TRUCK Safety Reform Act

Summary: Trucking Rules Updated by Comprehensive and Key Safety Reform Act or the TRUCK Safety Reform Act This bill requires the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA): (1) at least every five years, to conduct a comprehensive review of its rules, regulations, regulatory guidance, and enforcement policies; and (2) within 24 months after completion of each review, to amend its regulations and enforcement policies to ensure that they are consistent and uniform. If the FMCSA determines that guidance it has issued has not been incorporated into a regulation, such guidance shall cease to be effective 24 months after the conclusion of such review unless FMCSA reissues it. The Department of Transportation (DOT) shall publish in the Federal Register on the date of issuance all newly issued or reissued regulatory guidance and interpretations regarding commercial motor vehicle safety regulations. The FMCSA shall conduct a formal notice and comment process when issuing medical guidance but may use informal rulemaking when issuing medical guidance that is directly related to a public health emergency. The FMCSA: (1) when analyzing the impact of regulations and enforcement policies, shall specify how it will evaluate future rules and shall allow stakeholders to comment on why performance-based targets would be preferable to a proposed regulation; and (2) before promulgating any new regulation, shall include within its cost-benefit analysis a wider selection and scope of motor carriers.  The FMCSA, before promulgating a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that is reasonably likely to lead to the promulgation of a major rule, shall:   issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that identifies the compelling public concern for a potential regulatory action and requests public comment on alternatives;   determine whether a negotiated rulemaking is necessary; or   otherwise publish a request for comment in the Federal Register.  The FMCSA shall:   respond to all statutory requirements for rulemaking;   prioritize stakeholder petitions based on the likelihood of safety improvements;   formally respond to a petition within six months after it is submitted; and   post and maintain an inventory of all petitions received, including information about their disposition, on a publicly accessible website. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Trucking Rules Updated by 
Comprehensive and Key Safety Reform Act'' or the ``TRUCK Safety Reform 
Act''.

SEC. 2. QUINQUENNIAL REVIEW OF RULES, GUIDANCE, REGULATIONS, AND 
              ENFORCEMENT POLICIES.

    (a) Review.--Not less frequently than once every 5 years, the 
Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 
(referred to in this Act as the ``FMCSA'') shall conduct a 
comprehensive review of its rules, regulations, regulatory guidance, 
and enforcement policies.
    (b) Schedule.--At the beginning of each 5-year review period, the 
Administrator shall publish a schedule that--
            (1) describes the order in which the FMCSA will review 
        regulations and enforcement policies; and
            (2) sets forth the work plan timeframe for completing the 
        full review within 5 years.
    (c) Notification of Changes.--During each review period, the 
Administrator shall address any changes to the schedule published 
pursuant to subsection (b) and notify the public of such changes.
    (d) Report.--At the conclusion of each review under subsection (a), 
the Administrator shall post a report on a publicly accessible website 
that includes--
            (1) an inventory of technical rules and guidance issued 
        during the previous 5-year period;
            (2) the full details of the review conducted under this 
        section;
            (3) a determination of whether the regulations and 
        enforcement policies under the jurisdiction of the FMCSA are--
                    (A) consistent and clear;
                    (B) current and consistent with the state of the 
                motor carrier industry; and
                    (C) uniform and consistently enforceable; and
            (4) a statement indicating whether guidance from the 
        Administration is still necessary.
    (e) Rulemaking.--Not later than 24 months after the completion of 
each review under this section, the Administrator shall amend the 
regulations and enforcement policies under the jurisdiction of the 
FMCSA to ensure that such regulations and enforcement policies are 
consistent and uniform.

SEC. 3. GUIDANCE.

    Section 31136 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(g) Regulatory Guidance.--
            ``(1) Publication.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
        Administration (referred to in this section as the 
        `Administrator'), shall publish all newly issued or reissued 
        regulatory guidance and interpretations in the Federal Register 
        on the date of issuance.
            ``(2) Reissuance.--If the Administrator, in a review 
        conducted pursuant to section 2 of the TRUCK Safety Reform Act, 
        determines that guidance issued by the Administration has not 
        been incorporated into a regulation, such guidance shall cease 
        to be effective on the date that is 24 months after the 
        conclusion of such review unless the Administrator reissues the 
        guidance by publishing the guidance in the Federal Register 
        with the date on which the guidance was last revised and 
        contact information for an official at the Administration who 
        can answer questions about the guidance.
    ``(h) Medical Guidance.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided under paragraph (2), 
        the Administrator shall conduct a formal notice and comment 
        process when issuing medical guidance.
            ``(2) Public health emergencies.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Administrator may use 
                informal rulemaking when issuing medical guidance that 
                is directly related to a public health emergency.
                    ``(B) Consultation.--In determining whether a 
                public health emergency necessitates informal 
                rulemaking, the Administrator shall consult with the 
                Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Centers 
                for Disease Control.''.

SEC. 4. REGULATIONS, ADVANCED NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING, AND 
              NEGOTIATED RULEMAKINGS.

