CSX wants Florida taxpayers to pay for almost all accidents it causes on Central Florida Commuter Rail, a type of demand that Massachusetts and California refuse to accept. And if a jury awards punitive damages because the railroad was grossly negligent, CSX wants state taxpayers to pay those, too.

Now consider that CSX had more than 3,500 safety violations in 2007, and inspectors found defects at two-thirds of the 400 railroad crossings between West Palm Beach and St. Petersburg in 2006. To keep injury reports down, CSX has discouraged injured employees from seeking medical help. And in a book called Free Lunch, Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter David Cay Johnston describes a case in which CSX cut corners to cut costs, leading to an accident that left eight people dead and 77 injured. Click here to read one Florida woman’s tragic tale.

Tri-rail offers sovereign immunity for contract workers who operate, maintain and secure the line.

Sovereign immunity holds that the sovereign state of Florida can’t be sued for more than $100,000 per injured person, or $200,000 per incident. Private high-risk specialists in teaching hospitals have tried to get sovereign-immunity protection from malpractice suits, but failed. Until now, lawmakers have been conservative about extending sovereign immunity because it leads to more injured people seeking legislative “claims bills” – requests for taxpayer dollars – to make them whole.

The state trial lawyers’ association wants to prevent further extensions of sovereign immunity and so last year used its political muscle to help defeat the CSX deal. This year, the Florida Justice Association says it’s been assured sovereign immunity for contract workers won’t be included in the Central Florida legislation and so has switched its position from “opposed” to “neutral.” But that doesn’t mean the group believes the bill is good public policy. It’s just got other political fish to fry.

Still, politically, some think the liability issue has been resolved.

It hasn’t.

In Central Florida, CSX seeks a second type of protection, called indemnification. This is the Big Kahuna. It would require the taxpayers of Florida to indemnify the freight railroad from any harm it causes to passengers, train stations, stores, restaurants, office shops and related buildings in the state-owned rail corridor.

More than “no-fault,” indemnification is like “no-accountability.” The only document signed by the railroad says taxpayers will hold the railroad and its people harmless, no matter what they do. If the railroad is willing to reopen negotiations on Sovereign Immunity for contract employees -- as it was to rid itself of trial-lawyer opposition -- it should be willing to reconsider taxpayer indemnification, too.

In South Florida, Tri-Rail did agree to indemnify CSX for accidents its freight trains cause on the state’s tracks. But there’s debate about whether this contractual provision would stand up in court. CSX wants to take no chances. For both Central Florida and Tri-Rail, CSX wants its right to be reimbursed by taxpayers spelled out in statute.

At least one other state, California, prohibits the wholesale indemnification of private companies. Florida has no such prohibition. In Massachusetts, lawmakers are fighting CSX’s demands for indemnification. They signed a letter of protest to CSX CEO Michael Ward. And Rep. Barney Frank is using his high-ranking Congressional post as leverage to seek reasonable compromise from CSX.

The railroad’s demand for indemnification is why 27 of Florida’s 40 senators last year rejected the CSX deal. Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, who led the fight for average citizens, says she’s seen no movement among returning senators, though a couple new members have yet to decide. Citizens can only hope this coalition holds strong to protect our pocketbooks.

Alex Sink, the state’s chief financial officer, warns of enormous risk if the state completes the CSX deal on CSX's terms. "While the expansion of commuter rail is a laudable and important component of wise transportation planning, Florida's taxpayers should not assume an undue amount of liability," she wrote last year’s Senate president.

“Taxpayers will be responsible for paying the bill in several scenarios, even if CSX is completely at fault. … At a minimum, I respectfully encourage you to limit the liability provisions above to the CSX corridor acquisition and prevent future negotiations from happening under the cover of darkness. “

Since then, Tampa's representative in Congress, Kathy Castor, and four of her colleagues – including U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., who heads the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee – have asked the General Accounting Office to examine liability issues for commuter systems that share tracks with freight trains. The report is expected in February.

But U.S. Rep John Mica, R-Orlando, says there’s no time to waste. He wants Florida to close the deal now, no matter the costs, corporate subsidies and giveaways. Mica shows no desire to negotiate a better deal for taxpayers.

If CSX were leasing its tracks for use by the state, as it does with Amtrak, one might possibly understand its demands. But the for-profit railroad is selling the state the line at an unprecedented premium, getting taxpayers to maintain the line, paying a fraction of market value to use the tracks 12 hours a day for freight, and asking state taxpayers to pay the damages its trains cause while using our tracks.