Government

The Senate restored the transportation funding that was cut last week by the House in the House’s proposed continuing resolution to fund the federal government through September.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has begun distributing cards to truck drivers warning them that using GPS navigation devices meant for smaller vehicles can be dangerous and could lead to trucks hitting low bridges.

The Maryland Motor Truck Association will oppose a transportation funding plan put forth by Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) that includes a new sales tax on motor fuel and a 5-cent reduction in the gasoline tax but not in the diesel tax.

Law enforcement officers have recently observed several commercial drivers and vehicles with fraudulent licenses and license plates that purport to be issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation or the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

LAS VEGAS — Lawyer-turned-trucker Tom Kretsinger, the new chairman of the Truckload Carriers Association, last week staked out an ambitious goal: Prepare the industry for new federal health care, disability and discrimination standards that are complex and sometimes contradictory.

The U.S. economy started the year “expanding at a modest to moderate pace,” and transportation and trucking activity were mixed as tonnage increased, the Federal Reserve said.

President Obama on Monday named Gina McCarthy as his choice to be the Environmental Protection Agency’s next administrator, and Ernest Moniz to be Energy Secretary.

Plans for the best way to provide much-needed rehabilitation to the Brent Spence Bridge spanning the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Covington, Ky., are likely to include tolls whether the bridge is rebuilt or lanes are added to the existing one.

In an attempt to attract more international freight to Florida’s ports, Gov. Rick Scott (R) said that the state now allows trucks hauling intermodal containers to weigh up to 100,000 pounds, up from a previous limit of 95,000 pounds.

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) proposed changing the state’s fuel-tax structure by lowering the retail tax on gasoline but boosting the wholesale tax, which would in effect raise the tax on end users, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.