May 24, 2005

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Headline News

• TCA, PTDI Need Your Support on Amendment to H.R. 717 – GI Bill to Include CDL Training
• FMCSA Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Unified Registration System
• Senate Passes $295 Billion Version of Highway Bill; MAY 31, 2005 Deadline of Latest Extension Looming
• FMCSA Announces Notice of Public Meeting on Establishment of National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners
• FMCSA Issues Final Rule on Rules of Practice and Enforcement Proceedings
• Get More Results from Your Recruiting Dollars! Improve Your Profitability By "Branding" Your Company *There is still time to register!!! Thursday, May 26, 2005 - 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm ET
• Alert your Drivers! They Can Give TCA Their Best Shot and Win $1000!

TCA, PTDI Need Your Support on Amendment to H.R. 717 – GI Bill to Include CDL Training

On February 9, 2005, Representative Michael Michaud (D-ME) introduced a bill H.R. 717. The impetus behind H.R. 717 is to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand the scope of programs of education for which accelerated payments of educational assistance under the Montgomery G.I. Bill may be used, and for other purposes. The issue of importance as it relates to the trucking industry and truck driver training schools, is that currently an accelerated program for Montgomery GI Bill Chapter 30 exists, but does not include a Commercial Driver License (CDL) Training Program. Amending title 38, to include a CDL Training Program would substantially increase Veterans entering the transportation industry by accelerating their GI Bill.

The last industry statistics that were compiled stated that the industry will need over 80,000 new commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers each year – and this number may even be a bit conservative. FTR Associates stated recently that we will need as many as 54,000 new drivers in the industry in the fourth quarter of this year. As stated above, amending title 38 to include a CDL program would greatly increase the Veterans chance to enter the trucking industry by accelerating their GI bill, and facilitating career placement for Veterans is in most cases extremely successful because of their backgrounds.

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FMCSA Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Unified Registration System

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a detailed Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the May 19, 2005, Federal Register in which the agency is proposing a revised Unified Registration System. This system would apply to every motor carrier, freight forwarder, and broker required to register with the DOT under 49 CFR 390.19 or 49 U.S.C. 13901, except Mexican-domiciled motor carriers registering to operate between Mexico and points in the U.S. beyond commercial zones along the U.S.-Mexico international border. This agency action is taken in response to section 103 of the ICC Termination Act of 1995, which required the D OT to propose regulations to replace four current identification and registration systems with a single, on-line, Federal system. These proposed changes will ultimately be incorporated into Section 360 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), which will be titled simply “Registration” – when they become Final Rule.

In the NPRM, the agency proposes to combine the data elements now captured on several different licensing, registration and certification forms into a single, new application form called the Form MCSA-1- FMCSA Registration Form (USDOT Number Application). This proposed new form -- around 20 pages in length – would replace the following forms and certifications:

1. Motor Carrier Identification Report (Application for USDOT Number), Form MCS-150;
2. Application for Motor Property Carrier and Broker Authority, Form OP-1;
3. Application for Motor Passenger Carrier Authority, Form OP-1(P);
4. Application for Freight Forwarder Authority, Form OP-1(FF);
5. Safety Certification for Applications for USDOT Number, Form MCS-150A; and
6. Application for Mexican Certificate of Registration for Foreign Motor Carriers and Foreign Motor Private Carriers Under 49 U.S.C. 13902, Form OP-2. The entire proposed “new” Form MCSA-1 (including all instructions for completion) is included as an appendix in the NPRM for public review and comment.

Some key points of interest in the NPRM that the agency is soliciting industry comment on include:

• The FMCSA is not at this time proposing elimination of the Single State Registration System (SSRS). To eliminate the SSRS program, the agency would need to reimburse Unified Registration System fees an annual amount totaling approximately $96 million to the 38 states currently participating in this program. The agency specifically requests public comment of the implications of this fee-based reimbursement to States as a means of preserving their SSRS-generated revenues;
• If the NPRM is promulgated as a Final Rule as proposed the new integrated on-line application process would replace the existing electronic options for filing applications for operating authority, a USDOT Number and related documents;
• The FMCSA proposes to discontinue issuance of MC, MX and FF numbers and to phase out the use of current MC, MX and FF numbers within 2 years of the effective date of the final rule. The USDOT Number would become the sole identification number for all entities registered by DOT;
• FMCSA proposes to remove regulations in 49 CFR Part 365, subpart D that govern the transfer of operating authority. As a result, MC numbers would no longer be subject to transfer;
• For-hire motor carriers, brokers and freight forwarders that are subject to the chapter 139 registration requirements must file evidence of Bodily Injury and Property Damage Insurance with the FMCSA on prescribed forms as a precondition to receiving and holding authorities and permits. The agency proposes in §3 60.9 to continue the filing requirement for these carriers and extend the applicability to exempt for-hire motor carriers, including passenger carriers, and private interstate carriers transporting hazardous materials (HM);
• Under the proposed revised §387.303(c), the agency would require only motor carriers and freight forwarders engaged in transportation of household goods to maintain and file evidence of cargo insurance with the FMCSA; and
• As proposed in the NPRM, all entities under FMCSA jurisdiction would pay a $200 registration fee at the time the application is filed.

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Senate Passes $295 Billion Version of Highway Bill; MAY 31, 2005 Deadline of Latest Extension Looming

The Department of Transportation (DOT), Office of the Secretary (OST) announced in the May 6, Federal Register , their intent to suspend the next meeting of the Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee on Minimum Standards for Driver's Licenses and Personal Identification Cards which was originally scheduled for May 10-13, 2005. The reason for this government action is impending Congressional action in the near future concerning the REAL ID Act. This legislation has already passed in the House on April 5, and in the Senate this past week. President Bush is anticipated to sign this bill into law. If the REAL ID Act is ultimately signed into law as is anticipated, it would terminate the Department's Negotiated Rulemaking Committee activities for good, and this announcement will be published in a future issue of the Federal Register . Under the provisions of the REAL ID Act, if states do not conform to the new standards, federal agencies cannot accept their driver's licenses as ID's. Furthermore, the bill would effectively stop any state from issuing a driver's license to illegal immigrants.

