NRMCA Pushes Congress to Delay Electronic Logging Device Mandate

NRMCA and industry coalition partners have been lobbying to delay the upcoming electronic logging device (ELD) mandate included that has been included as part of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). On December 18, 2017, a rule will take effect mandating that all commercial motor vehicles, including ready mixed concrete trucks, install and use electronic logging devices to comply with federal hours of service (HOS) regulations. This regulation is very concerning to the ready mixed concrete industry for several reasons. First, the ready mixed concrete industry has some significant exemptions to the HOS regulations. Because of NRMCA’s advocacy during the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), several industry-specific exemptions were made permanent – including the 30-min break rule and logbook for specific to RMC drivers. Unfortunately, if law enforcement is not properly educated and trained on these exemptions, ready mixed concrete trucks may get caught up erroneously in enforcement.

Second, the ELD mandate is estimated to impose a more than $2 billion burden on heavy trucks, making it one of the most expensive federal transportation rulemakings in the last decade. This is even more problematic considering that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has not addressed concerns about which ELDs satisfy the requirements of the rule; how connectivity issues in rural areas will be addressed and whether law enforcement will have access to relevant data in real time.

NRMCA and its coalition partners have been lobbying Members of Congress, pushing for a legislative delay sponsored by Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX). Last week, Rep. Babin filed an amendment – the Babin Amendment #35 – to attach the delay to H.R. 3354, the Make America Safe and Prosperous Appropriations Act, which Congress will consider in September. NRMCA will execute a full-court press of grassroots/grasstops and federal advocacy efforts in the next two weeks focusing on members of the House Rules and Appropriations Committees, as well as Republican leadership. Members of these committees will ultimately determine whether the Babin Amendment #35 receives consideration.