Calif. Court Ruling Questions Municipal Authority Over Carriers

A federal court decision casts doubt on the authority of California municipal governments to regulate trucking activities, but runs counter to other court decisions that have upheld local controls.

California Trucking Association Vice President Warren Hoemann said the July 10 decision on tow truck operations by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco may be broad enough to cover other trucking-related services routinely regulated by local authorities, such as oversize and overweight movements and special routing. If challenged, local statutes may not stand up to the test.

The city of Santa Ana required tow truck operators to obtain permits and regulated their hours of operation and rates for towing. But the court ruled that the city had preempted federal and state responsibilities, and said California has not delegated and cannot delegate these responsibilities to local governments.

Elsewhere, several other courts have ruled on local regulation of towing operations, and they are not in aggreement with the California decision, said Dan Barney, a transportation attorney with Scopelitis, Garvin, Light and Hanson in Washington, D.C., and former chief counsel of American Trucking Associations.

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