U.S. Legislative Issues

 

On March 28, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) in the Federal Register concerning a long awaited Electronic Logging Device (ELD) requirement. The requirement aims to reduce paperwork and increase accuracy for fleets covered by Hours of Service (HOS) regulations, and includes protections for drivers who may be harassed into driving when ill, fatigued, or in unsafe conditions. According to the FMCSA, the rule would result in a net benefit of over $450 million per year for the motor carrier industry in reduced paper work and fewer crashes through higher hours of service compliance. Now that the proposed rule has been published in the Federal Register, a sixty-day comment period commences. The FMCSA may change parts of rule based on comments, and may issue a final rule, by printing it in the Federal Register, at any time after the close of the comment period.

The SNPRM can be found here.


On March 21, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a final rule that enables State and Alternative Fuel Provider fleets to claim credits for the acquisition of hybrid vehicles to meet the vehicle mandates of the Energy Policy Act. Beginning with Model Year 2014, EPACT-mandated fleets can receive one-half of an AFV credit for each fuel-cell vehicle, hybrid electric vehicle, or plug-in electric vehicle they acquire as well as one-fourth of a credit for each neighborhood electric vehicle. In addition, a fleet can earn credits for every $25,000 invested in alternative fuel infrastructure and/or alternative fuel non-road equipment. Fleets can also earn one-half credit for medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles. The final rule takes effect immediately. Click here for more information.


The probe into General Motors for failing to recall more than 1.6 million vehicles for faulty ignition switches continues to grow. Committees in the House and senate will hold hearings on the First and Second of April, respectively. Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors, will testify as will Acting NHTSA Administrator David Friedman.

Legislation has been introduced that would require automakers to routinely submit accident reports or other documents to NHTSA when they learned of a fatality involving one of their vehicles and then require NHTSA to make the information available to the public in a user-friendly, searchable database. That would allow consumers and watchdog groups to more easily sift through the data in search of safety problems.


Leaders of key transportation committees in the House and Senate are unified with the President on at least one thing: the desire for a longer term transportation funding authorization bill. During a committee hearing on March 27, Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chair Barbara Boxer said "My goal, along with Sen. (David) Vitter (R-LA), is to move swiftly this spring to pass a long-term reauthorization bill in the EPW Committee that provides six years of funding certainty." In early March, President Obama called for a four-year plan that would spend $302 billion on transportation infrastructure. The current transportation bill, MAP-21, expires this fall, but the money in the Highway Trust Fund is expected to run out sometime in July. Two years ago, when lawmakers set out to draft MAP-21, they also had a goal of 5-6 years, but were only able to cobble together enough funding and support for a two year extension.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx say that in the coming weeks, the Department will put forward a formal outline. It is expected follow the President’s four year request, only going into greater detail on which projects to fund.


The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the maximum allowable value of certain employer-provided automobiles, including trucks and vans, that are first made available to employees for personal use during calendar year 2014. The maximum value of vehicles for which the cents-per-mile valuation rule of may apply is $16,000 for a passenger automobile and $17,300 for a truck or van. The maximum value for vehicles for which the fleet-average valuation rule may apply is $21,300 for a passenger automobile and $22,600 for a truck or van. The revenue notice (Notice 2014-11) is applicable for vehicles first placed in service during calendar year 2014 and is available at http://www.irs.gov/irb/2014-13_IRB/ar11.html


The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued limitations on depreciation deductions for owners of passenger vehicles first placed in service during calendar year 2014. IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-21 includes separate tables of limitations on depreciation deductions for trucks and vans; and the amounts that must be included in income by lessees of passenger automobiles first leased by the taxpayer during calendar year 2014, including a separate table of inclusion amounts for lessees of trucks and vans. The IRS document is available at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-14-21.pdf