RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed the bill that would have required two-person crews for freight trains within the state, the news website Virginia Mercury reports.
Youngkin said in a veto message issued March 8 that he took the action because the actions in the bill “appear premature and lack the necessary nuance required for effective regulation.” He wrote that federal rulemaking was the best way to address the issue, and that “available evidence does not conclusively support the notion that two-person crews are inherently safer,” that short lines would be significantly affected, and that the regulations “would impose constraints on our supply chain.”
The bill, introduced by Delegate Shelly A. Simonds (D-Newport News), had passed both houses of the General Assembly on party-line votes — 51-49 in the House of Delegates and 20-19 in the Senate, with Democrats supporting and Republicans opposing [see “Virginia two-person crew bill goes to governor,” Trains News Wire, March 4, 2024]. The veto by Youngkin, a Republican, is not a surprise.
Simonds questioned whether federal action is likely, the Mercury reports.
“We’ve been waiting far too long,” Simonds said. “We’re getting into a place where if the federal government won’t take action and state governments can’t take action, we’re really putting our communities at risk just pushing this issue down the track.”
Youngkin at least apparently has some intelligence to him based on this: “He wrote that federal rulemaking was the best way to address the issue, and that “available evidence does not conclusively support the notion that two-person crews are inherently safer,” that short lines would be significantly affected, and that the regulations “would impose constraints on our supply chain.””
Few Virginia politicians bother to read the U.S. Constitution.
From my study of history, the only two politicians to have read the Constitution were George Washington and Barry Goldwater.