The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
(Cite as: 5 V.S.A. § 3404)
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§ 3404. Right of first refusal
(a) All railroad operating properties within the State offered for sale by a railroad,
other than to another railroad for continued operation, shall also be offered to the
State of Vermont. The offer shall be made in writing and shall be sent by certified
mail to the Agency. The offer shall include a map and a description of the property,
the price, if available, a description of the present and past railroad use of the
property, and any terms, reservations, or conditions the railroad proposes to include
as part of the sale. Within 365 days, less any period of time that has elapsed because
of the pendency of abandonment proceedings before the Surface Transportation Board
or the imposition of public use conditions under 49 U.S.C. § 10905, the Agency shall accept or reject the offer. If the Agency either rejects or fails
to accept the offer in a timely manner, the State’s preferential right under this
section shall terminate, but in no event shall the railroad offer to sell the property,
or any portion of it, to any other person on terms more favorable than the final terms
offered to the Agency.
(b) For purposes of this section, “railroad operating properties” shall mean any land,
structures, buildings, rails, ties, ballast, signals, and materials that have been
or are being used for rail transportation purposes and that are located within the
limits of the railroad’s roadway; provided, however, that if a railroad offers to
sell any property in connection with its abandonment of a line, “railroad operating
properties” shall also include any real or personal property of whatever description
abutting the railroad’s roadway that has been or is being used for rail transportation
purposes and that is reasonably necessary to continued railroad operation or other
public use. (Added 1987, No. 211 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 26, 1988; amended 2011, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 36.)