South Carolina H 3545: Train Operations in a Municipality

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3545 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3545

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 
58-15-915 SO AS TO LIMIT THE TIME A TRAIN MAY BLOCK FOUR-LANE STREET 
INTERSECTIONS IN MUNICIPALITIES DURING CERTAIN PERIODS OF TIME.

Whereas, the Supremacy 
Clause of Article VI of the United States Constitution provides that the laws 
of the United States must be the supreme law of the land, notwithstanding a 
contrary provision of state law, and vests in Congress the power to preempt 
state law; and

Whereas, Congress 
enacted the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FRSA), 49 U.S.C. Section 20101, et 
seq., to regulate various railroad safety and transit matters; and

Whereas, the FRSA 
includes a preemption clause that provides railroad security laws be uniform to 
the extent possible, but providing a state may adopt a more stringent law 
necessary to eliminate or reduce an essentially local safety or security 
hazard, provided the law is not incompatible with a law, regulation, or order 
of the United States government, and does not unreasonably burden interstate 
commerce; and

Whereas, the General 
Assembly believes that Congress intended that the FRSA preempt all railroad 
safety legislation except state law governing an area in which the Secretary of 
Transportation has not issued a regulation or order and where the state law is 
stricter than federal regulations when necessary to address local problems; and

Whereas, the General 
Assembly finds no federal provision concerning specific time limits for which a 
train or locomotive may block a congested street or highway intersection; and

Whereas, consequently, 
the State of South Carolina may act to impose such time limits in the interest 
of motor safety in this State until superseded by federal law or regulations 
specific to this issue. Now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Article 9, Chapter 15, Title 58 of the S.C. Code is 
amended by adding:

 Section 
58-15-915. A train operating in a municipality between the hours of 7 a.m. to 9 
a.m., 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. may not block a four-lane 
intersection of a public road for more than five minutes in a one hour period.

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

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