Hepburn Act

Hepburn Act

Long title	An Act to amend an act entitled "An act to regulate commerce," approved February fourth, eighteen hundred and eighty-seven, and all Acts amendatory thereof, and to enlarge the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission
Enacted by	the 59th United States Congress
Effective	June 29, 1906
Citations
Public law	Pub. L. 59–337
Statutes at Large	34 Stat. 584
Codification
Acts amended	Interstate Commerce Act of 1887
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 12987 Signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt on June 29, 1906

The Hepburn Act is a 1906 United States federal law that expanded the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and gave it the power to set maximum railroad rates. This led to the discontinuation of free passes to loyal shippers.^[1] In addition, the ICC could view the railroads' financial records, a task simplified by standardized bookkeeping systems. For any railroad that resisted, the ICC's conditions would remain in effect until the outcome of legislation said otherwise. By the Hepburn Act, the ICC's authority was extended to cover bridges, terminals, ferries, railroad sleeping cars, express companies and oil pipelines.