Transport Topics Staff
This story appears in the May 3 print edition of Transport Topics.
Reese Taylor Jr., who was chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission when the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 was implemented, died April 16 in Las Vegas. He was 81.
Taylor assumed the leadership of the trucking and rail regulatory agency in June 1981 after his nomination by President Ronald Reagan. The Nevada lawyer served in the post until the end of 1985.
During his term, the ICC tackled a series of issues that resulted in decisions that increased competition and eased entry to a trucking industry in which carrier service previously had been strictly regulated.
The agency also passed rules sharply reducing its ratemaking authority and speeding up the process of granting operating authority, Taylor wrote in an ICC report to Congress early in 1982.
“It was a really difficult transition time in the transportation industry,” said Paul Lamboley, who was an ICC commissioner during part of Taylor’s term and, like Taylor, was a Nevadan. “He was leading an agency that was going through a real sea change of economics and attitudes.”
The era was a “very tough time” for someone to manage the ICC because of frequent budget cuts and efforts by some in the Reagan administration to shut down the agency, Lamboley said.
“The constant downsizing affected the budget and morale of the staff, and Reese handled that very well,” he said.
While Taylor was chairman, the agency also tackled the implementation of the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, which substantially deregulated railroads, and the Household Goods Transportation Act of 1980, which did the same for the property moving industry.
“As chairman of the commission, when I saw him up close, it was clear he had a strong intellect. He was very bright,” Lamboley said of Taylor. “Because he was such a student of what he did, that made it difficult for those not on the same policy page. We had to debate our positions.”
“Reese accepted the fact that we didn’t always see eye to eye,” said Lamboley, who described Taylor as a “good friend. Reese was always open to other points of view. That was one of his greatest attributes.”
As part of the deregulatory process during Taylor’s tenure, the ICC disposed of dozens of regulations and later lifted all regulations on the intercity bus industry.
In an early 1982 appearance before a transportation group, Taylor summed up his approach to his position, saying that “ending all regulation tomorrow would be the quickest way to bring back re-regulation.”
After Taylor left the ICC, he practiced law in California until his retirement in 2003.
The California native began his legal career in his home state after graduation from Stanford University and Cornell Law School. After he moved to Nevada, he became involved in state government and was a partner in a law firm there.
He was chairman of the Public Service Commission in Nevada from 1967 to 1971 and served as vice chairman of the Nevada Tax Commission.
An active Republican, Taylor served on many campaign committees for the party and for Reagan’s campaign.
He is survived by his wife, Jolene; his sister, Margaret, of Seattle; five children and six grandchildren.
A funeral Mass was scheduled for May 3 at St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church.
The family has asked that any gifts be made to financial aid for students at Stanford Law School.
