Local government regulations of truck routes and cargoes have been dealt a legal blow in California.
U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell in Sacramento ruled that a 1994 federal law allows only states to impose such regulations, and only if they are related to safety.
The order resolved a lawsuit brought earlier this year by the California Dump Truck Owners Assn. and the Southern California Contractors Assn., according to the Sacramento Bee.
"We're not trying to avoid regulation. We just want a statewide standard," an attorney representing the dump truck owners told the paper.
Lee Brown of the Dump Truck Owners Assn. said truckers in California for years have been subjected to a patchwork of local rules on things such as load size, truck routes, and financial responsibility.
The 1994 Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act was meant to help put motor carriers on an equal footing with air carriers, according to the paper, with federal regulations pre-empting state laws except for regulations related to safety.
The state has not decided whether to appeal the decision, according to the Bee. If it did, the appeal would go to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled on a similar case last year that "allowing both states and municipalities to escape preemption under the guise of regulating safety could lead to widespread, diverse regulation of motor carriers, precisely what Congress sought to avoid."
U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell in Sacramento ruled that a 1994 federal law allows only states to impose such regulations, and only if they are related to safety.
The order resolved a lawsuit brought earlier this year by the California Dump Truck Owners Assn. and the Southern California Contractors Assn., according to the Sacramento Bee.
"We're not trying to avoid regulation. We just want a statewide standard," an attorney representing the dump truck owners told the paper.
Lee Brown of the Dump Truck Owners Assn. said truckers in California for years have been subjected to a patchwork of local rules on things such as load size, truck routes, and financial responsibility.
The 1994 Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act was meant to help put motor carriers on an equal footing with air carriers, according to the paper, with federal regulations pre-empting state laws except for regulations related to safety.
The state has not decided whether to appeal the decision, according to the Bee. If it did, the appeal would go to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled on a similar case last year that "allowing both states and municipalities to escape preemption under the guise of regulating safety could lead to widespread, diverse regulation of motor carriers, precisely what Congress sought to avoid."
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