Railway Age, 12/6/17:
Santa baby, don’t forget the STB
For 54 weeks beginning in 2003, Roger Nober was the lone member of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), tormented that if he discussed cases with himself he would violate the Government in Sunshine Act, which prohibits a quorum from discussing anything of substance outside a properly noticed public meeting.
Nober’s legal counsel concluded the law permitted a body of one to decide cases. Nonetheless, those decisions bind parties for decades, and surely corrupt the spirit of the law and the purpose of a multi-member independent regulatory agency.
It may be déjà vu again. Although the 2015 Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act increased the number of STB voting members from three to five, the two new seats have yet to be filled.
In September, STB Chairman Dan Elliott, a Democrat, resigned, creating a vacancy; and the term of Democrat Deb Miller expires Dec. 31. . . .