E6-9150. Identification of Vehicles: Oregon Department of Transportation Tax Credentials; Petition for Determination

AGENCY:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of petition for determination; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

FMCSA announces that it has received a petition or formal request from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for a determination whether the State may continue to require motor carriers to display weight-mile tax credentials. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) prohibits States from requiring motor carriers to display in, or on, commercial motor vehicles any form of identification other than forms required by the Secretary of Transportation. However, SAFETEA-LU also provides that a State may continue to require display of credentials that are required under a State law regarding motor vehicle license plates or other displays that the Secretary determines are appropriate. ODOT requested that FMCSA make a determination that its weight-mile tax credentials are appropriate under SAFETEA-LU. FMCSA requests public comment on ODOT's petition for determination.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before July 13, 2006.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments [identified by DOT DMS Docket No. FMCSA-2006-25004] using any of the following methods:

• Web Site: http://dmses.dot.gov/​submit. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
• Fax: [phone].
• Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
• Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.

Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and docket number for this notice. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov including any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading for further information.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. The DMS is available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. If you want to be notified that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgement page that appears after submitting comments online.

Privacy Act: Anyone may search the electronic form of all comments received into any of DOT's dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or of the person signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, or other entity). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477). This statement is also available at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Thomas Yager, Chief, Driver and Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations, MC-PSD, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. Telephone: [phone]. E-mail: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Section 4306 of SAFETEA-LU prohibits States from requiring motor carriers to display in or on commercial motor vehicles any form of identification other than forms required by the Secretary of Transportation [49 U.S.C. 14506(a)]. However, § 14506(b)(3) provides, in part, that “a State may continue to require display of credentials that are required * * * under a State law regarding motor vehicle license plates or other displays that the Secretary determines are appropriate.”

ODOT requests that FMCSA make a determination that the State's weight-mile tax credentials are appropriate in the context of 49 U.S.C. 14506(a). Oregon has been requiring motor carriers to obtain weight-mile tax credentials since 1947.

Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 825.454 authorize ODOT to require the use of identification devices, such as cab cards, stamps or carrier identification numbers, to identify, and be carried in or placed upon, each motor vehicle authorized to be operated in Oregon. ODOT may require annual application for identification devices and it may charge a fee not to exceed $8 for each device issued on an annual basis. ORS 825.450 requires ODOT to issue a permanent credential and ORS 825.470 authorizes issuance of temporary credentials. Until 2001, ODOT required out-of-state carriers to display a special Oregon license plate on each truck registered to operate in the State. State legislation passed in 2001 eliminated the need for out-of-state based vehicles to display the Oregon license plate and substituted the simpler requirement to carry a permanent or temporary paper credential.

ODOT states the current weight-mile tax credentials identify a motor carrier's Oregon account, facilitate reporting and payment of the tax, and assist in tracking vehicle-miles traveled over Oregon highways. ODOT also believes truck drivers want to have the credential at hand when fueling in Oregon, because fuel providers use it to verify that a vehicle is exempt from Oregon fuel tax. ODOT advises that approximately 15,000 out-of-state based carriers operate 283,000 trucks that carry a permanent Oregon tax credential. It also advises that approximately 10,000 trucks with a 10-day temporary credential operate within the State at any given time. A copy of ODOT's petition for determination is available for review in the docket for this notice.

Request for Comments

FMCSA requests public comment on ODOT's request that the Agency determine whether the State may continue to require commercial motor carriers to display weight-mile tax credentials. Interested parties are requested to limit their comments to the display of weight-mile tax credentials, as FMCSA has no authority to review the tax for which the credential is issued. FMCSA will consider all comments received by close of business on July 13, 2006. Comments will be available for examination in the docket at the location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this notice. FMCSA will file comments received after the comment closing date in the public docket and will consider them to the extent practicable. In addition to late comments, FMCSA will also continue to file in the public docket relevant information that becomes available after the comment closing date. Interested persons should monitor the public docket for new material.

Issued on: June 7, 2006.

David Hugel,

Deputy Administrator.