 |
|
 |
|
Hours of Service Rule Update On June 4, members of the American Trucking Associations' Agricultural Transporters Conference (ATC) met with Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman to highlight a few of the problems with the proposed revision of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's truck driver Hours of Service regulations, and their detrimental impact on the transportation of agricultural products, including wood fiber. ATC stressed two points: the need to retain the agricultural exemption, allowing states to issue variances to the federal HOS rules; and the restoration of timber to the definition of "agricultural commodities." Secretary Veneman expressed her support for both of these positions and directed her Chief of Staff to communicate these concerns to Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta. On June 8, the Coalition for Transportation Safety and Efficiency, in which FRA participates, sent a letter to Secretary Mineta seeking assurance that the next step will be a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking, rather than a finalizing of the proposed rule after the October 1 deadline. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is currently reviewing the 53,000 submissions commenting on the proposed rule, including nearly 1,000 written comments from members of FRA and allied forestry and logging associations. Return to Public Policy Archive Forest Resources Association
Inc. (FRA) |
 |