The DOT's initiative for the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee originally arose from Section 7212 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, signed into law on December 17, 2004. Section 7212 mandated the issuance of minimum standards for State-issued driver's licenses and personal identification cards that would be accepted by Federal agencies for official purposes. This committee consisted of persons who represent the interests affected by the proposed rule, i.e. , State offices that issue driver's licenses or personal identification cards, elected State officials, the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security, and other interested parties. The DOT formed such an advisory committee that met only once, on April 19-21, 2005.

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FMCSA Announces Notice of Public Meeting on Establishment of National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners

In the May 18, 2005 Federal Register , the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced the scheduling of a public meeting regarding a National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (NRCME), which if established would be a database of medical examiners certified by FMCSA (or third party) to conduct medical examinations of interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers to effectively determine their physical qualifications to operate such vehicles as specified in §391.41 of t he FMCSRs. The scheduled meeting will be held at the Crystal City Marriott in Alexandria , VA on June 22, 2005, from 9 a.m. until 1:15 p.m.

Although Congress has yet to enact legislation to require the agency to establish a registry of certified medical examiners, the FMCS A is seeking to provide a general introduction to the NRCME concept and to initiate dialogue on the topic with subject matter experts. If the NRCME were ultimately implemented, the FMCSA would only accept medical examinations conducted by persons listed in it as proof of the physical qualification standards for interstate CMV drivers. Medical examiners are not currently required to have specific training or demonstrate any special or unique understanding of motor carrier operations to medically certify CMV drivers.

All interested parties are encouraged to attend, and for more information regarding this initiative go to the following website: http://www.nrcme.fmcsa.dot.gov. For further questions or comments, please contact Rich Clemente at (703) 838-8847 or email: rclemente@truckload.org

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FMCSA Issues Final Rule on Rules of Practice and Enforcement Proceedings

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a Final Rule in the May 18, Federal Register , which amends its rules of practice for Motor Carrier, Broker, Freight Forwarder, and Hazardous Materials (HM) Proceedings. According to the agency, these rules increase the efficiency of the procedures, enhance due process and the awareness of the public and regulated community, and accommodate recent programmatic changes. The changes in these rules apply to all motor carriers, other business entities, and individuals involved in motor carrier safety and HM administrative actions and proceedings with the FMCSA. The administrative rules in this rulemaking apply primarily to the administrative adjudication of civil penalties assessed for violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs), Federal Motor Carrier Commercial Regulations (FMCCRs) and the HM regulations. The rule's effective date is November 14, 2005, and petitions for reconsideration must be received by the agency no later than June 17, 2005.

In the May 18 Final Rule the agency primarily makes changes that are technical in nature to eliminate inconsistencies or increase the efficiencies of the procedures. However, a few notable rule changes include:

1. a changing of the time frame within which respondents must reply to the notice of claim to 30 days from the proposed 15 (§386.14(a)); and
2. in §386.16 the agency has added the provision for the request of an informal oral hearing as a new adjudication option. As provided in the Final Rule, if an informal hearing request is granted, a hearing officer will be assigned to the matter.

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Get More Results from Your Recruiting Dollars! Improve Your Profitability By "Branding" Your Company *There is still time to register!!! Thursday, May 26, 2005 - 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm ET

Audio Conference/Webcast

As we all know, recruiting drivers has become the #1 concern for most carriers. Carriers are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to reach new audiences of drivers, and trying to find a niche they can call their own to attract drivers to their company.

If you are out of ideas, or if you are having trouble trying to define what makes your company the driver's right choice, TCA is hosting an audio conference that is entitled: "Improve Your Profitability by 'Branding' Your Company". Branding is the new buzzword for your marketing or advertising campaign within your company.

The audio conference will help figure out how to create your own company brand that tells drivers why they should come to you and why a shipper would want to do business with your company. The audio conference will cover topics like the following:

• How do you create a message to brings drivers into your company
• How do you separate yourself from all the other trucking companies
• How do you get everyone in the company to buy-in to your branding message
• What are the 10 Commandments for branding in trucking?

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Alert your Drivers! They Can Give TCA Their Best Shot and Win $1000!
CONTEST DEADLINE – JUNE 17, 2005

TCA's Truck Driver Photo Contest is open to any truck driver who is currently employed with or leased to a trucking company. Photographs from professional photographers will not be accepted. No more than three photos may be submitted per driver. The photos should capture life on the road and portray trucking in a positive light. Digital photos are accepted as long as you include a print out of the photo and the digital file is 300 dpi or larger to ensure a high enough resolution.

Applicants should clearly label each photo with their name, address, telephone number, and company name, address, and telephone number. Please do not write on the back of the photo, use an address label or separate piece of paper affixed to the back. Any information you can provide on where you took the photo and the subject of the photo is appreciated.

Contest Prizes!

The grand prizewinner will receive $1,000.
The 2nd place winner will receive $750.
The 3rd place winner will receive $500.
4th through 6th place winners will each receive $100.
Honorable mentions will receive $50 each.

Thank you to S-Line, Inc. and American Graphics Group , the generous sponsors of this contest. Visit www.truckload.org for more details. E-mail acirucci@truckload.org or call 703-838-8859 with any questions.