12 2 STA T .4867PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 4 3 2 —O CT. 16 , 2008 Secr e ta r yd eter min e s t h at disc lo s u re w ould b e consistent with the con f identiality needed for that safety ris k reduction p ro g ram or pilot program .‘ ‘ ( c )DISCRET I ONA R YP RO H I B ITION O F DISC L OS U RE. —T he Sec - retary may prohibit the public disclosure of risk analyses or risk mitigation analyses that the Secretary has obtained under other pro v isions of , or regulations or orders under, this chapter if the Secretary determines that the prohibition of public disclosure is necessary to promote railroad safety. ‘ ‘ §201 1 9.Studyon u se o fc e r t ai nre p orts and sur v eys ‘‘(a) STU D Y.—The F ederal R ailroad A dministration shall com- plete a study to evaluate whether it is in the public interest, including public safety and the legal rights of persons in j ured in railroad accidents, to withhold from discovery or admission into evidence in a Federal or State court proceeding for damages involving personal injury or wrongful death against a carrier any report, survey, schedule, list, or data compiled or collected for the purpose of evaluating, planning, or implementing a railroad safety risk reduction program re q uired under this chapter, including a railroad carrier ’ s analysis of its safety risks and its statement of the mitigation measures with which it will address those risks. I n conducting this study, the Secretary shall solicit input from the railroads, railroad non-profit employee labor organi z ations, rail- road accident victims and their families, and the general public. ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—Following completion of the study required under subsection (a), the Secretary, if in the public interest, including public safety and the legal rights of persons injured in railroad accidents, may prescribe a rule subject to notice and comment to address the results of the study. Any such rule pre- scribed pursuant to this subsection shall not become effective until 1 year after its adoption.’’. (b) C ONFOR M IN G AMENDMENT.—The chapter analysis for chapter 20 1 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2011 7 the following
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‘ 201 1 8.Prohib i t io n on pu b l i cd i s closur e o f r a ilroad safet y analysis records. ‘‘2011 9 . S tudy on use of certain reports and sur v eys. ’ ’. SEC.1 1 0 . PILOT P R O J ECTS. Section 2110 8 is amended to read as follows: ‘‘§ 2110 8 . P i l ot pro j ects ‘‘(a) IN G ENERAL.—As of the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, a railroad carrier or railroad carriers and all nonprofit employee labor organizations representing any class or craft of directly affected covered service employees of the railroad carrier or railroad carriers, may jointly petition the Secretary of Transportation for approval of— ‘‘(1) a waiver of compliance with this chapter as in effect on the date of enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008
or ‘‘(2) a waiver of compliance with this chapter as it will be effective 9 months after the enactment of the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, to enable the establishment of one or more pilot projects to dem- onstrate the possible benefits of implementing alternatives to the strict application of the requirements of this chapter, including 49USC21 1 08.Ef f ectiv e da te.
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