U.S. Legislative Issues
Oregon Launches Pay-Per-Mile Program
On July 1, 2015, Oregon rolled out its first-in-the-nation program to charge car owners for the miles they drive, rather than the fuel they use. The new initiative, called OReGO, is meant to serve as a replacement for the gas tax, which has failed to generate sufficient revenue to pay for road and bridge projects due to greater fuel efficiency and the increasing popularity of alternative-fueled vehicles.
Under the program, up to 5,000 volunteers can sign up to drive with devices that track how much they have driven and where. Instead of paying the current tax added when filling up at the pump, volunteers will pay 1.5 cents for each mile traveled on public roads within the state.
Some electric and hybrid car owners argue that the new tax is unfair and will discourage the purchase of green vehicles, but Oregon officials say it is only fair for these owners to be charged for maintaining the roads too.
Washington, California, Idaho, and Colorado are currently considering implementing similar programs.
NAFA and EEI Convene Second Stakeholders Meeting to Address Storm Restoration
Severe storms can often result in broad power outages, with significant economic and human costs. In the aftermath of a storm, electric utilities mobilize vast resources to restore electric services to consumers. This includes dispatching vehicle fleets with utility-service teams and support contractors to the area of the country hit by the storm. For example, utility companies from throughout the country dispatched crews and vehicles to the Mid-Atlantic area in support of the restoration efforts spurred by Super Storm Sandy. The timely restoration of power is thwarted, however, when electric utility fleets face delays due to conflicting state requirements on issues such as hours of service, fuel taxes, toll lanes, registration, clearance through weigh stations and licensing.
On June 29, 2015, NAFA and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) co-hosted a follow up meeting to the May 18th Power Restoration Fleet Workgroup session to further refine the consensus statement and iron out a path forward to implement the solution. Participants included the National Governors Association, EEI, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), the American Public Power Association, the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, IRP, Inc., and the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, among others.
Senate Democrats Introduce Auto Safety Reform Bill
A group of Democratic Senators have introduced a sweeping auto safety reform bill that would, among other things, require automakers to install warning lights on vehicle dashboards to notify owners of safety recalls. The Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2015 would also require crash-avoidance technologies. Introduced by Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Ed Markey (D-MA), the safety bill comes amid GM’s delayed recall of 2.59 million older cars linked to at least 121 deaths and the recall by 11 automakers of more than 50 million vehicles with Takata airbags worldwide that are linked to at least eight deaths.
The legislation would also adopt the proposal of the National Transportation Safety Board — in place since 2012 — to require all light vehicles to have crash-avoidance technologies like forward-collision warning systems and automatic braking. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) would be required to start the process of mandating the technologies within two years.
Further, the bill would lift the current $35 million cap on delayed recall fines completely and end the 10-year limitation on the obligation of auto and parts manufacturers to replace or fix defects at no charge to consumers.
Regarding the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), the bill would require the agency to set standards for vehicle hoods and bumpers in order to reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries. It would also create a grant pilot program for state motor vehicle registration agencies to check vehicles for open safety recalls — using the NHTSA recall database — and to notify owners of recalls when they send out registration reminders and registration documents. Lastly, it would authorize tripling NHTSA's defects budget and doubling its staffing.
The Senate Commerce Committee will likely take up a number of these auto safety reforms as part its role in reauthorizing the highway transportation bill.
Senate FMCSA Reform Bill Introduced
Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) has introduced a bill aimed at reforming the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), citing the mishandling of hours-of-service rules and the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) program as primary motivators for the legislation. S. 1669, or the TRUCK Safety Reform Act, would require the FMCSA to conduct a comprehensive review of all rules, regulations, regulatory guidance, and enforcement policies. FMCSA would also be required to publish a schedule of the process and upon completion of the review, make the findings public. The agency would then have two years to change any rules and enforcement procedures necessary to ensure they are consistent and uniform.
Throughout this process, the FMCSA would be required to engage stakeholders’ participation in its rulemaking proceedings. FMCSA would also be required to engage a large group of stakeholders when performing a cost-benefit analysis, which would need to focus on commercial trucks and bus carriers of all sizes and be subject to an independent peer review.
Sen. Fischer is the current Chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security which has jurisdiction over trucking regulations.
Congressional Committee Recommends VMT Pilot
Congress should consider implementing a nationwide vehicle miles traveled pilot program as a way to increase funding for the federal highway program a Senate Finance Committee working group said in a report released July 8. The Senate working group was assembled to identify a long-term fix for the trust fund,
The working group argued that a program consisting of 5,000 volunteers would be a viable way to keep the Highway Trust Fund sustainable because the tax "can be calibrated closely to the costs that vehicles impose in terms of road damage and congestion." The "pilot program, as well as experiences in other states, could inform lawmakers about the practicality and challenges of adopting such a system," the group wrote in its report. A nationwide VMT program would take about a decade to fully implement, they added.
