Archive for December 2016

By Bob Pitcher, State Laws Newsletter The Unified Carrier Registration Agreement is established by law so that the program produces only a certain amount of revenue in motor carrier fees for the participating states. If the fees in effect produce more revenue than that limit, the law says the fees are to be reduced accordingly.…

Last week, MTAC President Joe Sculley participated in a Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) Study Committee meeting on a virtual electronic screening (e-screening) and weigh-in-motion pilot project. The Study Committee is undertaking a year-long study that will identify the technological resources, solutions, and costs for a pilot installation of license plate reader (LPR),…

Excerpt from Transport Topics article: The effective enforcement of safety, repairing critical infrastructure and expediting the permitting process are priorities at the U.S. Department of Transportation that Elaine Chao said she will address if confirmed as transportation secretary in the Trump administration. “Given the nation’s need to improve critical infrastructure, it is important to find…

Excerpt from Transport Topics article: The Environmental Protection Agency said Dec. 20 that it is beginning work on a proposed rule that would set new standards to reduce oxides of nitrogen for heavy-duty engines beginning model year 2024, the same year a provision kicks in for the agency’s heavy-duty Phase 2 greenhouse-gas program. The announcement…

By Bob Pitcher, State Laws Newsletter By a memorandum from the Office of the Chief Counsel dated December 6, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it is “re-evaluating” its recent shift in position on the application of the 12 percent federal excise tax to converter gear (dollies or auxiliary axles). For nearly thirty years,…

The MTAC Truck Driving Championship (TDC) Committee is recruiting new members! The TDC Committee is comprised of several volunteers from member companies, as well as retired “industry veterans,” who play very important roles for the TDC. The TDC Committee will spearhead items such as: drafting and finalizing the written exam, designing the skills course, procuring…

This week, MTAC President Joe Sculley visited member company Tuxis-Ohr’s fuel. The owner of Tuxis-Ohr’s, Jim Vitali, is a member of the MTAC Board of Directors, and is a strong supporter of the association. Tuxis-Ohr’s is a wholesale supplier of distillate petroleum products to resellers, and their commercial products include heating oil, gasoline, biodiesel, diesel…

Excerpt from Transport Topics article: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Dec. 13 that it will maintain the current controlled substances random testing rate at 25% for motor carriers during 2017. The agency in 2016 lowered the minimum annual drug testing rate to 25% from 50% the prior year in response to improved positive…

From the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA): FMCSA is extending the implementation date of the final stage of the Unified Registration System (URS) beyond January 14, 2017 because additional time is needed to securely migrate data from multiple legacy platforms into a new central database and to conduct further compatibility testing with its State…

Excerpt from Transport Topics article: The clarification of an hours-of-service rule for truckers in a short-term funding bill was signed by President Obama shortly after the Senate cleared the bill Dec. 9 and a shutdown of the federal government was averted. The bill’s enactment solidified a win for trucking executives critical of hours-of-service policy. The…