12 2 STA T .4896PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 4 3 2 —O CT. 16 , 2008 rep re s e nta t iv e of an attorne y) or any potentia l party to t h e liti g ation , in c l ud ing the railroad carrier or rail passenger car - rier, to an individual ( other than an e m ployee of the rail pas- senger carrier) in j ured in the accident, or to a relative of an individual involved in the accident, b efore the 45 th day fol- lo w ing the date of the accident .‘ ‘( 3 ) PROHIB I T IO N ON AC TION S TO P R EV ENT M ENTA L HEALTH AN D CO U NSELIN G SERVICES. —N o S tate or political subdivision thereof may prevent the employees, agents, or volunteers of an organi z ation designated for an accident under subsection (a)( 2 ) from providing mental health and counseling services under subsection (c)( 1 )inthe3 0 -day period beginning on the date of the accident. T he director of family support services designated for the accident under subsection (a)(1) may e x tend such period for not to exceed an additional 30 days if the director determines that the extension is necessary to meet the needs of the families and if State and local authorities are notified of the determination. ‘‘(h) D E F INITIONS.— I n this section
‘‘(1) R AIL PASSENGER ACCIDENT.—The term ‘rail passenger accident ’ means any rail passenger disaster resulting in a major loss of life occurring in the provision of— ‘‘( A ) interstate intercity rail passenger transportation (as such term is defined in section 24102)
or ‘‘( B ) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail (as such term is defined in section 2 6 105) transportation, regardless of its cause or suspected cause. ‘‘(2) RAIL PASSENGER CARRIER.—The term ‘rail passenger carrier’ means a rail carrier providing— ‘‘(A) interstate intercity rail passenger transportation (as such term is defined in section 24102); or ‘‘(B) interstate or intrastate high-speed rail (as such term is defined in section 26105) transportation, except that such term does not include a tourist, historic, scenic, or excursion rail carrier. ‘‘(3) PASSENGER.—The term ‘passenger’ includes— ‘‘(A) an employee of a rail passenger carrier aboard a train; ‘‘(B) any other person aboard the train without regard to whether the person paid for the transportation, occupied a seat, or held a reservation for the rail transportation; and ‘‘( C ) any other person injured or k illed in a rail pas- senger accident, as determined appropriate by the Board. ‘‘(i) L IMITATION ON STATUTOR Y CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section may be construed as limiting the actions that a rail pas- senger carrier may take, or the obligations that a rail passenger carrier may have, in providing assistance to the families of pas- sengers involved in a rail passenger accident. ‘‘(j) RELIN Q UISHMENT OF INVESTIGATIVE PRIORITY.— ‘‘(1) G ENERAL RULE.—This section (other than subsection (g)) shall not apply to a railroad passenger accident if the Board has relin q uished investigative priority under section 1131(a)(2)(B) and the F ederal agency to which the Board relin- quished investigative priority is willing and able to provide assistance to the victims and families of the passengers involved in the accident.
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