OTA Dispatch Issue 3 2019

THE OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS within the Office of Management and Budget publishes an agency rule list. This list provides the sponsoring agency name, the current state of the rulemaking effort, the title of the rulemaking, and the RIN, or regulation identification number. The Spring 2019 edition of this report can be found at https://tinyurl.com/agency-rule-list. The rulemakings appearing on that list that are sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) have been sorted out of the full list and are shown in table to the right. You can keep tabs on all presently transpiring rulemakings of interest to you as they move through the regulatory process using the table on page 7. I’ll highlight several of the more prominent rulemakings currently transpiring, although the reader can visit any rule of interest by Googling the RIN shown in the article print edition or if viewing the online version of this article by simply pressing CTRL and clicking on the RIN link. The most highly anticipated pending rulemaking likely is the Hours of Service of Drivers rule, RIN 2126-AC19. The introduction of electronic logging devices and their ability to accurately record hours-of-service (HOS) regulations for drivers of commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) have prompted numerous requests from Congress and the public for FMCSA to consider revising certain HOS provisions. On August 23, 2018, FMCSA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) and convened five listening sessions to obtain information on how HOS provisions could be improved. DOT submitted the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to the White House for review March 29 after Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials spent months combing through thousands of comments and gathering input on potential rule changes. Actual publication hinges on the Office of Management and Budget’s review process. That, in turn, could push the period for public comment on the NPRM from the originally scheduled date. A FMCSA spokesperson said in a statement: “FMCSA’s proposed rule on changes to the hours-of-service (HOS) regulations continues to be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The timelines in the Department’s regulatory updates serve as goals for the Agency and are reflective of FMCSA’s plan to move quickly during this rulemaking process. The Agency is hopeful the rule will be published soon.” While the industry waits to see its contents, the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking DOT published August 23, 2018 offers clues. That document included proposed changes to the short haul HOS limit, the HOS exception for adverse driving conditions, the 30-minute rest-break provision and the split sleeper berth rule to allow drivers to divide their required rest time in the sleeper berth. The ANPRM garnered more than 5,200 responses by the time the REGULATORY COMPLIANCE Federal Rulemaking at a Glance By Gregg Dal Ponte, OTA’s Director of Regulatory Compliance continues on page 8 Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc. Oregon Truck Dispatch 6