    Section 31136 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
section 3, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Regulatory Evaluations.--When analyzing the impact of 
regulations and enforcement policies, the Administrator shall--
            ``(1) specify how the Administration will evaluate future 
        rules; and
            ``(2) allow stakeholders to comment on why performance-
        based targets would be preferable to a proposed regulation.
    ``(j) Cost-Benefit Analysis.--
            ``(1) In general.--Before promulgating any new regulation 
        on or after the date of the enactment of the TRUCK Safety 
        Reform Act, the Administrator shall include, within the 
        Administration's cost-benefit analysis, a wider selection and 
        scope of motor carriers.
            ``(2) Scope.--The analysis conducted under this 
        subsection--
                    ``(A) shall be based upon data generated from a 
                statistically significant and representative sample of 
                commercial vehicle operators, motor carriers, or both, 
                that will be covered under the proposed regulation;
                    ``(B) shall focus on examining commercial truck and 
                bus carriers of all sizes, various operation types and 
                sectors, including various types of commercial busses, 
                long haul, regional, short-haul, flat-bed, dry-van, 
                refrigerated, various commercial busses and tank 
                operations to the extent appropriate and practicable; 
                and
                    ``(C) shall be subject to independent peer review, 
                to the maximum extent practicable, by a balanced panel 
                of individuals with relevant areas of expertise 
                suitable for the review being conducted, including 
                statistical expertise.
            ``(3) Waiver.--This subsection shall not apply if the 
        Administrator, for good cause, finds (and incorporates the 
        finding and a brief statement of reasons for such finding in 
        the final rule) that conducting the cost-benefit analysis 
        described in paragraph (2) would be impracticable, unnecessary, 
        or contrary to the public interest.
    ``(k) Request for Comment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Before promulgating a Notice of Proposed 
        Rulemaking, in accordance with section 553 of title 5, that is 
        reasonably likely to lead to the promulgation of a major rule 
        (as defined in section 804 of such title), the Administrator of 
        the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall--
                    ``(A) issue an Advance Notice of Proposed 
                Rulemaking;
                    ``(B) determine whether a negotiated rulemaking is 
                necessary; or
                    ``(C) otherwise publish a request for comment in 
                the Federal Register, seeking ideas and data to inform 
                the formulation of a potential proposed rule.
            ``(2) Requirements.--Each Advance Notice of Proposed 
        Rulemaking or Negotiated Rulemaking issued under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    ``(A) identify the compelling public concern for a 
                potential regulatory action, such as material failures 
                of private markets to protect or improve the safety of 
                the public, the environment, or the well-being of the 
                American people;
                    ``(B) identify and request public comment on the 
                best available science or technical information on the 
                need for regulatory action and on the potential 
                regulatory alternatives;
                    ``(C) request public comment on the benefits and 
                costs of potential regulatory alternatives reasonably 
                likely to be included or analyzed as part of the notice 
                of proposed rulemaking;
                    ``(D) request public comment on the available 
                alternatives to direct regulation, including providing 
                economic incentives to encourage the desired behavior; 
                and
                    ``(E) request data on how safety will be 
                quantifiably improved by the regulation.
            ``(3) Waiver.--This subsection shall not apply if the 
        Administrator, for good cause, finds (and incorporates the 
        finding and a brief statement of reasons for such finding in 
        the final rule) that an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
        is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public 
        interest.
    ``(l) Feedback.--
            ``(1) In general.--During the development of Advance Notice 
        of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the 
        Administrator shall notify and receive written feedback from 
        the Transportation Research Board at the National Academy of 
        Sciences or the Inspector General of the Department of 
        Transportation to consider and determine the appropriate 
        universe for the various types of carriers referred to in 
        subsection (k)(2).
            ``(2) Requirements.--If the Administrator, in conducting a 
        rulemaking, does not utilize the statistically significant and 
        representative sample recommendations provided by the 
        Transportation Research Board or the Inspector General of the 
        Department of Transportation, the Administrator shall publish 
        an explanation in the Federal Register of why the data 
        collected by the Administration for the cost-benefit analysis 
        required under subsection (k) meets the statistically 
        significant and representative requirements under that 
        subsection.
            ``(3) Certification.--The Administrator shall publish, in 
        the Federal Register, a certification that the Administration 
        has attempted, to the maximum extent possible, to consider 
        various aspects of the commercial trucking and bus industry 
        that are impacted by the rule referred to in paragraph (2) in 
        the Administration's collection of data for the purposes of 
        cost-benefit analysis.''.

SEC. 5. PETITIONS AND OTHER PROVISIONS.

    Section 31136 of title 49, United States Code, as amended by 
sections 3 and 4, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(m) Statutory Rulemaking and Petitions.--The Administrator 
shall--
            ``(1) first respond to all statutory requirements for 
        rulemaking;
            ``(2) prioritize stakeholder petitions based on the 
        likelihood of safety improvements;
            ``(3) not later than 6 months after a petition is 
        submitted, formally respond to such petition by--
                    ``(A) indicating whether the Administration will 
                accept or deny the petition; and
                    ``(B) including a safety value assessment, 
                prioritization, and description of the policy goals of 
                the Administration related to the subject matter of the 
                petition; and
            ``(4) post and maintain an inventory of all petitions 
        received by the Administration, including information about the 
        disposition of such petitions, on a publicly accessible 
        website.''.

SEC. 6. SAVINGS PROVISION.

    Nothing in the amendments made by section 3 through 5 may be 
construed to limit the contents of any Advance Notice of Proposed 
Rulemaking.