Blog
IRP Passes TRALA-Supported Fleet Rules
- By: Shannon Davison
- On: 10/29/2013 11:23:10
- In: Legislative Bulletins
After receiving strong support from TRALA and its allies, amendments to the International Registration Plan (IRP) that will make it easier for rented and leased trucks to operate in interstate commerce have been adopted by the voting member jurisdictions of the IRP. Two ballots, known as the Base Jurisdiction for Rental Fleet, and the Full Reciprocity Plan (FRP), in general will eliminate "red tape" by easing administrative burdens and eliminating unnecessary paperwork for truck renting and leasing companies, their customers, and state governments. The adoption of these two ballots is the culmination of efforts by TRALA and its allies at American Trucking Associations and the federation's state trucking associations to educate member jurisdictions about why adoption of these ballots was necessary.
With the passage of the Rental Fleet ballot, a provision of the IRP which was unfair and burdensome to lessors has been eliminated. When the Rental Fleet measure becomes effective, the requirement that vehicles leased for periods of 60 days or more be registered where the lessee has a place of business will be eliminated. Instead, lessors will be able to select a base jurisdiction for their fleet, just as all other fleets are currently able to do. Administrative burdens on lessors and their customers will significantly decrease, and registrations and transfers required to be processed by jurisdictions will decrease. The expected implementation date for the Rental Fleet ballot is July 1, 2016.
The IRP member jurisdictions also approved the Full Reciprocity Plan (FRP). Under the FRP, full reciprocity will be granted for all apportioned vehicles in all member jurisdictions. Motor carriers will not need to declare the jurisdictions in which vehicles are expected to travel during the coming year, nor will they need to estimate mileage for vehicles traveling into a jurisdiction for the first time. All jurisdictions would appear on IRP cab cards, meaning the motor carrier would have the ability to enter any jurisdiction without having to worry about adding jurisdictions to the cab card or purchase trip permits.
The Full Reciprocity Plan will be very beneficial to TRALA members and their customers. Many TRALA members handle vehicle registration and tax compliance as a service for their customers, and often times it is difficult to know what jurisdictions a customer operating a rented or leased truck might have to travel in during the upcoming registration year. Those situations will be eliminated when the FRP becomes effective, which is expected to be on January 1, 2015.
TRALA appreciates the state trucking associations who answered TRALA's requests to publicly support these ballots. TRALA also thanks its members who took the time and effort to push their respective states to support the ballots.
For questions, contact TRALA's Joe Sculley at jsculley@trala.org or by calling (703) 299-9120.