Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Oklahoma Legislature, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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3 SENATE BILL 356 By: Boren
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to the operation of railroads;
7 defining terms; prohibiting operation of trains
8 exceeding a certain length; creating a civil penalty;
8 providing for certain fine for certain violations;
9 allowing for Transportation Commission to request
9 Attorney General take certain action; directing
10 deposit of certain monies; providing for
10 codification; and providing an effective date.
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14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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15 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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16 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 104 of Title 66, unless there is
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17 created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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18 As used in this act:
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19 1. "Branch line" means a secondary railroad track that branches
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20 off from a main line;
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21 2. "Main line" means a Class I railroad as documented in
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22 current timetables filed by the Class I railroad with the Federal
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23 Railroad Administration under 49 C.F.R., Section 217.7 when the
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Req. No. 1067 Page 1
1 railroad has five million (5,000,000) or more gross tons of railroad
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2 traffic transported annually;
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3 3. "Railroad" means any form of non-highway ground
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4 transportation that runs on rails or electromagnetic guideways;
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5 4. "Train" means one or more locomotives, coupled with or
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6 without cars, that require an air brake test in accordance with 49
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7 C.F.R., Part 232 or 238; and
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8 5. "Siding or passing track" means a sidetrack with switches at
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9 both ends.
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10 SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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11 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 105 of Title 66, unless there is
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12 created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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13 A. No railroad company operating in this state shall run or
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14 permit to be run any train that exceeds eight thousand five hundred
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15 (8,500) feet in length or exceeds the length of the shortest siding
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16 or passing track on which it travels on any main line or branch
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17 line, or that routinely or repeatedly blocks any intersection for
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18 periods exceeding ten (10) minutes at one time.
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19 B. Except as provided in subsection C of this section, if any
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20 railroad company has been determined by the Transportation
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21 Commission as willfully violating subsection A of this section, the
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22 company shall be liable for a civil penalty not less than Five
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23 Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per foot nor more than One Thousand
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Req. No. 1067 Page 2
1 Dollars ($1,000.00) per foot of the length of a train exceeding the
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2 limitation set forth in subsection A of this section.
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3 C. Any railroad company that commits a grossly negligent
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4 violation or that has a pattern of repeated violations, which the
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5 Transportation Commission has determined caused an imminent threat
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6 of death or injury to another person or that caused death or injury
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7 to another person, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed Two
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8 Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00).
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9 D. In determining the amount of a civil penalty under this
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10 section, the Transportation Commission shall consider the:
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11 1. Nature, circumstances, extent, and seriousness of the
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12 violation; and
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13 2. Degree of culpability, history of violations, ability to
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14 pay, and any effect on the violator's ability to continue to do
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15 business.
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16 E. At the request of the Transportation Commission, the
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17 Attorney General may initiate a civil action in any court of
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18 competent jurisdiction to collect any civil penalty imposed pursuant
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19 to this section. A civil action under this section shall be
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20 commenced within three (3) years of the date of the violation or
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21 within three (3) years of the latest violation if a repeated offense
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22 is alleged.
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1 F. Any civil penalty received under this section shall be
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2 deposited in the State Transportation Fund created under Section
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3 1501.1 of Title 69 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
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4 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
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6 60-1-1067 MSBB 1/3/2025 4:25:46 PM
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Req. No. 1067 Page 4Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.