Legislative Bulletin - April 27, 2010

FMCSA Increases Fees for UCRA

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will publish a Final Rule on April 27, 2010 that will significantly increase fees for the Unified Carrier Registration Agreement (UCRA). Leasing companies who are required to pay a small fee under the UCRA will see their annual fees increase from $39 to $76. The new fee schedule is effective as of January 1, 2010, and will equate to a 95% increase across the board under the UCRA.

Also effective as of January 1, 2010 under the UCRA is the change in definition of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). The definition of a CMV under the UCRA previously included both power units and trailers. Now, only power units will be counted for purposes of determining a fleet size. TRALA had stated in a comment letter to FMCSA that the change in definition of a CMV should be the only calculation to lead to fee increases, but the increases published in the Final Rule greatly exceed that adjustment.

This rulemaking to increase UCRA fees has been in the works for quite some time. FMCSA published a proposed rule on September 9, 2009 which proposed to increase the fees by about 122% and only allowed for a 15 day comment period. TRALA and other industry groups asked for more time to consider the proposal. An extended comment period was granted, and TRALA wrote a letter stating opposition to unreasonable fee increases. TRALA’s position is that failing to address problems with the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS), the database used to track registrants, and the lack of effective enforcement by states was contributing to the shortfall in state revenue under the UCRA. However, an increase in fees across the board for leasing companies and motor carriers while failing to address the flawed MCMIS and lack of state enforcement effectively penalizes companies who have complied with the program. TRALA stated our concern that failure to address the flaws in the UCRA and related state actions will lead to continued funding shortfalls and subsequent fee increases.

To see a copy of the Final Rule published in the Federal Register, please click here. For more information on the increase in fees for the UCRA, contact TRALA’s Joe Sculley at jsculley@trala.org or by calling (703) 299-9120.