The Valuation Act is a 1913 United States federal law that required the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to assess the value of railroad property. [1] This information would be used to set rates for the transport of freight.
The Valuation Act is a 1913 United States federal law that required the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to assess the value of railroad property. [1] This information would be used to set rates for the transport of freight.
The act was the brainchild of ICC commissioners Charles A. Prouty and Franklin K. Lane. [2] Its objective was the setting of fair rates for freight shipments. It was a classic piece of Progressive Era legislation designed to find a scientific basis for setting tariffs (shipping charges) by determining the correct value of each railroad's real property and assets. Members of Congress assumed that with this information, the ICC would be able to set rates according to the principle of a reasonable rate of return on the real value of each railroad and the industry as a whole. [3]
The law amended the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 and required the ICC to organize a Bureau of Valuation in order to undertake the assessments. The ICC formulated a set of procedural and reporting standards for the valuation process, and then permitted the individual railroads to complete the valuation under the nominal supervision of an ICC administration. [3]
Although the original intent of the Valuation Act was to prepare a one-time assessment of railroad assets, subsequent legislation had the effect of prolonging the process. The Esch-Cummins Act of 1920 expanded the ICC's rate-setting responsibilities, and the agency in turn required updated valuation data from the railroads. [4] The enlarged process led to a major increase in ICC staff, and the valuations continued for almost 20 years. [5] The valuation process turned out to be of limited use in helping the ICC set rates fairly. [3] [6]
Congress passed a minor amendment to the law in 1922. [7]
Prouty resigned from his Commissioner post at the ICC to serve as the first Valuation Bureau Chairman. [2] Lane resigned to become Secretary of the Interior in the Woodrow Wilson administration. [8]
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including interstate bus lines and telephone companies. Congress expanded ICC authority to regulate other modes of commerce beginning in 1906. Throughout the 20th century, several of ICC's authorities were transferred to other federal agencies. The ICC was abolished in 1995, and its remaining functions were transferred to the Surface Transportation Board.
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In United States federal law, the Mayfield–Newton Act, or the Mayfield Act, was an act passed by the United States Congress on March 4, 1927, amending the Interstate Commerce Act, the Esch–Cummins Act, and the Uniform Bill of Lading to "authorize reduced freight rates in cases of emergency", including earthquake, fire, flood, famine drought, epidemic, and pestilence. Sponsored by Sen. Earle B. Mayfield (D) of Texas and Rep. Walter H. Newton (R) of Minnesota, the act changed the original maximum suspension, which had been fixed by the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910, to 120 days, extendable by the Interstate Commerce Commission to 6 months – the Esch-Cummins Act reduced the extension period to 30 days while the Mayfield-Newton Act of 1927 replaced the provision with a single period of 7 months.
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Except to take up incredible amounts of space on library shelves, the reports of the valuation agency never served any visible purpose.
