D-BLOC Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Don't BLock Our Communities Act or the D-BLOC Act
This bill addresses concerns related to blocked crossings. (A blocked crossing is a circumstance in which a train, railroad car, or locomotive engine is stopped or is standing in a manner that obstructs public travel at a crossing).
Specifically, the bill
requires each railroad carrier to collect data on blocked crossings and directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to incorporate such data into the national highway-rail crossing inventory;
establishes a 10-minute limit on trains, locomotive, railroad cars, or other railroad equipment blocking crossings, with specified exceptions;
authorizes DOT to issue civil penalties for each incident where a crossing is blocked by a standing train, locomotive, or rail equipment;
requires DOT to issue regulations defining what is considered persistently or egregiously blocking a crossing, including taking into consideration the extent to which the blocked crossing poses a public safety hazard;
does not apply to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) or commuter authorities;
directs DOT to issue and publish a national strategy on how it plans to address blocked crossings; and
requires each railroad carrier to establish and maintain a toll-free telephone service for rights-of-way over which it dispatches trains to directly receive calls reporting blocked crossings.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 12, 2020. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 13, 2020: Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) introduced it on March 12, 2020, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 12, 2020, 2373 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2372 days ago, on March 13, 2020.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers