Vermont § 3404 - Right of first refusal

§ 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.)