The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), the New Jersey Motor Truck Association and the Port Drivers Federation 18 have filed a petition asking the Department of Transportation (DOT) for a determination that mandatory drayage truck registries conducted by various ports and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) are pre-empted by federal law.
In order to prevent an unworkable patchwork of local and state laws that impede the efficient movement of goods in interstate commerce, the petitioners are asking that these registries be prohibited.

More and more over the past few years, port authorities are requiring interstate motor carriers to affix compliance decals, RFID tags, or to participate in mandatory registries as part of an effort to reduce vehicle emissions in port areas. Failure to comply with the registries means denial of a motor carrier's ability to offer service in the marketplace and potential fines. One state environmental agency, the California Air Resources Board, has also been conducting such a registry since 2007.

Petitioners argue that this practice violates Section 209(c) of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (FAAAA) resulting in a regulatory regime that affects the price, route, or service offered by motor carriers.

"Registries and their required identification stickers are essentially a de facto re-regulation of interstate commerce," said OOIDA President Jim Johnston. "These illegal practices should not be carried out under the guise of compliance with environmental regulations."

Congress enacted the FAAAA's motor carrier pre-emption provision to ensure that the deregulation of the trucking industry was not replaced by a patchwork of inconsistent state laws and regulations. It was believed that such an overabundance of laws would not only place an undue burden on motor carriers engaged in interstate commerce, but also prevent competitive market forces from shaping the offerings of motor carriers.

"Failure by the DOT to uphold the law will undoubtedly encourage more authorities to adopt similar mandates that will impede efficient movement of goods," added Johnston. "It's a return to the worst of the things that deregulation did away with long ago."
Further, because truck owners typically are required to place some type of identification on their trucks to evidence registration, petitioners also request a determination that additional identification requirements imposed through the use of registries are prohibited by Section 4306 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).

"If the federal government does not act, trucking is headed back to the days where we had multiple credentials on our trucks, from dozens of fuel stickers to multiple plates. Congress outlawed those practices and now they are creeping back into trucking," stated Johnston.

Click here to read the petition.