Bills seek to grant additional ELD exemptions to truckers

Washington — Three lawmakers have introduced a pair of bipartisan bills that would grant electronic logging device exemptions to certain segments of the commercial motor vehicle industry.

Reps. Collin Peterson (D-MN), Greg Gianforte (R-MT) and Steve King (R-IA) have put forth legislation (HR 5948) that would exempt motor carriers with 10 or fewer CMVs from the ELD mandate. The other bill (HR 5949) would exempt agricultural businesses, according to a May 23 press release from Peterson’s office.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has issued two 90-day ELD waivers to livestock and insect haulers. A House Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill for fiscal year 2019 seeks to extend that until Oct. 1, 2019.

“This legislation will eliminate costly and time-consuming regulations for small trucking companies and individual owner-operators, who constitute much of the rural trucking industry,” Peterson said in the release. “In addition, it will help reduce unnecessary stops and delays, which threaten the quality of agricultural products on their way to market.”

FMCSA Administrator Raymond Martinez has indicated that ELDs likely are here to stay for much of the CMV industry, offering testimony during a pair of hearings – the latest on May 22 before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Highways and Transit Subcommittee.

However, Martinez and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao have said they are seeking flexibility on hours-of-service rules.

“We are engaging with our stakeholders in the regulated community on this and safety advocates to see what would be acceptable,” Martinez said during the May 22 hearing.