(The Associated Press circulated the following story by Paul Davenport on April 28.)
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A bill to require new state reviews of railroad projects is advancing in the Arizona Legislature after surviving a legal review Monday amid questions of whether the state would encroach on the federal government’s regulatory authority.
The bill would require railroads to notify the state about plans for new tracks and other facilities and provide detailed information, including locations of other sites considered. The state Department of Transportation then would have to hold a public hearing and convey concerns and information to federal regulators.
Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway Co., each of which has a major east-west route crossing Arizona, contend the bill would be unconstitutional because the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over railroad projects.
“They call it regulation. I call it openness and transparency,” said Rep. Jonathan Paton, a Tucson Republican who is the bill’s chief sponsor.
Senate attorney Joni Hoffman said the bill (HB2156) “has significant pre-emption problems” because federal law on regulation of railroad projects only has exceptions for states to have involvement on public health and safety concerns.
But a divided Senate Rules Committee by voice vote declared that the bill is constitutional. That permits the House-approved bill to advance to the full Senate.
Costly delays resulting from the bill’s mandates “will stop railroad projects in Arizona cold,” said Margaret LaBianca, a lawyer for Union Pacific.
A lawyer for supporters of the bill said the bill’s requirements don’t tread on the federal government’s regulatory turf because they don’t give the state the power to block a project.
“This is about information _ information that is not available to Arizona citizens and lawmakers,” said attorney Nick Simonetta.
Controversy over two Union Pacific projects in Arizona preceded the legislative proposal.
One project, still on the drawing boards, involves construction of a new switching yard in Pinal County in south-central Arizona.
UP says the yard is needed to help handle growing freight traffic on its “Sunset Route” main line between Los Angeles and El Paso, Texas, and the Pinal County Board of Supervisors has backed it for economic development reasons.
However, the projected yard has raised concerns about a groundwater recharge site and a nearby state park featuring a landmark peak.
Another project, since shelved, would have placed a proposed new spur to Mexico across prime farmland in Yuma County in southwestern Arizona.
Backed by farm groups and some local governments, the bill has evolved from similar legislation vetoed by Gov. Janet Napolitano in 2007.