On November 1, the first of the increases to gasoline and diesel fuel taxes begin to take effect that were included as part of Senate Bill 1, the transportation investment legislation that will provide $52 billion towards California’s aging infrastructure over the next 10 years. The gasoline base excise tax will increase 12 cents, the diesel excise tax will increase 20 cents, and the diesel sales tax will increase 4%.

Thanks to the new funding available through passage of Senate Bill 1, the California Transportation Commission took action today to move a number of critical transportation programs forward issuing a call for projects with more than a billion dollars to bring benefits to communities across the state.

Caltrans added nearly 1,200 lane miles of pavement repair and 66 bridges to its growing list of projects to be delivered sooner-than-planned thanks to the imminent influx of revenue from the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 (SB 1), the transportation funding and reform package passed in April. To date, Caltrans has now expedited nearly $5 billion in "fix-it-first" projects since the spring.

Last year, Governor Brown signed SB 3, a bill that increases the minimum wage in California to $15 per hour by 2022. The governor’s action makes California the first state in the nation to commit to raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour statewide. Large businesses with 26 or more employees began complying January 1, 2017. The current minimum wage for large businesses is $10.50 per hour; the rate will increase to $11.00 per hour on January 1, 2018. Large businesses will reach the $15 per hour minimum wage in 2022.

Having decided to grant part of a United Parcel Service request for a limited 5-year exemption from some provisions of the electronic logging device mandate, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will now allow all motor carriers — not just UPS — and drivers to make use of two new temporary exemptions from the ELD rule. Read the full article

November 1, Sierra Cascade President's Night - Register now! The event will be at Win-River Resort & Casino in Redding. Join your fellow unit members for an event to honor Doug Britton, CTA's 2017 President. Register to attend.

The next Kern Unit Meeting will be on Wednesday Nov. 16 at Hodels' Country Dining in Bakersfield. Register to attend. More details to come. 

November 28, SB/Riverside President's Night at Loft 84 in Riverside. More information coming soon. 

Learn about upcoming events in your area.

CTA recently selected about 100 award winning drivers from 15 member companies who need your support! These drivers were selected as Drivers of the Month for the 2017 year. These drivers were selected as Drivers of the Month for the 2017 year.

Sign up now for CTA's final seminar classes of the year: Drug and Alcohol Supervisor Reasonable Suspicion, Sailing through Your BIT, and HAZMAT. Commercial Truck Consulting will be presenting the seminars in Northern California and Ric Kidder, longtime trucking safety professional, will present them in Southern California.

On November 6 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm all commercial vehicle drivers are invited to bring their commercial vehicles to the CHP Northbound Gilroy Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility to be inspected. On this day between the hours listed above there will be NO citations issued to the drivers or carriers. During the hours listed above the California Trucking Association will be providing a healthy snack for the drivers.

View the CTA calendar of events. The CTA calendar showcases all events provided by the California Trucking Association.

The deadline to submit nominations for the Joe Kent Allied Member of the Year Award is November 10, 2017. Congratulations to Glenn Richardson of California Truck Centers/Delta Truck Centers for earning the 2016 Joe Kent Allied Member of the Year Award! This award was created in honor of Joe Kent, former Vice President for CTA. The award celebrates allied members in action, who like Joe, have given generously of themselves for the greater good of our organization over the years.

The 2017 SmartWay Excellence Awards program for shippers, logistics companies and freight carriers is a recognition program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) SmartWay Transport Partnership. SmartWay is a voluntary, market-driven partnership that aims to reduce emissions and foster the development of a clean and efficient freight supply chain.

The Sierra Cascade Unit participated with the California Highway Patrol in the September Truck Driver Appreciation Event. This year's event took place at the Cottonwood Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility.  

The Central Valley and San Joaquin Units participated with the California Highway Patrol in the October Truck Driver Appreciation Event. This year's event took place at the Chowchilla River Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility. 

There are many different ways safety is measured in trucking, but one gauge is particularly important in determining whether you get a green light or a red light from your truck weigh station bypass service: the Inspection Selection System (ISS) score. Drew Anderson, director of carrier relations for PrePass shares the factors that make up an ISS score and what truck fleets and owner operators need to know about it