A.M. Executive Briefing - Feb. 2
This Morning's Headlines:
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Truckers Set to Drive Home Demands
Alberta Trucking Association general manager Al Smythe on Tuesday warned that shippers might no longer be able to find truckers to hire if they do not pay their higher bills.Quebec truckers reportedly are parking their trucks in protest for higher rates, and Ontario truckers are threatening to do likewise. Smythe said his association backs the Ontario truckers but believes the growing Alberta economy will allow drivers there to find new customers when old ones balk at rate hikes. Edmonton Sun (02/02/00) P. 37
Charges Reach Ryan's Inner Circle
Former Illinois secretary of state inspector general Dean Bauer was indicted Tuesday on racketeering and obstruction of justice charges by a federal grand jury. The charges allege that Bauer, a close friend of Gov. George Ryan who held the inspector general post when Ryan was secretary of state, covered up alleged misconduct that could have embarrassed Ryan.Prosecutors accused Bauer of stopping a probe of a 1994 truck crash in Wisconsin, in which six children were killed, and a 1993 probe of bribery for drivers' licenses at the Libertyville facility, among other investigations. The trucker in the 1994 crash got his CDL at the McCook facility by fraud, authorities found.
Bauer had too few investigators and staffers to oversee the secretary of state's office, and he will contest the charges, his lawyer said.
According to the charges as well as unidentified sources, authorities recorded Bauer allegedly telling an inspector general's employee by telephone to dispose of documents regarding three investigations. U.S. Attorney Scott Lassar told a press conference that new investigators in Bauer's office learned that they were there mainly to protect Ryan rather than fight corruption.
The indictment charges that Bauer was part of a racketeering scheme lasting over six years; unlike most charges against public officials under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization law, Bauer is alleged to have been covering up for Ryan rather than taking money. Chicago Tribune Online (02/02/00); O'Connor, Matt
EPA Moving Toward Universal Low Sulfur Diesel
The Environmental Protection Agency is looking at restricting highway diesel sulfur levels to 5 to 40 ppm around the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007 and said it would require light and heavy-duty diesels to use a single fuel.Critics of the Tier 2 gasoline sulfur rule, which says that from 2004 to 2006 gasoline is to be phased in with a sulfur cap of 80 ppm and an average of 30 ppm, are afraid a similar rule will be applied to diesel. They say the rulings do not consider that achieving ultra-low heavy-vehicle emissions is more difficult, that they will upset goals for fuel efficiency, and that it could cut out all diesel vehicles, although the EPA said manufacturers could wait until the final year of a phase-in before addressing diesels.
Critics also say regarding diesel "toxics" are overstated, but the EPA said the standards are reasonable and prudent for public health and can cut the cancer risk. Heavy Duty Trucking Online (02/02/00)
Newspaper: Big Trucks Not Paying Fair Share for Pounding Highways
According to the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune, trucks' weight-based registration fees have stayed the same since 1987 even as Missouri highway spending went up 76% between 1990 and 1999, the same year truck trips hit 80.3 million in the state.Although there have been studies and commissions regarding how to get more road construction funding, there has been little talk on hiking truck fees; state House Transportation Committee chairman Joan Bray (D-St. Louis) said this is because the "trucking lobby is very powerful."
In 1991, a state study found that in most cases each truck paid hundreds of dollars less than its fair share the previous year. The newspaper found that $34.8 million more revenue would result if each truck registered in the state in 1998 paid the shortfalls the 1991 analysis found.
Missouri Motor Carriers Association lobbyist George Burruss pointed to the economic necessity of trucks moving goods and said the trucking industry would prefer a fuel tax hike to a rise in fees if needed.
Although owner-operator Kenneth Moore pointed to the state and federal fuel taxes and fees he must pay, the newspaper said Missouri's diesel tax is identical to the gasoline tax and lower than those in other states in the area. The state came in 33rd in total user taxes in the American Trucking Associations' April list. Associated Press (02/01/00)
Time Magazine Reports DOE Proposal to Get More Oil on the Market
After Time magazine reported Monday on an Energy Department proposal to swap oil with energy firms in order to put crude from the oil reserves on the market, officials Tuesday apparently doubted they would get White House support for the plan. Reportedly, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson could trade oil from the reserves for oil that could be put back in later, although Richardson has said he would not sell oil from the reserves. Land Line Magazine Online (02/01/00)Bruno's Vowing to Block Hike in Thruway Toll
New York state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, in an ongoing feud with fellow Republican Gov. George Pataki, said he would legislate to block a planned New York State Thruway toll increase; such a move would force Pataki to defend the hike. Economic development could be hurt as the proposal could hike tolls up to 30% in ten years, Bruno said.Opposing the toll hikes, the New York State Motor Truck Association said the economy in upstate New York would be damaged if they pass. New York Daily News (01/01/00) P. 8; Mahoney, Joe
Court: Too-Broad Checkpoint Violated Fourth Amendment
The Utah Supreme Court ruled 3-2 this week that police cannot establish a traffic checkpoint until they have listed specifically what the checkpoint is seeking and how searches will be conducted.At a 1997 checkpoint, police found hallucinogenic mushrooms in a convertible. The driver, charged with possession of a controlled substance, appealed the decision of a trial court that denied his motion to suppress the evidence, and the high court Tuesday backed the driver.
Among the reasons police listed for the checkpoint, approved by a justice-court judge, were checking commercial-vehicle compliance, equipment violations, licenses, certificates, restraints, and tags. The high court ruled that the checkpoint was a "generalized stop and search" of all vehicles regardless of individual suspicion or probable cause. Associated Press (02/01/00); Wallace, C.G.
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