TRUCK Safety Reform Act

To reform the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Trucking Rules Updated by Comprehensive and Key Safety Reform Act TRUCK Safety Reform Act 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 (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. 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 (2) Reissuance If the Administrator, in a review conducted pursuant to section 2 of the TRUCK Safety Reform Act (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. . 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 (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. . 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. . 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.

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.