Nationwide Freight Systems, et al.; Petition for Determination of Preemption |
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Topics: Nationwide Freight Systems
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James W. Deck
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
4 December 2020
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 234 (Friday, December 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78404-78406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26668]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0165]
Nationwide Freight Systems, et al.; Petition for Determination of
Preemption
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of petition for determination of preemption; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA requests comments on a petition submitted by Nationwide
Freight Systems, Inc., Leader U.S. Messenger, Inc., and Stott
Contracting, LLC, requesting a determination that certain carrier
identification requirements imposed by the Illinois Commerce Commission
are preempted by 49 U.S.C. 14506.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 4, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Number FMCSA-2019-0165 by any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. See the
Public Participation and Request for Comments section below for further
information.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number
for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments received without
change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frederic L. Wood, Legislative and
Regulatory Affairs Division; FMCSA
[[Page 78405]]
Office of Chief Counsel; Telephone: (202) 493-0349; Email:
Frederic.Wood@dot.gov. If you have questions on viewing or submitting
material to the docket, contact Docket Services, telephone (202) 366-
9826.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation and Request for Comments
FMCSA encourages you to participate by submitting comments and
related materials.
Submitting Comments
If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this
notice (FMCSA-2019-0165), indicate the specific section of this
document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for
suggestions or recommendations. You may submit your comments and
material online or by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only
one of these means. FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a
mailing address, an email address, or a phone number in the body of
your document so the Agency can contact you if it has questions
regarding your submission.
To submit your comment online, go to www.regulations.gov and put
the docket number, ``FMCSA-2019-0165'' in the ``Keyword'' box, and
click ``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on the ``Comment
Now!'' button and type your comment into the text box in the following
screen. Choose whether you are submitting your comment as an individual
or on behalf of a third party and then submit. If you submit your
comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them in an unbound format, no
larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for copying and electronic
filing. If you submit comments by mail and would like to know that they
reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard
or envelope. FMCSA will consider all comments and material received
during the comment period.
Comments received after the closing date will be considered to the
extent practicable. FMCSA may, however, issue a final determination at
any time after the close of the comment period. In addition to late
comments, FMCSA will also continue to file in the public docket
relevant information that becomes available after the comment closing
date. Interested persons should monitor the public docket for new
material.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit Room W12-140
on the ground level of the DOT Headquarters West Building, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays. The on-line FDMS is available
24 hours each day, 365 days each year.
Privacy Act: DOT solicits comments from the public to better inform
its preemption determinations. DOT posts these comments, without edit,
including any personal information the commenter provides, to
www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/
ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.transportation.gov/privacy.
Background
On May 26, 2017, Nationwide Freight Systems, Inc., Leader U.S.
Messenger, Inc., and Stott Contracting, LLC (``petitioners'') submitted
a petition to FMCSA requesting a determination that certain
identification requirements imposed on motor carriers by the Illinois
Commerce Commission are preempted by Federal law. Petitioners are motor
carriers operating both in interstate commerce and in intrastate
commerce within Illinois.
The provisions of an Illinois statute are involved in this matter.
Specifically, 625 ILCS 5/18c-4104, entitled ``Unlawful Operations,''
states, in part:
(1) Prohibition. Except as provided in Article I of this Sub-
chapter [625 ILCS 5/18c-4101 et seq.], and subject to the provisions
stated herein, it shall be unlawful for any person to:
(a) Operate as an intrastate motor carrier of property without a
license from the Commission; or as an interstate motor carrier of
property without a registration from the Commission.
* * * * *
(c) Operate, as an intrastate motor carrier of property, any
motor vehicle which does not carry a copy of a valid, current
license issued by the Commission to such carrier; or operate, as an
interstate motor carrier of property, any motor vehicle which does
not carry a copy of a valid, current registration issued by the
Commission to such carrier; or fail to produce such copy on request;
provided that an authorized interstate motor carrier of property
shall be exempted from the requirement that a copy of its
registration be carried in each motor vehicle.
* * * * *
(f) Operate, as an intrastate motor carrier of property, any
motor vehicle for which the carrier has not executed a prescribed
intrastate cab card, with current Illinois intrastate identifier
printed thereon; or, as an interstate motor carrier of property, any
motor vehicle for which the carrier has not executed a prescribed
interstate cab card, with current Illinois interstate identifier
affixed or printed thereon.
(g) Operate, as an intrastate motor carrier of property, any
motor vehicle which does not carry the properly executed intrastate
cab card, with current Illinois intrastate identifier printed
thereon; or, as an interstate motor carrier of property, any motor
vehicle which does not carry the properly executed interstate cab
card, with current Illinois interstate identifier affixed or printed
thereon.
