District 26 State Senator Nick Gautreaux (D-Meaux) is fighting to protect Louisiana businesses and consumers from price gouging by railroads. Senate Bill 628, authored by Senator Gautreaux, received overwhelming support in the Senate and now heads to the House of Representatives for a vote.

  "Right now we have a regulatory environment that favors railway companies," said Senator Gautreaux. "Some rail lines are owned exclusively by one company and that company is allowed to set whatever price they want and operate as a monopoly. The end result is that railroad companies are price fixing and taking advantage of the end user. I don't think that's fair and it's certainly not sound public policy. I will fight to force the railroad companies to charge the same price here in Louisiana that they would charge in any other state."

  Senate Bill 628 prohibits a corporation owning or operating a railway in this state from fixing a price for moving goods within this state at a rate higher on a portion of a line than the price charged for a comparable distance on another part of a line.

  Recent changes in railway-system rules have resulted in a major reduction of the number of railway companies and made them exempt from anti-trust laws. The Surface Transportation Board, which replaced the Interstate Commerce Commission, created rules that strongly favor the railway companies. For example, the Lafayette Utilities System is forced to pay monopoly-set rates for the shipment of coal from Wyoming's Powder River Basin to the Rodemacher 2 coal-fired power plant in Boyce. LUS officials say Lafayette is paying $15 million per year more than it would if rail systems were competitive. Senator Gautreaux says this unfair practice costs the state's consumers and businesses and hampers economic development. He says Senate Bill 628 will force the rail companies to charge Louisiana customers fair and competitive prices.