§ 20115 — User Fees

(a) The Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe by regulation a schedule of fees for railroad carriers subject to this chapter. The fees— (1) shall cover the costs of carrying out this chapter (except section 20108(a)); (2) shall be imposed fairly on the railroad carriers, in reasonable relationship to an appropriate combination of criteria such as revenue ton-miles, track miles, passenger miles, or other relevant factors; and (3) may not be based on that part of industry revenues attributable to a railroad carrier or class of railroad carriers. (b) The Secretary shall prescribe procedures to collect the fees. The Secretary may use the services of a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government or of a State or local authority to collect the fees, and may reimburse the department, agency, or instrumentality a reasonable amount for its services. (1) The Secretary shall impose and collect fees under this section for each fiscal year before the end of the fiscal year. (2) Fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury as offsetting receipts. The fees may be used, to the extent provided in advance in an appropriation law, only to carry out this chapter. (3) Fees prescribed under this section shall be imposed in an amount sufficient to pay for the costs of activities under this chapter. However, the total fees received for a fiscal year may not be more than 105 percent of the total amount of the appropriations for the fiscal year for activities to be financed by the fees. (1) Not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year in which fees are collected under this section, the Secretary shall report to Congress on— (A) the amount of fees collected during that fiscal year; (B) the impact of the fees on the financial health of the railroad industry and its competitive position relative to each competing mode of transportation; and (C) the total cost of Government safety activities for each other competing mode of transportation, including any part of that total cost defrayed by Government user fees. (2) Not later than 90 days after submitting a report for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress recommendations for corrective legislation if the report includes a finding that— (A) there has been an impact from the fees on the financial health of the railroad industry or its competitive position relative to each competing mode of transportation; or (B) there is a significant difference in the burden of Government user fees on the railroad industry and other competing modes of transportation. (e) This section expires on September 30, 1995.