State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer worked with the state’s railroad union on a piece of legislation this session to protect the privacy of railroaders in the event of a fatal accident.
Davidsmeyer says through no fault of their own oftentimes railroad engineers are put in tragic situations: “The bill originally came from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Train Men, and we worked with the Railroad Association to have an amendment on the House side. It’s my understanding that the majority party on the Senate side was concerned about the wording. They weren’t sure if we were trying to get an East Palestine, Ohio thing but we weren’t. So, we changed the words a little bit to come back over to the House. We are just trying to protect individuals in case of an accident to ensure that the employees aren’t harassed by the general public or something of that sort. It’s just to protect them and their families.”
The bill was given approval in the Senate on Tuesday but due to an amendment put on the bill in the Senate, it will need to come back to the House for concurrence. It previously passed the House with unanimous consent.