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Jan 15, 2009

BILL & RULES * USA - Congress considers 'Cash for Clunkers'

Program would offer people turning in their old gas guzzlers a voucher worth up to $4,500 for a new vehicle

Washington,DC,USA -Associated Press/The Detroit News, by Jim Abrams -January 15, 2009: -- Congress is mulling a proposal to pay people to get rid of those old gas guzzlers sitting in their driveways... Under legislation introduced Wednesday in the House and Senate and called the "Cash for Clunkers" program, drivers could get vouchers of up to $4,500 when they turn in their old fuel-inefficient vehicles for scrapping and buy vehicles that get good gas mileage... The bill introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,envisions the program operating for four years and encouraging the retirement of up to 1 million vehicles a year, saving between 40,000 and 80,000 barrels of motor fuel a day by the end of the fourth year... Drivers would be eligible for reimbursement for purchase of a new or used vehicle with a fuel economy rating that exceeds federal targets for that class of vehicle by at least 25 percent. The vehicle must have a manufacturer suggested retail price of less than $45,000 and be a 2004 model or later...


* Emissions Alert Mandated By EPA Rule

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -12 Jan 2009: -- The Environmental Protection Agency, as proposed, has formally required new heavy trucks to have warning lights that indicate when engine emission controls are malfunctioning or deteriorating, starting in 2010... The agency issued the final rule Dec. 15, ordering manufacturers to install onboard diagnostics, similar to systems commonplace on passenger vehicles since the mid-1990s... The rule establishes a single, national standard for heavy truck diagnostics. Sensor accuracy and durability remains an issue, industry officials said...

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May 5, 2007

BILLS * USA

* Legislation in Missouri focuses on trucks; road safety
MO,USA -Land Line Magazine -May 2 , 2007: -- The Senate unanimously approved a bill that would increase the maximum gross vehicle weight limit and axle weight limit for large trucks equipped with idle reduction technology... A separate measure would create an income tax credit for installing idle reduction technology for the next two years. The credit would be equal to 50 percent of the amount of purchase and installation on class 8 trucks – up to $3,500 per truck... Another bill, would require all shipments of radioactive waste in the state to be assessed fees... Shippers who fail to pay fees or notify the Department of Natural Resources about shipments would face penalties up to 10 times the amount of the original assessed fee... One other bill would prohibit the expungement of records for commercial driver’s license holders convicted of or pled guilty to an offense where the person’s blood alcohol content is 0.04 percent or above. First offenders would be prohibited from driving a commercial motor vehicle for six months... The Senate Transportation Committee voted to advance a bill that would allow common carriers of household goods to file applications to the State Highways and Transportation Commission for approval of rates to reflect increases and decreases in the carrier’s costs... The House Transportation Committee approved a bill that includes the same provisions but also would prohibit indemnity agreements in motor carrier transportation contracts that claim “to indemnify a party against loss from negligence or intentional acts void and unenforceable"... Two more bills of interest still are in the House Transportation Committee... The first bill would allow harsher penalties for CDL holders found to be driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol... The second bill would apply to truckers and other drivers, would double the fine for a moving or speeding violation within a designated travel safe zone... A “travel safe zone” is defined as any stretch of road posted by MoDOT where a highway safety analysis shows the number of injury or fatal crashes “exceeds a predicted safety performance level for comparable roadways as determined by the department," ...

* Missouri - Bills on tax breaks for trucks, highway contractors advance in
MO,USA -Land Line Magazine -May 4 , 2007: -- Two bills nearing passage in the Missouri General Assembly would offer tax breaks for highway contractors and certain trucks... The House Rules Committee approved a bill that is intended to reduce the cost of roadwork throughout the state... The bill would exempt contractors from paying sales tax on materials bought for highway projects... The House and Senate already have approved differing versions of another bill that include a provision to modify sales tax exemptions for large trucks and trailers... The bill would clarify the common carrier sales tax exemption for the purchase of motor vehicles, with gross weights of 24,000 pounds or more, or trailers... Missouri law now applies the exemption only if the common carrier operates solely in interstate commerce. The bill – SB30 – would make the exemption applicable to both intrastate and interstate commerce...

