ATA Among Groups Supporting Sen. Deb Fischer’s FMCSA Reform Bill
Two leading trucking associations and a key safety group have expressed support for legislation recently introduced by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) designed to reform the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s regulatory process.
“There is a need for more clarity in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, sounder cost-benefit analyses, timely responses to rulemaking petitions and improvements on the use and application of guidance documents to regulate the motor carrier industry … [the bill] will bring about positive changes to how FMCSA regulates the industry,” wrote American Trucking Associations, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance in a joint statement July 6.
The Truck Safety Reform Act, introduced June 24, would engage stakeholders’ participation in FMCSA’s rulemaking process. It also would require FMCSA to reach out to a large pool of stakeholders when performing a cost-benefit analysis, which would need to focus on commercial trucks and bus carriers of all sizes and be subject to an independent peer review.
Fischer said the legislation “will ensure that FMCSA’s regulatory process is more inclusive and transparent for stakeholders and policymakers.”
“I greatly appreciate and support FMCSA’s mission of ensuring safety on our nation’s roads, and that is why we must reform this dysfunctional agency,” she told Transport Topics.
The bill was referred to the Commerce Committee. Fischer is chairwoman of the committee’s subpanel with jurisdiction over trucking regulations.
