Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Nov. 22, 2024:
Senate passes bill to streamline TSA credentialing
The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would allow workers to apply existing valid background checks to multiple credentialing programs managed by the Transportation Security Administration, such as the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) and Hazardous Materials Endorsement (HME) programs.
The Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act has received bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. It was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Jon Tester (D-Montana), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) and Angus King (I-Maine). It passed the Senate unanimously Thursday.
The American Trucking Associations has long been a proponent of the legislation.
“After years of paying the price for an inefficient credentialing system, relief is finally within sight for truck drivers and other essential transportation workers who keep our supply chain running,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “The Senate’s passage of the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act is a victory for commonsense and puts us on the verge of eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the federal government that waste time and money.”
The bill does not make any modifications to the backend security threat assessment conducted on individual applicants, ensuring that they undergo the same level of review as they do under current law.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, led by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and the House Committee on Homeland Security, led by Congressmen Mark Green (R-Tennessee) and Bennie Thompson (D-Mississippi), previously voted to advance the bill. It now awaits final passage by the full House before heading to the President’s desk for a signature.
[Related: Bill to streamline TSA credentialing passes committee]
FMCSA reopens comment period on proposed delay of broker financial responsibility rules
Following its announcement earlier this month that it plans to delay the compliance date of the long-anticipated final rule that changes various aspects of the financial responsibility requirements for brokers and freight forwarders, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is reopening the comment period on the proposed delay for an additional week.
In the Nov. 4 notice, FMCSA said its forthcoming updated registration system “will be used to accept filings and track notifications, and this functionality will not be added to its legacy systems.” That system, however, will not be ready by the original Jan. 16, 2025, compliance date for certain provisions in the broker rule. As such, the agency proposed to delay the compliance date for those provisions for a year, to Jan. 16, 2026.
Provisions of the final rule that would be affected by the proposed delay include one that owner-operators and other small carriers have long waited for -- namely the immediate suspension of broker/freight forwarder operating authority when a broker or forwarder’s available financial security/bond amount falls below $75,000.
The comment period was initially open for 15 days, from Nov. 4 to Nov. 19. The comment period is now reopened through Nov. 29. Comments can be filed here.
In a Federal Register notice published Nov. 21, FMCSA said it received a request from the Small Business in Transportation Coalition seeking an extension of the comment period. The agency said it “believes it is in the interest of the public to allow for public comment on this proposal, and accordingly reopens the comment period for all comments on the NPRM until November 29, 2024.”
[Related: FMCSA eyes delay of rule cracking down on broker/freight forwarder financial responsibility]
FMCSA grants brake-light waiver renewal to tanker fleet
Groendyke Transport has been granted a renewal of its exemption by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that allows the fleet to use an amber brake-activated pulsating lamp on the rear of its trailers in addition to the steady-burning brake lamps required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).
FMCSA earlier this year granted a provisional renewal of the waiver through Oct. 26. With a new notice published Wednesday, FMCSA is renewing the waiver for five years through April 26, 2029.
The exemption applies exclusively to CMVs operated by Groendyke Transport and does not extend to any other motor carrier. Under terms of the waiver, Groendyke must provide recurring yearly data submissions to include information on rear-impact crashes and incidents involving trucks equipped with amber brake-activated pulsating lamps.
[Related: FMCSA provisionally renews brake-light waiver for tanker fleet]
