SF 38 Iowa Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

A bill for an act relating to the operation of railroad trains by a crew of two or more persons, and providing penalties.

SF 38 requires large railroad carriers (class I and II, defined by federal revenue thresholds) operating passenger or freight trains in Iowa to use a minimum of two qualified crew members. Violations carry escalating fines: $500-$1,000 for a first offense, $500-$5,000 for a second, and $5,000-$10,000 for subsequent offenses within a three-year window. The bill directly affects major rail carriers meeting the federal revenue criteria (class I: over $1.05 billion annual revenue; class II: $47 million-$1.05 billion). It establishes specific penalties for operating trains with fewer than two crew members, focusing on safety compliance for passenger and freight rail operations.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 14, 2025 Last action Jan 29, 2025
Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
3
Committee
3
Jan 29, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Subcommittee recommends passage.
legislature
Jan 27, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Subcommittee Meeting: 01/29/2025 2:00PM Room 315.
legislature
Jan 15, 2025
Upper · Passed
Subcommittee: Shipley, Klimesh, and Winckler.
upper
Jan 14, 2025
Introduced
Introduced, referred to Transportation.
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Tom Shipley
Tom Shipley
RRepublican
IA
9