94-32310. State Laws and Regulations Affecting Interstate Motor Carrier Operations; Establishment of a Compliance Date

[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 3, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 168-169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-32310]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

State Laws and Regulations Affecting Interstate Motor Carrier 
Operations; Establishment of a Compliance Date

AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice; establishment of compliance date.

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SUMMARY: The FHWA is announcing the date by which States must adopt and 
enforce motor carrier safety regulations that have the same effect as 
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) and are 
applicable to all commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) used in interstate 
commerce with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or gross combination 
weight rating (GCWR) of greater than 10,000 pounds. A State's failure 
to comply within three years of January 3, 1995 will subject the State 
to the loss of Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) funding.

DATES: Each State must adopt and enforce compatible interstate weight 
threshold requirements within three years from January 3, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brad A. Trullinger, Office of 
Motor Carrier Standards, [phone], or Mr. David Sett, Office of 
the Chief Counsel, [phone], Federal Highway Administration, 
Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590. Office hours are from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t., Monday 
through Friday, except legal Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (The 
Act), Pub. L. 98-554, 98 Stat. 2832, (codified as amended at 49 U.S.C. 
31111), seeks to promote the safe operation of CMVs in interstate 
commerce. The Act was intended to assure consistency of State laws and 
regulatory requirements as they pertain to commercial vehicle safety. 
The Congress found that there was a need for more uniform CMV safety 
measures between the State and [[Page 169]] Federal governments that, 
with strengthened enforcement, would reduce the number of fatalities 
and injuries related to CMV operations. The Act provided that State 
laws and regulations pertaining to CMV safety could continue to be 
enforced only if they have the same effect as the Federal regulations.
    The Act also created a Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Regulatory 
Review Panel to review all State laws and regulations as they pertain 
to motor carrier safety affecting interstate operations. The focus of 
the Safety Panel was to determine which State laws and regulations 
either have the same effect, are more stringent than, or are less 
stringent than the requirements of the FMCSRs. The Safety Panel 
initially inventoried over 70,000 State motor carrier safety laws and 
regulations affecting interstate carriers.
    In August of 1990, the Safety Panel submitted a final report of its 
findings and recommendations to the Secretary of Transportation. (DOT/
FHWA, Achieving Compatibility of State and Federal Safety Requirements: 
A Report to the Secretary of Transportation, August 1990.) The Safety 
Panel identified many State laws and regulations that were determined 
to be less stringent than the Federal requirements. The Safety Panel 
specifically recommended using an approach whereby the FHWA could 
preempt less stringent State laws or regulations, deny funding under 
the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program, or both. This approach was 
subsequently adopted by the FHWA, and codified in 49 CFR parts 350 and 
355. In fact, appendix A in part 355 specifically uses the 10,001 pound 
or more weight threshold as an example of a guideline for regulatory 
review. However, the Safety Panel ``gave States latitude on the 
compatibility of their weight threshold requirements'' pending the 
outcome of an FHWA rulemaking action on this issue, initiated by an 
advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) published on February 17, 
1989, at 54 FR 7224. (Safety Panel Report, at p. 11)
    The FHWA requested comments in the ANPRM on possible changes to the 
GVWR criterion, including whether the 10,001 pound weight threshold 
should be raised to as high as 26,001 pounds. Because the information 
obtained from that effort did not support a change in the weight 
threshold, the FHWA is closing docket MC-89-5, and is providing notice 
of the withdrawal of the weight threshold proposal for CMVs, elsewhere 
in today's Federal Register. Consequently, States will be granted a 
three-year period, from January 3, 1995, to adopt and enforce motor 
carrier safety laws and regulations having the same effect as the 
FMCSRs, at the 10,001 pound weight threshold, or be subject to the loss 
of MCSAP funding. It should be emphasized that this notice is expressly 
limited to the weight threshold issue concerning the definition of a 
CMV used in interstate commerce. States are expected to maintain 
regulatory requirements that are consistent with the FMCSRs. Generally, 
a State has up to three years from the effective date of the new 
Federal requirement to adopt and enforce that requirement. The FHWA 
views this action as falling within that category. Future FHWA 
rulemaking actions will specify appropriate deadlines for the States to 
promulgate and adopt their appropriate regulatory changes. See 49 CFR 
350.11(f) and part 355, appendix A.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. app. 2301 through 2304, 2505 through 2507; 
49 U.S.C. 504 and 3102; 23 U.S.C. 315, 49 CFR 1.48.

    Issued on: December 22, 1994.
Rodney E. Slater,
Federal Highway Administrator.
[FR Doc. 94-32310 Filed 12-30-94; 8:45 am]
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