Act and that fails to meet  the  requirements  set  forth  in
26    Federal  Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, 49 C.F.R. 396. Any
27    marine  or  rail   terminal   operator   tendering   to,   or
28    interchanging  with,  a  motor carrier an intermodal chassis,
29    must provide certification that the chassis  has  passed  the
30    inspection required under this Act. Violation of this Section
 
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 1    is  a  petty  offense  punishable  by  a  fine  of  $500  per
 2    occurrence.
 3        (c)  Nothing  in  this  Act  is  meant  to  supersede the
 4    inspection requirement and  standard  under  49  C.F.R.  396,
 5    which  requires  marine or rail terminal operators to conduct
 6    annual inspections of chassis. Rather, this  Act  imposes  an
 7    additional requirement that marine or rail terminal operators
 8    inspect chassis on a routine basis.

 9        Section  15.  Intermodal equipment roadability inspection
10    program.
11        (a)  Marine or rail terminal operators must  inspect  all
12    chassis  according  to  this  Section  before  a container is
13    placed on the chassis, and before the chassis is released for
14    operation. The inspection must include, but  not  be  limited
15    to,   brake   adjustment,   an  inspection  of  brake  system
16    components and leaks, suspension systems, tires  and  wheels,
17    vehicle  connecting  devices,  lights and electrical systems,
18    and a visual inspection of the chassis to determine  that  it
19    has not been tampered with.
20        (b)  Each   inspection   must  be  recorded  on  a  daily
21    roadworthiness inspection report that must include,  but  not
22    be limited to, all of the following:
23             (1)  Positive   identification   of  the  intermodal
24        chassis,  including  company  identification  number  and
25        vehicle license plate number.
26             (2)  Date and nature of each inspection.
27             (3)  Signature, under penalty  of  perjury,  of  the
28        marine  terminal operator or an authorized representative
29        verifying that the inspection has been performed and that
30        the  chassis  is   roadworthy.   Individuals   performing
31        inspections  under  this  Section must be qualified, at a
32        minimum, as  set  forth  in  Section  49  C.F.R.  396.19.
33        Evidence   of  each  inspector's  qualification  must  be
 
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 1        retained by the marine or rail terminal for the period of
 2        time during  which  the  inspector  is  performing  these
 3        inspections.
 4             (4)  A  marine  or  rail  terminal  operator may not
 5        threaten,  coerce,  or  otherwise  retaliate  against  an
 6        inspector for refusing to pass a chassis  that  fails  an
 7        inspection  or  for  designating  a chassis for repair. A
 8        violation of this paragraph (4) is a Class B misdemeanor.
 9             (5)  As part of the inspection, the  inspector  must
10        affix  a  tamper-proof  green  tag  on a chassis that has
11        passed inspection and a red tag on  a  chassis  that  has
12        failed  inspection.  The tag must contain the name of the
13        inspector and  the  date  and  time  the  inspection  was
14        completed  and must be placed on the driver's side of the
15        chassis, next to the chassis'  identification  plate.  In
16        addition,  a  red  tag  must  specify  the  defects  that
17        warranted  the failed inspection and that require repair.
18        The tag must be provided by the marine terminal  operator
19        and  must meet specifications determined by the Secretary
20        of State.
21        (c)  Chassis must be segregated according to their red or
22    green  tags,  indicating  whether  or  not  they  passed  the
23    inspection. Green-tagged chassis must  be  kept  in  an  area
24    designated  for  interchange  with motor carriers. Red-tagged
25    chassis must be transported  to  an  on-site  facility  where
26    repairs  and  any  required  maintenance  may  be  performed.
27    Defects  identified  during  any inspection of any intermodal
28    chassis must be repaired, and the repairs must be recorded on
29    an intermodal chassis maintenance file as provided in Section
30    20, before the chassis is released from the  control  of  the
31    marine  or  rail terminal. No chassis subject to this Act may
32    be released to a motor carrier or operated on a  public  road
33    until  all  defects  listed  during  the inspection have been
34    corrected, the chassis passes inspection, and the  marine  or
 
