The Senate Transportation, Technology & Legislative Affairs committee approved SB397, a bill intended to keep the names of railroad workers out of news reports after most train accidents, sponsor Senator Dave Wallace said. "This bill will redact their names from any newspapers or anything to keep their names out of the press," Wallace said, adding that records would still be accessible through a public records request.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Dave Wallace (District 19), told the committee that about "90% of all railroad accidents are not the fault of the members and the employees that work on the train," and said the measure is meant to protect those workers’ privacy. Wallace also said the bill does not block public-records requests: "However, if somebody wants to FOIA the bill, then it's foible," he said.

Committee members asked whether similar privacy protections exist for other professions. Senator Johnson asked whether the protection would be consistent with protections afforded to other workers, noting equity concerns. Wallace replied he was not aware of parallel examples.

There were no public witnesses signed in either for or against the bill. A motion to pass the bill was moved by Senator Victor Love and seconded by Senator Scott. The committee voice-voted the measure and the chair said the bill passed.

Because the committee conducted only a voice vote, no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript. The bill record indicates the committee moved SB397 forward.

Bills dealing with personnel privacy and incident reporting frequently raise questions about balancing privacy with public access; the sponsor and committee limited the discussion in this hearing to the bill’s intent and the mechanics for public-records access.