THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY RUNDOWN

By Adrienne Gildea, CAE, Deputy Executive Director, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance

CVSA’s Reauthorization Task Force Underway

In the last edition of “Guardian,” I noted the CVSA Policy and Regulatory Affairs Committee would be assembling a reauthorization task force to recommend a new set of legislative priorities for the Alliance to pursue in the next transportation bill. Class I Members from each region were identified, as well as local and associate members. The group held its first meeting on June 26. The task force will evaluate issues, gather input from outside organizations and various partners, discuss possible solutions and, ultimately, make recommendations to the CVSA Board of Directors on what policy positions the Alliance should support in the next highway bill.

The group will discuss what changes may be necessary to improve the grant programs that help fund the jurisdictions’ enforcement and inspection programs, as well as what policy changes may be needed to help advance safety on our roadways, particularly when it comes to advancing and promoting safety technology.

As the group’s work gets underway, it is imperative to engage CVSA’s membership in the process, ensuring the positions that will be submitted to the board of directors for consideration fully reflect the Alliance’s perspective on a variety of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety topics. CVSA will survey the membership to gather input on topics and meeting with other industry stakeholders to collect recommendations and potential policy solutions for the group to consider. If you have an issue or policy position you’d like the reauthorization task force to discuss, please submit an Issue/Request for Action through the CVSA website at www.cvsa.org/submit-issue. Those will be referred to the task for review.

Congress Focuses on Supply Chain Improvements

Despite a long list of non-CMV related transportation priorities on the ‘to-do’ list for this Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives still found time to focus on trucking issues. In May, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held a full committee markup session to consider several bills related to supply chain issues, including several CMVrelated bills. The package approved by the committee included, among other things:

• Funding for truck parking

• Adjustments to commercial driver’s license testing requirements

• A 10% axle variance for dry bulk loads

• A requirement that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) develop a new Safety Fitness Determination

• A voluntary 10-year pilot program for states to increase truck weights on federal interstates up to 90,000 lbs on six axles.

• A 10% weight increase for certain types of automobile transporters

• A weight exemption for CMVs powered by hydrogen

The House may consider additional supply chain-related legislation in the fall as well. Any legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives would then need to be approved by the U.S. Senate before heading to the president for signature. Given the competing legislative priorities, including several transportation reauthorizations and the annual appropriations process, it’s unclear how much progress a supply chain package can make this Congress.

CVSA Continues Its Commitment to U.S. DOT’s NRSS

Earlier this year, CVSA joined with many other organizations as a “First Mover” in support of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) initiative. As noted in the previous edition of “Guardian,” CVSA has committed to support the U.S. DOT’s pledge to zero roadway fatalities by improving and increasing traffic enforcement on commercial motor vehicles; improving post-crash reporting; and educating the judicial community on the importance of accurate commercial motor vehicle drivers’ records and the need to eliminate masking of driving offenses.

In May, CVSA participated in FMCSA’s inaugural “Our Roads, Our Safety” Week. FMCSA held an event on May 11 to discuss the agency’s and the industry’s commitment to road safety. CVSA was invited to speak and share the Alliance’s commitments to the program, along with representatives from the American Bus Association, American Trucking Associations, National Safety Council, National Tank Truck Carriers and Truckload Carriers Association. On June 1, CVSA joined stakeholders once again for the U.S. DOT’s NRSS Call to Action Workshop. CVSA participated in discussions and roundtables on a host of topics.