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HEPBURN ACT

Passed by the United States Congress in June 1906, the Hepburn Act gave the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), established in 1887, the authority to compel railroads to abide by the regulatory agency's standards and rulings. Rail companies that chose to challenge the ICC in court continued to be subject to all ICC regulations while the legal proceedings were going forward; in other words, the fact that a trial was underway did not exempt any rail company from abiding by all ICC rules. The Hepburn Act gave the ICC the right to fix rail rates, investigate rail trusts, and expanded the agency's purview to include interstate transportation terminals, bridges, rail sleeping cars, express companies, and ferry services. The bill, also called the Railway Rate Regulation Act, was sponsored by representative William Peters Hepburn (1833–1916) of Iowa. The legislation was one of several congressional acts to broadened the jurisdiction and increased the power of the Interstate Commerce Commission, which originally gave the agency control over interstate rail rates and practices.

See also: Interstate Commerce, Interstate Commerce Commission, Railroad Industry