Government

About Government News...

Transport Topics government and regulatory coverage keeps managers of a highly-regulated industry aware of the policy decisions that can shape their businesses. Covering both the legislative and regulatory aspects of policy-making, at both the state and national levels, the news in this category includes looks at infrastructure, hours of service, emissions rules, funding measures, leadership appointments, and more. Readers can follow what’s happening in Congress, at the Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor Carrier Administration, and in state and local governments.

Government

Connecticut Legislature Going Overtime to Approve Budget

Knowing that they wouldn’t be able to approve a budget before the midnight May 4 deadline despite reaching a tentative, $19.75 billion agreement with Gov. Dannel Malloy the previous day, Connecticut lawmakers voted to schedule special sessions to do so.

May 5, 2016

Daily Briefings from Transport Topics

Transport Topics has partnered with Spoken Layer to make one-minute daily briefings available on all your smart devices. Simply say “Alexa, play Transport Topics” or “Okay Google, talk to Transport Topics” to get the day’s biggest trucking headlines.

Government, Business

FMCSA Seeks Public Input on Vision Waiver Requests

Federal trucking regulators on May 2 announced they are seeking public input on the applications of 21 drivers with vision impairments who are requesting waivers to drive commercial trucks.

May 4, 2016
Government

Service Industries Gauge Climbs to Four-Month High

Service companies expanded in April at the fastest pace in four months, signaling the U.S. economy is firming up after a weak start to the year.

Michelle Jamrisko | Bloomberg News
May 4, 2016
Government

Sen. Deb Fischer Criticizes FMCSA’s Regulatory Process

The chairwoman of the subcommittee on trucking issues in the U.S. Senate criticized the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on May 2 for its safety performance scoring program and the manner in which the agency crafts its regulations.

Eugene Mulero | Senior Reporter
May 3, 2016
Government

Portland, Ore., to Consider Truck-Only Tax

The City Council in Portland, Oregon, will consider a four-year, heavy-vehicle use tax when it meets May 4, with a vote likely to come the following week. The tax would add 2.8% to the tax bills of trucking firms that have a Portland business license. Trucks already pay a weight-mile tax in Oregon, which doesn’t have a diesel fuel tax. 

David Elfin | Staff Reporter
May 2, 2016
Government

Alabama Won’t Raise Fuel Taxes After All

Less than three weeks after seeming poised to approve a fuel-tax increase for the first time since 1992, Alabama has joined Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi and West Virginia and did not do so during its legislative session this year.

David Elfin | Staff Reporter
May 2, 2016
Government

Customs and Border Protection to Announce Prepayment Pilot Program

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is scheduled to announce a pilot program that would allow truckers to prepay for single-crossing access to ports of entry.

May 2, 2016
Government

Iowa Lawmakers Cut $4.85 Million From DOT Budget, Half of Original Target

After threatening to slash $9.7 million from the Iowa Department of Transportation’s operating budget, the state’s Legislature voted April 29 to slice that figure in half to $4.85 million before adjourning for the year.

David Elfin | Staff Reporter
May 2, 2016
Government

China's Bold Gambit to Cement Trade With Europe — Along the Ancient Silk Road

From his office on a bend of the Rhine River, freight terminal boss Bernd Putens can see — and hear — the early stirrings of what China calls the New Silk Road.

Julie Makinen | Los Angeles Times
May 2, 2016
Letters to the Editor, Business, Safety, Government

Letters: Regulatory Policies, Driver Commendation, HOS, Fatigue

This week's letters address traffic, a driver commendation, HOS policy and driver fatigue.

May 2, 2016