Skip to main content
HR 1347 118th Congress House Transportation and Public Works

D-BLOC Act

Introduced: March 3, 2023 Introduced by: Garcia, Sylvia R. Democratic · Texas See on congress.gov
Sign in to write a letter Sign in to watch
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 6, 2023
Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Mar 3, 2023
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Mar 3, 2023
Introduced in House
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Don't BLock Our Communities Act or the D-BLOC Act

This bill prohibits railroad carriers from obstructing travel at public highway-rail crossings for more than 10 minutes, except under limited circumstances (e.g., safety issues).

The Department of Transportation (DOT) must investigate and send notices to carriers of repeated incidents; carriers are subject to civil penalties for violations that occur after having received notice.

Additionally, each Class I railroad carrier must publish on its home page an active link to the blocked highway-rail crossing portal that is maintained by the Federal Railroad Administration. The portal is used to (1) collect information from the public, including first responders, regarding blocked highway-rail grade crossing events; (2) solicit the apparent cause of the blocked crossing and provide examples of common causes of blocked crossings; (3) provide each complainant with the contact information for reporting a blocked crossing to the relevant railroad; and (4) encourage each complainant to report the blocked crossing to the relevant railroad.

What's happening now March 6, 2023

Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Cosponsors 4
All 4 Democratic 4