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September 4, 2007

New trucking registration laws to add revenue

Nearly 6,000 Rhode Island companies that operate trucks and livery vehicles will come under new federal registration rules this fall as a result of changes in interstate transportation laws.

Nearly two years in the offing, the rules going into effect Nov. 1 bring businesses once exempt from federal registration requirements under the same rules that govern long-haul truckers.

The change means thousands of previously exempt companies or contractors will have to register their vehicles with the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, according to an agency spokesman.

“There was a whole set of obstacles to getting this thing up and running,” said Terry Mercer, an associate administrator at the PUC.

The new program will replace the Single State Registration System -- a state-administered program that ensures interstate “for-hire” motor carriers operate properly. About $110 million, in all, was collected by the states in 2004, which is being used as the baseline for the new system’s revenue estimates.

The new rules increase the number of vehicles that fall under the registration requirements by including private fleets -- such as those a retailer might use to ferry goods between a warehouse and its stores, leasing companies, freight brokers and freight forwarders.

By spreading around the costs, the rules lower fees for interstate haulers without cutting into the revenue states use to maintain roadways and transportation programs. Registrations in Rhode Island are expected to generate $2.4 million in the first year.

-- Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi

“For-hire” trucking companies, such as FedEx Corp. and JB Hunt Transport Services Inc., complained for years that other companies were getting a free pass on the nation’s roadways because some businesses were not required to register vehicles that traveled across state borders.

Their push resulted in passage of the Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005, which altered the system for collecting and distributing fees that truckers pay to haul goods around the nation.

The new rules require any company that operates a truck with a gross vehicle weight of at least 10,000 pounds or an 11-passenger vehicle (including the driver) that crosses state lines to register with the agency that oversees haulers in its home state. Trailers are considered a separate vehicle from the tractor cabs that pull them.

As many as 6,000 companies or contractors in Rhode Island may be affected by the rules, Mercer said.

The annual registration fee varies according to the number of vehicles a company operates. For instance, companies with one or two trucks would pay $39 annually, while one with between 100 and 1,000 trucks would pay $3,840. The single amount would cover all trucks in a company’s fleet.

To push compliance with the new rules, the federal government has allowed states to increase fines for unregistered trucks. The fine in Rhode Island will increase from $75 per truck to $300.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 3:58 PM | Permalink

September 4, 2007

New trucking registration laws to add revenue

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