HB 1557-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2014 SESSION
05/08
HOUSE BILL 1557-FN
AN ACT relative to the cost of maintaining certain railroad crossings.
SPONSORS: Rep. Rappaport, Coos 1
This bill provides that the landowner shall not be responsible for the cost to maintain railroad crossings on private land.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
14-2190
05/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen
AN ACT relative to the cost of maintaining certain railroad crossings.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Responsibility for Crossings, Stations, and Other Facilities. Amend RSA 373:1 to read as follows:
373:1 Facilities. It shall be the duty of every railroad to provide suitable crossings, stations and other facilities for the accommodation of the public, and suitable gates, crossings, cattle passes and other facilities for the accommodation of persons whose lands are divided, or are separated from a highway, by a railroad. The landowner shall not be responsible for the cost of installation and maintenance of gates, crossings, cattle passes, and other facilities on private land.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
14-2190
Revised 01/10/14
HB 1557 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to the cost of maintaining certain railroad crossings.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Transportation states this bill, as introduced, will increase state general fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2015 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on state, county and local revenue, or county and local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Transportation assumes this bill would make the state responsible for the cost of maintaining approximately 200 railroad crossings on private land as well as requiring the state to pay for the installation of additional crossings, if needed. The Department states there are four different types of crossings, however does not have specifics as to the types of crossings comprising the estimated 200 in existence. The Department assumes there is an equal amount of each type of crossing and maintenance would be required every five years. For informational purposes, the Department has provided the following estimated annual costs it might incur as a result of this bill:
Crossing Type |
Crossings Maintained |
Maintenance Cost |
Total Annual Cost |
Pedestrian |
10 |
$5,000 |
$50,000 |
Farm |
10 |
$6,000 |
$60,000 |
Driveway |
10 |
$15,000 |
$150,000 |
Commercial Road |
10 |
$100,000 |
$1,000,000 |
Total |
40 |
? |
$1,260,000 |
The Department is unable to estimate how many new crossings will need to be installed that the state would be responsible for paying for in the future.