WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has elected not to hear Ohio’s appeal of a decision overturning a state law regulating blocked railroad grade crossings, WFIN radio reports, leaving stand precedent that local regulation is preempted by federal regulation of interstate commerce.
Ohio’s Supreme Court had struck down the law, which prohibited railroads from blocking grade crossings for more than five minutes [see “Ohio Supreme Court strikes down blocked-crossing law,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 18, 2022]. The state asked the federal court to review that decision, with a group of state attorneys general also asking the Supreme Court to take the case, arguing that earlier rulings have misinterpreted federal law, which sets Surface Transportation Board authority to address matters of rates and practices but says nothing about safety [see “Kansas attorney general joins group asking Supreme Court to review …,” News Wire, Dec. 23, 2022.]
The Supreme Court last year asked the federal government to file a brief offering its view of the case, which court observers took as a sign that justices were at least considering accepting the appeal; the U.S. Solicitor General responded in November with a filing supporting the view that federal law blocks state action [see “U.S. solicitor general says federal law preempts state regulation …,” News Wire, Nov. 28, 2023].
States or local jurisdictions would now need action by Congress to address blocked-crossing issues. No current federal regulations exist on the matter.
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