* * * * *
The proviso at the end of subsection (c) above exempts interstate motor
carriers of property from the requirement to carry a copy of their
registration in each vehicle such carriers operate. But there is no
exemption provided in the statute for such carriers from the
requirement to execute and carry a cab card in each vehicle, as
provided in subsections (f) and (g).
Illinois Commerce Commission regulations also include requirements
for executing and carrying cab cards in motor vehicles operated by
motor carriers:
(a) Cab cards/identifiers shall be executed, carried, or
presented in satisfaction of the requirements of the Illinois
Commercial Transportation Law . . ., [92 Ill. Administrative Code]
Part [1302], or Commission orders no earlier than December 1
preceding the calendar year for which fees were paid, and no later
than February 1 of the calendar year for which fees were paid . . ..
(b) A vehicle operated in both intrastate and interstate
commerce must carry both an intrastate and an interstate cab card/
identifier.
92 Ill Administrative Code 1302.15.
Applicable Law
Petitioners have requested a determination that both the licensing
and registration (public carrier certificate) and cab card requirements
of the statute and the Illinois Commerce Commission regulations are
preempted under 49 U.S.C. 14506. This statute provides that no State,
political subdivision of a State, interstate agency, or other political
agency of two or more States may enact or enforce any law, rule,
regulation standard, or other provision having the force and effect of
law that requires a motor carrier, motor private carrier, freight
forwarder, or leasing company to display any form of identification on
or in a commercial motor vehicle (``CMV,'' as defined in 49 U.S.C.
14504a(a)(1)), other than forms of identification required by the
Secretary of Transportation under 49 CFR 390.21.\1\
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\1\ 49 U.S.C. 14506(a) enacted by section 4306(a) of the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy
for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Pub. Law 109-59, 119 Stat. 1773 (Aug. 10,
2005).
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[[Page 78406]]
The applicable definition of CMV for section 14506 is in section
14504a(a)(1) (which incorporates the CMV definition in 49 U.S.C.
31101), and states that a CMV is a self-propelled or towed vehicle used
on the highways in commerce principally to transport passengers or
cargo, if the vehicle: (1) Has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross
vehicle weight of at least 10,001 pounds, whichever is greater; (2) is
designed to transport more than 10 passengers including the driver; or
(3) is used in transporting material determined to be hazardous under
49 U.S.C. 5103 and in a quantity requiring placarding as provided in
regulations prescribed under 49 U.S.C. 5103.
There are two important aspects of this definition that are
relevant to any determination under section 14506: (1) It applies to a
CMV used ``in commerce,'' which means that it applies to vehicles
operated either in intrastate or in interstate transportation; (2) the
definition is slightly different from the definition of CMVs used to
transport property subject to safety regulation under 49 U.S.C. 31131-
51. See 49 U.S.C. 31132(1). Note also that provisions relating to CMVs
used to transport passengers are not relevant to the preemption
determination under consideration here, as the Illinois statutes and
regulations in question apply only to vehicles transporting property
(including hazardous materials).
Section 14506 also includes several exceptions to its general
prohibitions. A State may continue to require display of credentials
that are required: (1) Under the International Registration Plan under
49 U.S.C. 31704; (2) under the International Fuel Tax Agreement under
49 U.S.C. 31705, or under an applicable State law if, on October 1,
2006, the State had a form of highway use taxation not subject to
collection through the International Fuel Tax Agreement; (3) under a
State law regarding motor vehicle license plates or other displays that
the Secretary determines are appropriate; (4) in connection with
Federal requirements for hazardous materials transportation under 49
U.S.C. 5103; or (5) in connection with the Federal vehicle inspection
standards under 49 U.S.C. 31136. 49 U.S.C. 14506(b).
Request for Comments
FMCSA seeks comments in response to this petition. Comments are
specifically requested on whether the registration and cab card
requirements involved (625 ILCS 5/18c-4104(c), (f) and (g)) should be
determined to be ``appropriate'' under the discretionary authority in
49 U.S.C. 14506(b)(3) providing that a State may require display of
credentials under a State law requiring motor vehicle license plates or
other displays the Secretary deems appropriate. Commenters are also
encouraged to submit information on the effects of the requirements on
safety, operations, and the economics of motor carriers operating in
the State of Illinois.
FMCSA requests commenters to limit their submissions to these
issues and to submit data supporting their positions. The Agency has
placed the petition in the docket (No. FMCSA-2019-0165).
James W. Deck,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2020-26668 Filed 12-3-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P