American Bakers Association

1
American Bakers Association

• Fleet Distribution Committee
• Legislative Regulatory Update
• December 7th, 2006
• Washington, DC

2
Hours of Service

• Current HOS rules, that went into effect 10/1/05,
  are being challenged in federal court (DC
  Circuit)
• Oral arguments in this case started Dec. 4th
• Regulations will possibly be sent back to FMCSA
  for a rulemaking
• ABA is working with Members of Congress to
  establish more flexibility in the rules
• McKee and ABA staff met with several
  Congressional offices in early October to discuss
  sleeper berth (team driver) provisions
• Rep. Boozman (R-AR) has been a tremendous
  supporter of ABAs lobbying effort on the sleeper
  berth
• If this effects your business please join our
  coalition

3
Hours of Service Supporting Documents

• Rule regarding HOS supporting documents expected
  to be released soon
• No significant change is anticipated
• Biggest change will be in the way that the rule
  is enforced
• Focus will be on investigators
• applying the rule uniformly

4
Electronic Onboard Recorders (EOBRs)

• FMCSA plans to release a rulemaking very soon
  regarding the use of EOBRs
• Ruling may require companies to utilize EOBRs as
  a way to track HOS compliance
• Some companies have already installed these
  devices and have experienced positive results

5
FLSA OT Exemption

• Congress made a mistake???
• An oversight by Congress in the 2005 Highway bill
  changed the definition of private motor carrier
  to include only CMV
• Now employees that transport property in small
  vans and trucks may be eligible for OT pay
• DOT and Congress did not realize the effect this
  change would have on the business community
• ABA is working with many interested parties to
  resolve this before Congress adjourns
• If this is not corrected, companies may owe
  employees OT payment starting from August 10,
  2005.

6
Driver Training Rule

• U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. orders FMCSA
  rewrite of 2004 Rule
• Rule was so at odds with safety information
• 2004 Rule Provisions
• Little impact on safety operational skills
• 10 hours of training (none on road)
• 1995 Report cited on the road training as
  critical
• 320-hour training program
• 1985 published report on Model Curriculum
• FMCSA hopes to begin drafting the new rule soon

7
SSRS move to UCR

• Single State Registration System (SSRS) was
  mandated by Congress to be replaced by the
  Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) by Jan. 1,
  2007
• UCR Board asked for a 1 year
• extension of SSRS
• According to FMCSA an extension appears unlikely
• UCR Board trying to determine appropriate fees so
  that States receive the same revenue as under the
  SSRS
• Without an extension by Congress of the SSRS,
  FMCSA will likely expedite the process of
  codifying the UCR fees

8
ULSD Conversion

• Retailers began conversion on October 15th
• Price increase of 4-5 cents per expected
• Vehicle maintenance issues? Performance
  problems?
• Shortages felt in Midwestmoving East
• Distribution Is ULSD widely available?

9
New Heads At DOT FMCSA

• Transportation Secretary
• Mary Peters
• Confirmed by Senate 9/30/06
• 20 plus year in transportation, both public and
  private sectors
• FMCSA Administrator
• John Hill
• Confirmed by Senate 8/4/06
• Former FMCSA Chief Safety Officer

10
110th Congress New Faces

• House TI Committee Chairman
• Rep. James Oberstar (D-MN)
• - former TI Staffer
• - Supporter of Gas Tax
• - Not a fan of Toll roads
• Senate Commerce Committee Chairman
• Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
• - Will operate in a bipartisan way
• - Member of Congress for 47 years
• - Focus on highway funding programs

11
FMCSA Advisory Committee

• FMCSA Advisory Committee established in
  SAFETEA-LU
• Up to 20 members, 2 year terms
• Committee will meet 4x per year
• Will provide advice and recommendations to FMCSA
  Administrator

12
Questions?

• Contact Info
• Mike Florio
• Federal State Relations Manager
• American Bakers Association
• [phone] x121
• mflorio_at_americanbakers.org