* Alabama House advances truck weight bill
AL,USA -Land Line Magazine/The News -May 3 , 2007: -- A bill halfway through the Alabama Legislature would loosen weight requirements for certain commercial vehicles in the state... The bill that would exempt commercial vehicles up to 13 tons that operate solely intrastate from federal safety regulations... Supporters say the change would help small farmers who rarely use such vehicles on public roads and highways. They also fall under federal truck rules... Federal officials say passage of the weight exemption would make the state’s rules incompatible with federal law. The result could be the loss of $4.4 million in federal funding for truck enforcement in the state... Others say the changes would lead to more roadway deaths. About 13 percent of the state’s fatal truck crashes in 2005 involved vehicles within the range that would be exempted...

* Alabama bills tackle issue of steel coil ‘fall-offs’
ALA,USA -Land Line Magazine -May 2 , 2007: -- Several bills of interest to the trucking industry have been offered in the Alabama Legislature. Those efforts include legislation that address steel coil “fall-offs”... The Senate unanimously approved a bill that would impose stiff penalties on truck drivers and companies for spilled steel coils. The measure – HB541 – also would require trucking companies to certify that haulers know how to load steel coils properly... With an eye on coil haulers, Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham, offered a bill that would mandate the construction of truck weigh stations... Another bill offered by Rogers would authorize the Department of Public Safety to adopt rules to secure steel coils on trucks. In the meantime, it would require coils to be placed in concave cradles or secured by other methods...

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Apr 27, 2007

BILLS * USA

* Maine
Maine,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -April 24, 2007: -- ... The House voted, to give initial approval to a bill that would boost the Turnpike Authority’s bonding capacity by $100 million. The bill would bring the agency’s total capacity to $461 million. The current limit is $361 million... Other bill – LD320 – would authorize the Turnpike Authority to widen the section of the roadway from Exit 44 in Scarborough to Exit 53 in Falmouth. Two years ago an adjoining nine-mile stretch was widened from four to six lanes... A separate bill, would make permanent certain fine amounts for six-axle trucks hauling special commodities or forest products that violate axle weight limits. It also would permanently eliminate axle weight fine violations during the months of January and February on most state roads... Another bill – LD265 – would increase the maximum gross vehicle weight limit and axle weight limit for large trucks equipped with idle-reduction technology. The bill would authorize affected trucks to weigh up to an additional 400 pounds... While several bills of interest remain active others have been sidelined. Among them is a bill – LD694 – that required if a vehicle exceeds the limits for both gross vehicle weight and axle weight the lower of the fines would have applied...

* California - Bill banning cell phone use for young drivers advances
Cal,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -April 24, 2007: -- A California Senate panel has approved a bill that is intended to prohibit cell phone use by young drivers in the state... The Senate Transportation and Housing Committee voted a bill – SB33 – to the Senate floor that would make it illegal for drivers with instruction permits, student or provisional licenses to use any type of cell phone, send text messages or work on laptops. It would exempt emergency phone calls...

* Indiana - Truck-related bills near passage in
IND,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -April 25, 2007: -- A couple of bills making there way through the Indiana General Assembly are of particular interest to truckers – one would eliminate a trailer registration fee and the other would open more roads to trucks... The Senate unanimously approved the bill would eliminate the $2 annual fee to renew the permanent registration of semi-trailers subject to the International Registration Plan... Another bill that would allow large trucks more access to certain roads in the state. The bill – SB220 – has been sent back to the Senate for final approval before moving to the governor’s desk... The bill would designate sections of state Routes 3 and 9 and U.S. 20 as extra heavy duty highways...

* Texas - Senate approves red light camera bills, with restrictions
TX,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Keith Goble -April 25, 2007: -- A Two bills on the move in the Texas Legislature would continue to allow cities to post cameras at intersections to nab those who run red lights. However, restrictions would be put in place to prevent abuse by local governments... The cameras, which snap pictures of red-light runners or speeders’ vehicle tags, have been authorized in more than 20 cities throughout the state since 2003. Tickets are mailed to vehicle owners, regardless who was driving at the time...

