Legislative Bulletin - November 23, 2009

TRALA Argues Against Local CMV ID Requirements

TRALA submitted comments today, November 23, 2009 to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in support of three petitions filed by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) to FMCSA. ATA’s petitions asked FMCSA to rule that three separate Commercial Motor Vehicle (CMV) identification requirements currently being imposed by Cook County, IL, New York City, and the State of New Jersey are preempted by federal law and should not be allowed to be imposed by those jurisdictions. FMCSA published the notice of petition in the Federal Register on October 19, 2009 seeking comments from all interested parties.

Among the local CMV identification requirements being challenged is one in New Jersey, where the State has been requiring all carriers hauling, transporting, or delivering fuel in the state to display a Motor Fuel Transport License Plate and annual Transport License Certificate in addition to standard CMV registration requirements, regardless of where the vehicle is domiciled or registered. Also, New York City has been requiring CMVs to pay a tax and display a stamp if the vehicle is used principally in the city or principally in connection with a business carried on within the city, also regardless of where the vehicle is registered. Cook County, IL, requires as part of compliance of a tax known as the Wheel Tax, to display a window sticker showing payment of fees, and to paint business vehicle identification information on vehicles.

The comments submitted by TRALA stated support for ATA’s position that these CMV identification requirements are preempted by federal law. The passage of the current highway authorization known as the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) contained language in Section 4306 of the legislation that prohibits states from requiring motor carriers to display in or on CMVs any form of identification other than forms required by the Secretary of Transportation. Section 4306 provided some exceptions to the preemption of state identification requirements, but TRALA and ATA do not believe that the requirements in New Jersey, New York City, and Cook County were intended to be preserved.

Section 4306 of SAFETEA-LU, which is codified at 49 U.S. Code 14506, was passed to stop unnecessary and burdensome identification requirements from being imposed on motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce. The requirements described above have potential to negatively affect the renting and leasing of CMVs due to the nature of the industry, particularly that many vehicles are rented or leased without the lessor’s knowledge of where they will be operated. In those situations, a lessor could find themselves liable for non-compliance with unnecessary requirements like these. Such liability is avoided with federal preemption of unnecessary and burdensome state and local requirements.

Please click here to see TRALA’s comments to the FMCSA in support of the ATA petitions. For more information, please contact TRALA’s Tom James at tjames@trala.org or Joe Sculley at jsculley@trala.org or by calling (703) 299-9120.