Senate Panel Agrees to Extend Single-State Registration

Seeks Time to Set Up New Fee System

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

he Senate Appropriations Committee approved a measure extending the Single-State Registration System, giving the board of the newly formed Unified Carrier Registration program time to agree on how to replace SSRS, which collects and apportions state truck registration fees.

SSRS, which collects fees and information on carriers’ operating authority and insurance status, was repealed by the 2005 federal highway law and was slated to expire on Dec. 31. But the Senate panel granted the Department of Transportation a one-year extension, as part of its 2007 DOT appropriations package.

“The committee . . . believes that a repeal of SSRS is premature, given the progress on instituting the UCR has been insignificant,” a report by the panel said. “The current SSRS brings in approximately $100 million in registration fees to the states that participate in the program, funds that are often used to cover the cost of transportation and safety enforcement programs.”

For the full story, see the Aug. 7 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.