§271G-25  Agreement between carriers. (a)  For purposes of this section the term "antitrust laws" means anylaw of the State previously enacted pertaining to unlawful restraints of tradeand monopolies.

(b)  Any carrier party to an agreement betweenor among two or more carriers relating to rates, fares, classifications,divisions, allowances, or charges (including charges between carriers andcompensation paid or received for the use of facilities and equipment), orrules and regulations pertaining thereto, or procedures for the jointconsideration, initiation, or establishment thereof, may, under such rules andregulations as the public utilities commission may prescribe, apply to thecommission for approval of the agreement, and the commission shall by orderapprove any agreement, if approval thereof is not prohibited by subsection (c),if it finds that, by reason of furtherance of the transportation policydeclared in this chapter, the relief provided in subsection (e) should applywith respect to the making and carrying out of the agreement; otherwise, theapplication shall be denied.

(c)  The commission shall not approve underthis section any agreement between or among carriers of different classesunless it finds that the agreement is of the character described in subsection(b) of this section and is limited to matters relating to transportation underjoint rates or over through routes; and for purposes of this subsectioncarriers by aircraft are carriers of one class; carriers by motor vehicles arecarriers of one class; carriers by water are carriers of one class.

(d)  The commission is authorized uponcomplaint or upon its own initiative without complaint, to investigate anddetermine whether any agreement previously approved by it under this section,or terms and conditions upon which the approval was granted is not or are notin conformity with the standard set forth in subsection (b), or whether anysuch terms and conditions are not necessary for purposes of conformity with thestandard, and, after the investigation, the commission shall by order terminateor modify its approval of the agreement if it finds the action necessary toinsure conformity with the standard, and shall modify the terms and conditionsupon which the approval was granted to the extent it finds necessary to insureconformity with the standard or to the extent to which it finds the terms andconditions not necessary to insure each conformity.  The effective date of anyorder terminating or modifying approval, or modifying terms and conditions,shall be postponed for such period as the commission determines to bereasonably necessary to avoid undue hardship.

(e)  Parties to any agreement approved by thecommission under this section and other persons are, if the approval of suchagreement is not prohibited by subsection (c), relieved from the operation ofthe antitrust laws with respect to the making of such agreement, and withrespect to the carrying out of the agreement in conformity with the terms andconditions prescribed by the commission. [L 1974, c 94, pt of §1; am L 1980, c232, §10]

 

Cross References

 

  Restraint of trade, see chapter 480.