The House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit will hold a hearing next week on pending changes in the hours of service rule.

The hearing, which will be chaired by Rep. Tom Petri, R-Wisc., comes as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration prepares to implement changes to the hours rule on July 1.

There is a chance that the rule will not go into effect on time, due to a legal challenge that could be decided any day.

At issue before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit are petitions by trucking interests to strike four provisions of the rule, and by safety advocates charging that FMCSA erred when it preserved the 34-hour restart and 11-hour driving limit.

A number of outcomes are possible. The court could approve the changes as written. It could send the rule back to FMCSA for a rewrite. Or any of the parties could petition for review of the court’s decision.

FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro will be the lead witness at next Tuesday’s hearing.

Also at the table:

• Mark Savage, president of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which represents the enforcement community.

• Joan Claybrook, consumer co-chair, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

• Steve Williams, chairman and CEO of Maverick USA, representing American Trucking Associations.

• Edward Stocklin, president of Stocklin Trucking, representing the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

• Jeffrey Dean Hinkle, transportation manager at Chandler Concrete Company, representing the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association.

The 10 a.m. hearing will be webcast by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Truckinginfo.com will have coverage of the hearing following its conclusion.