Hours of Service Bill Introduced in House

On October 30, Reps. Richard Hanna (NY-22), Tom Rice (SC-7) and Michael Michaud (ME-2) introduced H.R. 3413, the True Understanding of the Economy and Safety Act (TRUE Safety Act). This bipartisan legislation seeks to halt the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) Hours of Service (HOS) "restart rule" change until the Government Accountability Office (GAO) completes a full assessment of the data and rationale the agency used in issuing its rule. FMCSA’s change, which limits the use of the 34-hour restart provision to once a week covering two periods between 1 and 5 a.m., adversely affects the ready mixed concrete industry as well as the trucking industry at large. These rule changes were implemented without the completion of a field study required by Congress. Passage of H.R. 3413 would require the old 34-hour restart rule to be put back into effect until after FMSCA completes the study and GAO reports on its assessment of the rule.

In coming weeks, NRMCA, in cooperation with members of the Hours of Service Coalition, will be seeking additional cosponsors for the legislation from House members and will work with the coalition and sponsors to see it move forward.