Chair -- James Lynch, Montana
Vice Chair -- Jeff Honefanger, Ohio
Secretary -- Jim March, FHWA
Liaison -- Leo Penne, AASHTO
Past Meeting
Washington Briefing
February 21-22, 2008
MEETING MATERIALS
Save-the-Date: 2008 Washington Briefing
(NOW AVAILABLE)SCOHT Agenda: 2008 Washington Briefing
(NOW AVAILABLE)
Washington panel says Motor Carrier issues will be on Congressional Agenda
The Subcommittee on Highway Transport (SCOHT) hosted it's first annual Washington Briefing this February 21-22 of 2008. The main discussion for this year was Motor carrier issues ranging from truck size and weight to hours of service, which are likely to be examined in Congressional hearings this year, as reported by a Washington panel Legislative Report update.
Administrators from more than 20 state departments of transportation got a first hand report from a panel of key House and Senate staffers at a two day conference of the AASHTO Subcommittee on Highway Transport.
Helena Zybilkewycz, Senior Professional Staff Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said that Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN) "is committed to accomplishing reauthorization by 2009." But Stephen Gardner, a staff member on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said "a reauthorization bill isn't likely to pass until 2010." He added that the committee was going to do everything within its power to make it happen by the deadline.
Gardner said "A lot depends on how long it takes the new White House to put out its report and how it's presented to Congress. There are four committees that are involved with surface transportation and if you start shifting responsibilities between those committees you can anticipate a long drawn out process."
The panel, which also included Suzanne Newhouse, minority staff member of the Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation, said that apart from SAFETEA-LU reauthorization, their committees will be holding hearings on five other key issues related to the trucking industry. Those issues are:
size and weight limits; which may include an attempt to measure the impact current truck sizes and weights have on existing transportation infrastructure;
hours of service; not just a broad examination of the number of hours operators can drive but taking a look at the unique situations in which there may be a need to make adjustments related to functionality and efficiency;
the Cross Border Pilot Program; an examination of the DOT long haul program which allows Mexican motor carriers into the U.S.;
high risk motor carriers; identification of those carriers with consistent safety violations and who score poorly on compliance reviews and targeting them for enforcement; and
tax credits; the issuance of tax credits to motor carriers who add safety enhancements such as lane departure warning devices to their fleets.
The panel members said they were also hearing a lot of talk on Capitol Hill about the possibility of new regulations and driver training rules for motor carriers. They encouraged participants to offer their suggestions to Congress either through AASHTO or their individual state organizations. "Your input is important," Zybilkewycz said.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________MEETING PRESENTATIONS
2006 European SCAN
Commericial Motor Vehicle Size and Weight Enforcement in Europe
Status of Implementation PPTDebbie Freund
FMCSA Highway-Railroad Grade Crossing Activities
PPTJim Lynch
Statement fo the Transportation Department of Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, and Wyoming
before the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission PDFElaine King
TRB Trucking Related Publications and Projects, 2007-08
DOCTruck Size & Weight Enforcement
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Freight Management & Operations PPTJeff Secrist / Quon Kwan
FMCSA Smart Park Project Manager
Smart Park: Real-Time Parking Information for Truckers PDFJulie Lane
FMCSA, Office of Analysis, Research, and Technology
Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) Program Update PPTBryan Price
Performance and Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM)
PPTLeo Lopez
U.S. Mexico Border Demonstration Project
North American Borders Division PPT
For more information on meeting materials, please contact:
Andrea Ryan
202-624-5804
aryan@aashto.org
Archived Meetings
New Orleans, Louisiana------------->2007
Coeur d' Alene, Idaho------------->2006
Burlington, Vermont ------------->2005
Cleveland, Ohio ------------->2004
Questions or comments? Please email jflores@aashto.org
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