* Several Oregon bills of interest to trucking industry
OR,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 26, 2007: -- The Oregon General Assembly meets in regular session once every two years. Since this year’s session opened in January legislators have offered numerous bills related to trucking that include incentives to reduce idling, heftier fines for violating out-of-service orders and higher fuel-related taxes... House and Senate lawmakers approved a bill by unanimous consent that would increase the maximum weight limits for large trucks equipped with idle reduction technology. The bill would authorize affected trucks to weigh up to an additional 400 pounds... Another bill before the governor includes a provision that would get tough with those driving truck who don’t heed their out-of-service orders. It would increase the minimum and maximum penalty for violating OOS orders... While some truck-related bills have flourished in the statehouse others have floundered. Among the bills that appear to be on their last leg is a measure that would increase taxes on truckers and other drivers to generate $125 million a year for roads... Sponsored by Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, the bill would increase the state’s per gallon tax on gasoline by 5 cents. It also would establish automatic tax increases of 5 cents every five years. For truckers, the corresponding weight-mile fees also would be increased... Another fleeting effort would increase car and truck registration fees. Sponsored by Rep. Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone, the bill would increase fees for an 80,000 pound truck from $490 annually to $660... A separate bill focuses on splash and spray guards on large trucks. Sponsored by Rep. Scott Bruun, R-West Linn, the bill – HB3031 – would fine truckers $180 for operating a truck tractor and trailer combination without splash and spray guards mounted at every double wheel well on each side of the vehicle... Another bill that its days appear numbered would give weighmasters and motor carrier enforcement officers more power. The bill – HB3273 – would allow weighmasters or motor carrier enforcement officers to stop and detain vehicles. Vehicles would be required to stop and submit to any enforcement “when directed to do so by any sign, warning lights or other signal”...

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Apr 14, 2007

BILLS * USA

* California bill would tax port containers
CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 12, 2007: -- ... The bill would collect a $30 fee on every 20-foot equivalent unit passing through the Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland port complexes. Money from the nation’s first-, second- and fourth-largest container ports would be used solely for improvements to road and rail infrastructure and clean-air programs... The portion provided to alleviate port congestion would go to the California Transportation Commission to fund projects that improve the rail system that moves containers to and from the ports. The text of the bill says the commission would be prohibited “from using the funds to construct, maintain, or improve highways”...

* Road delay bill heads to governor’s desk in Georgia
GA,USA -Land Line Magazine /The Augusta Chronicle -April 12, 2007: -- The Georgia Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday, April 11, that would get tough with road contractors who cause construction delays... The bill would prevent companies that fall more than 25 percent behind on public works or state Transportation Department construction contracts from bidding on new projects. The bill – HB202 –states that the delay would have to be the contractors’ fault for the provision to apply. Reasons beyond the contractors’ control would not apply, reported...

* Wisconsin bills intended to improve safety on roadways
WI,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 13, 2007: -- A bill in the Wisconsin Assembly would penalize drivers in the state who cause accidents while talking on hand-held cell phones. The measure is one of several highway safety-related bills under consideration in the Legislature. Current Wisconsin law doesn’t prohibit drivers from using cell phones while at the wheel... Violators would face $300 fines. If the wreck involved injury or death to another person, the fine would jump to between $5,000 and $10,000 and/or up to one year behind bars... Another bill, is intended to help families in the state deal with the problem of telling aging relatives that they should no longer be behind the wheel... The bill would require people age 75 to 85 to take free vision tests or submit results from a doctor’s test every three years. Drivers over age 85 would be required to take vision and written knowledge tests every two years... One other bill focuses on people who have a history of getting behind the wheel after too many drinks... The bill would mandate long prison terms for the most severe repeat drunken drivers. Offenders with more than 10 convictions would face up to $25,000 fines and/or as much as 12-and-a-half years in prison... The bills are in committee... Other safety efforts that are expected to be introduced would bar young drivers from using cell phones while at the wheel and permit police to pull over drivers solely for not buckling up...

* Anti-gouging bill tabled in Montana
MON,USA -Land Line Magazine -April 13, 2007: -- A failed effort in the Montana House was designed to protect consumers in the state from being gouged at the fuel pump... The Senate-approved bill was tabled in the House Judiciary Committee, effectively killing it for the year... The bill was intended to prevent price gouging in the state during state or federal emergencies following wildfires and other disasters. The protections would have applied to retail sales of goods and services, including fuel...

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Apr 7, 2007

BILLS * USA -

* Texas bills with eye on trucking rules advance
TX,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO), by Keith Goble -April 6, 2007: -- Several bills of interest to the trucking industry recently won approval in the Texas Senate. They’ve been forwarded to the state’s House for further consideration... Among the bills: One is a measure intended to curb unsafe trucking operations... The bill would prohibit motor carriers from operating intrastate if the FMCSA has prohibited them from operating in interstate commerce because of safety concerns. It also would prohibit an employer from knowingly permitting a person to drive such a vehicle if the employer is subject to an out-of-service order affecting a driver or vehicle... Another bill would change the maximum length for saddlemount vehicle transporter combinations in the state from 75 feet to 97 feet... Two more bills deal with cargo securement. One would add refuse and aggregates to the list of material that must be covered to prevent from blowing or spilling from trucks. State law now includes sand, gravel, dirt and wood chips under the items that must be covered... Other bill would allow haulers to be penalized for failure to properly secure cargo before an incident occurs... The bill – HB1184 – would have lowered from 10 minutes to 5 minutes the amount of time streets, railroad crossings or highways can be blocked by trains...