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 1    rail terminal operator's authorized representative attests to
 2    that fact and affixes a green tag on the chassis.
 3        (d)  Any  driver  who  believes  that  a chassis is in an
 4    unsafe operating condition may request that  the  chassis  be
 5    reinspected  by the entity responsible for the inspection and
 6    maintenance of the chassis under this Act. If reinspection is
 7    requested, the driver:
 8             (1)  may not be made responsible for delivery of the
 9        chassis to the repair facility; and
10             (2)  must receive  a  green-tagged  chassis  without
11        delay.  If  a  driver  is  forced to wait for one or more
12        hours,  the  marine  or  rail  terminal   operator   must
13        compensate  the  driver  at  a  rate  of $100 per hour. A
14        request for reinspection, any corrective action taken, or
15        the reason why corrective action was not  taken  must  be
16        recorded  in  the  intermodal chassis maintenance file as
17        provided in Section 20.
18        Alternatively, the driver may contact a  law  enforcement
19    agency with regard to the physical condition of the chassis.
20        (e)  A marine or rail terminal operator may not threaten,
21    coerce,   or   otherwise   retaliate  against  a  driver  for
22    requesting that the  intermodal  chassis  be  reinspected  or
23    repaired  or  for  contacting  a  law enforcement agency with
24    regard to the physical condition of a chassis. A violation of
25    this subsection (e) is a Class B misdemeanor.

26        Section 20.  Maintenance and inspection of records.
27        (a)  Records of each inspection conducted under this  Act
28    must be:
29             (1)  maintained  for  90  days at the marine or rail
30        terminal where each chassis is inspected;
31             (2)  made available upon request by  any  authorized
32        employee of the Secretary of State; and
33             (3)  made  available during normal business hours to
 
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 1        any motor carrier, driver, or  authorized  representative
 2        of  a  motor carrier who has been engaged to transport an
 3        intermodal container on a chassis  inspected  under  this
 4        Section from the marine or rail terminal.
 5        (b)  Records   of   maintenance   or   repairs  performed
 6    according to the inspection in Section 15 must be:
 7             (1)  maintained for 2 years at the  marine  or  rail
 8        terminal; and
 9             (2)  made available upon request of the Secretary of
10        State.
11        (c)  Requests  for  reinspection  under subsection (d) of
12    Section  15  must  be  recorded  in  the  intermodal  chassis
13    maintenance file and must be maintained and made available as
14    provided in subsection (a) of this Section.
15        (d)  Records of inspections, maintenance, or repairs  may
16    be  kept  in  a computer system if printouts of those records
17    may be provided upon request.

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

17        Section 30.  Inspection by a State Police officer.
18        (a)  Any  State Police officer, in the performance of his
19    or her duties,  is  authorized  to  enter  upon  and  perform
20    inspections  of  green-tagged  chassis  at any marine or rail
21    terminal which are intended to be tendered to or interchanged
22    with a motor carrier for use on a highway.
23        (b)  If the  officer  determines  that  any  green-tagged
24    chassis  is  not  roadworthy,  the  marine  or  rail terminal
25    operator is guilty of a petty offense punishable by a fine of
26    $500 per occurrence.

27        Section 35.  Responsibility for violations.
28        (a)  A citation issued for violation of this Act  related
29    to  the  defective condition of an intermodal chassis must be
30    issued to the marine or rail  terminal  operator  responsible
31    for the inspection and maintenance of the chassis, unless (i)
32    the  chassis is owned by the driver of the commercial vehicle
 
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 1    or (ii) the defective condition of the chassis was caused  by
 2    the failure of the motor carrier or its driver to operate the
 3    commercial vehicle in a safe manner.

 4        Section 40.  Hold-harmless clauses void. Any provision in
 5    a  contract  between  an  owner  or  lessee  of an intermodal
 6    chassis  and  a  driver  that  contains  a  hold-harmless  or
 7    indemnity clause concerning defects in the physical condition
 8    of the intermodal chassis is void as against  public  policy.
 9    This  Section  does  not  apply  to  damage to the intermodal
10    chassis caused by the negligent or  willful  failure  of  the
11    motor carrier or its driver to operate the commercial vehicle
12    in a safe manner.

13        Section  45.  Rules.  The  Secretary  of State must adopt
14    rules for implementing this Act.

15        Section 50.  Effect of this  Act.  Nothing  in  this  Act
16    relieves  a  commercial driver or commercial motor carrier of
17    any duty under  State  or  federal  law  regarding  the  safe
18    operation of a commercial motor vehicle.