Status and applicable laws

§ 24501. Status and applicable laws (a) Status.—Amtrak Commuter— (1) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amtrak; (2) provides by contract commuter rail passenger transportation for a commuter authority with which Amtrak Commuter makes a contract to provide the transportation under this chapter; (3) has no common carrier obligations to provide rail passenger or rail freight transportation; and (4) is not a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government. (b) Application of Safety and Employee Relations Laws and Regulations.—Chapter 105 of this title does not apply to Amtrak Commuter. However, laws and regulations governing safety, employee representation for collective bargaining purposes, the handling of disputes between carriers and employees, employee retirement, annuity, and unemployment systems, and other dealings with employees that apply to a rail carrier providing transportation subject to subchapter I of chapter 105 apply to Amtrak Commuter. 108 STAT. 920 (c) Application of Certain Additional Laws.—This part and, to the extent consistent with this part, the District of Columbia Business Corporation Act (D.C. Code § 29–301 et seq.) apply to Amtrak Commuter. (d) Nonapplication of Rate, Route, and Service Laws.—A State or other law related to rates, routes, or service in connection with rail passenger transportation does not apply to Amtrak Commuter. (e) Preemption Related to Employee Work Requirements.—A State may not adopt or continue in force a law, rule, regulation, order, or standard requiring Amtrak Commuter to employ a specified number of individuals to perform a particular task, function, or operation. (f) Exemption From Additional Taxes.—(1) In this subsection, “additional tax” means a tax or fee— (A) on the acquisition, improvement, ownership, or operation of personal property by Amtrak Commuter; and (B) on real property, except a tax or fee on the acquisition of real property or on the value of real property not attributable to improvements made, or the operation of those improvements, by Amtrak Commuter. (2) Amtrak Commuter is not required to pay an additional tax because of an expenditure to acquire or improve real property, equipment, a facility, or right-of-way material or structures used to provide rail passenger transportation. (g) Tax Exemption for Certain Commuter Authorities.—A commuter authority with which Amtrak Commuter could have made a contract to provide commuter rail passenger transportation under this chapter but which decided to provide its own rail passenger transportation beginning on January 1, 1983, is exempt, effective October 1, 1981, from paying a tax or fee to the same extent Amtrak is exempt. (h) Nonapplication of Agreements for Financial Support and Trackage Rights.—An agreement under which financial support was provided on January 2, 1974, to a commuter authority to continue rail passenger transportation does not apply to Amtrak Commuter. However, Amtrak and the Consolidated Rail Corporation retain appropriate trackage rights over rail property owned or leased by the authority. Compensation for the rights shall be reasonable.