As the Bush administration winds down, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Department of Transportation are working to complete or advance a number of rules and proposals. On Sept. 25, DOT sent final rules concerning intermodal equipment and new entrant fitness to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review.
Two other rulemakings – a final rule linking medical certification to the commercial driver’s license and a proposed rule to establish a National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners – already are under OMB review.
Once measures clear OMB, they are ready for publication in the Federal Register. Details of rules and proposals are withheld until that time.
FMCSA Administrator John Hill said recently that the agency plans to publish at least two other major final rules before the end of the Bush administration: electronic onboard recorders and the court-ordered reconsideration of the hours-of-service regulations. FMCSA sent the hours rule to DOT’s Office of the Secretary of Transportation for review on Aug. 14. The agency sent the EOBR rule to OST on Sept. 3. After OST review, the rules go to OMB for final clearance.
