The Justice Department filed an amicus brief in support of American Trucking Associations’ challenge to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach’s port concession plans.
The litigation before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California involves the issue of whether the regulation of motor carrier operations at the ports violates federal law that preempts state and local laws that impact motor carrier rates, routes, and services, ATA said.
Justice submitted the brief because Congress has delegated to the Department of Transportation the authority to implement that federal preemption provision. The application of the provision “is a matter of critical concern to the federal government,” the brief said.
ATA President Bill Graves welcomed the federal government’s participation in the case, saying its involvement underscores how important it is to ensure that the interstate motor carrier industry is free from a patchwork of burdensome local regulations.
“Congress understood that motor carriers cannot efficiently compete if states and localities are free to impose burdensome regulatory regimes controlling their operations. And Congress also noted that when motor carriers compete efficiently, consumers benefit,” Graves said in a statement.