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Mar 10, 2007

Bill * USA - OK red-light cameras advances in New Jersey

NJ,USA -Land Line Magazine -March 8, 2007: -- A New Jersey Senate panel advanced a bill that could lead to red-light cameras popping up in the state. Existing state law prohibits use of camera radar by law enforcement officers or agencies... The Senate Transportation Committee voted 3-2 to release a bill – S2123 – to the chamber floor. The bill would remove the camera restriction for a period of 18 months to allow two municipalities to use photo enforcement at traffic signals that are deemed to have a high frequency of red-light runners...

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Feb 24, 2007

Bills * USA - Washington state bill would change intrastate truck rules

Wash,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO) -Feb 22, 2007: -- Unsafe trucking companies are the subject of a bill in the Washington Legislature... Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park, has introduced a bill that would make it easier to shut down trucking operations in the state with faulty trucks and people who drive them recklessly... The House Transportation Committee approved a bill that would authorize the Washington State Patrol more authority to monitor, inspect and penalize intrastate carriers...

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Feb 9, 2007

Bill * Canada - Anti-replacement worker would upset labour relations balance

" ... a solution in search of a problem"...

Ottawa,ONT,USA -Canadian Transportation & Logistics (Toronto,Ont,CAN), by Adam Ledlow -8 Feb 2007: -- In an appearance before the Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA), Canadian Trucking Alliance CEO, David Bradley, said that Bill C-257 – which aims to prohibit the use of replacement workers in federally regulated companies – could unnecessarily disrupt the stability of labour relations balance in the trucking industry... According to Bradley, "While the level of unionization in the trucking industry is relatively low – about 20% of drivers in the for-hire sector versus 32% of the general workforce – the portion of the industry that is unionized is characterized by a stable labour relations climate. From 2000 to 2006, there were only seven work stoppages in trucking companies regulated under the Canada Labour Code, and there were no strikes or lockouts at all in 2004 or 2005. Therefore, from our perspective Bill C-257 is unnecessary – some have called it a solution in search of a problem"...

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posted by Unknown @ 10:08 AM  0 comments

Feb 8, 2007

BILLS

* USA - Connecticut bills, Focus on trucks
Conn,USA -Land Line Magazine (Grain Valley,MO,USA),by Keith Goble -Feb 7, 2007: -- Several bills have been introduced in Connecticut that address issues directly related to trucking in the state... Rep. Claire Janowski, D-Vernon, has introduced a bill that would allow truck drivers to use the left passing lane on Interstates 84, 95 and 91... Sponsored by Rep. Joseph Serra, D-Middletown, the bill would exempt the sales tax on parts and labor for repairs to trucks and motor vehicles weighing more than 26,000 pounds... Another bill would allow towns to levy a tax on each truckload of rocks, dirt or other materials removed from a construction site... A bill offered by Sen. Tony Guglielmo, R-Stafford, would require increased penalties for motor vehicle violations where certain trucks are involved... Rep. John Ryan, D-Oakdale, has offered legislation that would prohibit any trucks longer than 30 feet in length to travel along the Merritt Parkway... One other bill sponsored by Rep. Thomas Drew, D-Fairfield, calls for truck traffic to be shifted off Connecticut roadways and onto rail... The bills are in the Joint Committee on Transportation...

* USA - Air quality measure looks to restrict leaf blowers, regulate trucks
Phoenix,AZ,USA -The Business Journal of Phoenix, by Mike Sunnucks -Feb 7, 2007: -- Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and an influential state senator are pushing for new restrictions on leaf blowers and commercial trucks in an effort to improve air quality... Napolitano and State Sen. Carolyn Allen, R-Scottsdale, are supporting a bill that would require cities in high pollution areas such as Phoenix to restrict the use of leaf blowers on high pollution days. The Phoenix area had 43 high pollution days in 2005 and 2006... The bill also would require trucks carrying construction and other materials to be packed, covered and secured to avoid leaks or droppings that hurt air quality. Dust and debris from construction sites as well as particles from leaf blowers are blamed for some of the air quality problems in the Phoenix and Tucson areas...

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