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July
27, 2004
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Headline
News
Hours of Service – What Happens Next and How Are You Affected?
With the U.S. Court of Appeals recent July 16 decision vacating the “new” hours of service (HOS) rules in their entirety and sending them back to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), TCA has received a number of inquiries regarding what happens next. The FMCSA currently has two avenues to pursue – to appeal the Court's decision or not within the 52-day window of the Court's ruling. If the agency does decide to appeal the decision, they have to prove that the HOS rulemaking was not “arbitrary and capricious” as the Court of Appeals ruled. If on the other hand the FMCSA decides not to appeal the decision then the regulations have to be revised so they address the Court's concerns.
A real concern lies in the uncertainty of what will happen to the HOS rules after the 52-day period expires. There are arguments over what rules should be in place beyond that 52-day period. In addition, to date the only information on FMCSA's website [www.fmcsa.dot.gov ] is a brief statement from Administrator Sandberg regarding the Court decision. TCA will keep you posted on this important issue.
On another HOS-related matter, on July 1, 2004 , a “draft” Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) on the HOS supporting documents issue was forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for their review. OMB has three months from that July 1 date to review the proposal and give its blessing or disapproval. This SNPRM would amend the HOS recordkeeping requirements to clarify what supporting documents motor carriers must have to verify HOS records. The last action of any sort on the HOS supporting document issue was a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published by the then Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the April 20, 1998 Federal Register.
For questions or comments on either of these HOS issues, please contact Rich Clemente at (703) 838-8847 or email: rclemente@truckload.org .
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Highway Bill Discussions “Heat Up,” Extension Passed
Reports from the House and Senate Highway Bill conferees are that “substantial progress” was made last week on the overall price tag for the six-year program. The two sides met in an effort to bridge differences in the House bill (H.R. 3550). In an attempt to break the “legislative gridlock” that has so far stalled the passage of a bill, the House Republicans sent the Senate conferees a highway reauthorization spending proposal authorizing $286 billion in guaranteed funding and $296 billion in contract authority on July 12.
Subsequently, on July 20, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, called upon the House and Senate conferees to consider a proposal to “bridge the gap” between House and Senate numbers during a meeting of the conference that morning. Inhofe issued the following statement, “I believe that time is running out and that a number for this critical bill must be agreed upon as soon as possible. Today I made a reasonable offer to bridge the gap between House and Senate conferees. While this number of $289 billion in guaranteed funding and $301 billion for contract authority was too high for some and too low for others, it represents less than one percent of difference between each side. We have worked long and hard in a truly bipartisan fashion to create a six-year transportation bill that is good for our economy, will create millions of jobs, fight traffic congestion, and improve the safety of our nation's roads and bridges. I am hopeful that members from both sides of the aisle and both houses of Congress will take a close look and will be able to move forward.” Inhofe also proposed to raise the minimum rate of return on state's federal highway tax contributions from 90.5% up to 94% by the year 2009. While Inhofe also warned that his proposal represents the last chance for Congress to pass a Highway Bill this year, reaction to his statement was “mixed.”
You will recall back in early May, both the House and the Senate approved the fourth extension of the current highway reauthorization program funding through July 31 of this year. On Friday, July 23, Congress passed a fifth temporary extension of the old plan, which expired in September last year.
The current extension, which maintains funding at levels set in the $218 billion plan, runs out at the end of July. Under the new extension highway programs will continue to be funded through Sept. 24. We will keep you abreast as highway bill developments occur. For further questions please contact Rich Clemente at (703) 838-8847 or by email: rclemente@truckload.org . Top
Additional Devices Approved for DOT Alcohol Testing
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a Notice in the July 14, 2004 , Federal Register that further expands the agency's list of approved evidential breath-testing devices for DOT-mandated alcohol testing. Since the last publication of the Conforming Products List in the October 3, 2002 Register , two new instruments have been evaluated and found to meet the model specifications for mobile and non-mobile use. The two new devices added to the current list are the Alcotest 6510 manufactured by Draeger Safety, Inc., Durango , CO and the Alco-Sensor FST manufactured by Intoximeters, Inc., St. Louis , MO.
The complete and latest up-to-date CPL is published in the July 14 Register Notice, with the same effective date. A copy of the Notice is available by clicking here for an HTML and here for a PDF.
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Looking for Info on the New Entry-Level Driver Regulations?
Do you need more
detailed information on the new Entry-Level Driver Regulations? To address
the new regulations, PTDI and Thomson Delmar Learning are developing
a new manual that will be available soon. This product will have two
components: a booklet that fits into your glove box which includes the
regulation information, an assessment section, and printed certificates;
and a CD-ROM which has PDF files of the manual and an automatically
scored assessment portion that prints a certificate. Please contact
us Rich Clemente, Director of PTDI at 703-838-8847 or Delmar at truckdriving@delmar.com
for more information.
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