I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2967
To amend the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 to require the Secretary
of Transportation to issue regulations and encourage the States to adopt
and implement laws prohibiting the operation of certain uncovered com-
mercial motor vehicles on highways.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AUGUST 6, 1993
Mr. LIPINSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Public Works and Transportation
A BILL
To amend the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 to require
the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations and
encourage the States to adopt and implement laws pro-
hibiting the operation of certain uncovered commercial
motor vehicles on highways.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commercial Motor Ve-
hicle Safety Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) it is in the public interest to prohibit the
operation of certain uncovered commercial motor ve-
hicles and thereby reduce highway fatalities, injuries,
and property damage otherwise associated with such
operation; and
(2) State governments can assist the Federal
Government in assuring the safe operation of com-
mercial motor vehicles by enacting laws prohibiting
the operation of certain uncovered commercial motor
vehicles.
SEC. 3. COVERED LOAD REQUIREMENT.
The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 (49 U.S.C.
App. 2501–2520) is amended by adding at the end thereof
the following:
‘‘SEC. 231. COVERED LOAD REQUIREMENT.
‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—Not later than 120 days after
the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary
shall initiate a rulemaking proceeding for the purpose of
issuing regulations prohibiting any person from operating,
or causing to be operated, on any street or highway, any
commercial motor vehicle with an open load of dirt, aggre-
gate, garbage, tailings, wood chips, refuse, or other similar
loose material, unless the load is secured or enclosed with
a tarpaulin or other covering sufficient to prevent any por-
tion of the material from rolling of, falling from, blowing
off, dropping from, or otherwise escaping from the vehicle.
The Secretary shall issue such regulations not later than
1 year after such date of enactment.
‘‘(b) STATE LAW COMPATIBILITY.—If at any time in
a fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1995, a State
does not have in effect a law compatible with the regula-
tions issued by the Secretary under subsection (a), the
Secretary, notwithstanding any other provision of law,
shall transfer an amount equal to 11⁄2 percent of the funds
apportioned to the State under each of subsections (b)(1),
(b)(2), and (b)(3) of title 23, United States Code, to the
apportionment of the State under section 402 of title 23,
United States Code. The Federal share of the cost of any
project carried out with funds transferred under this sec-
tion shall be 100 percent.
‘‘(c) TRANSFER OF OBLIGATION AUTHORITY.—If the
Secretary transfers under this section any funds to the
State for a fiscal year for highway safety programs under
section 402 of title 23, United States Code, the Secretary
shall allocate an amount of obligation authority distrib-
uted for such fiscal year to the State for Federal-aid high-
ways and highway safety programs for carrying out only
projects under such section 402 which is determined by
multiplying—
‘‘(1) the amount of the funds transferred to the
apportionment of such section 402 of the State
under this section for such fiscal year; by
‘‘(2) the ratio of the amount of obligation au-
thority distributed for such fiscal year to the State
for Federal-aid highways and highway safety con-
struction programs to the total of the sums appor-
tioned to the State for Federal-aid highways and
highway safety construction (excluding sums not
subject to any obligation limitation) for such fiscal
year.
‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY OF HIGHWAY
SAFETY OBLIGATIONS.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of law, no limitation on the total obligations for
highway safety programs carried out by the Federal High-
way Administration under section 402 of title 23, United
States Code, shall apply to funds transferred under this
section to the apportionment of the State under such sec-
tion 402.’’.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
Section 204 of the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984
(49 U.S.C. App. 2503) is amended by adding at the end
the following new paragraph:
‘‘(14) 
AGGREGATE.—The 
term 
‘aggregate’
means any ore, mineral, sand, gravel, shale, coal,
clay, limestone, crushed stone, or other ore or min-
eral which is mined.’’.
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