Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 515 - RULES OF GEORGIA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION › Chapter 515-16 - TRANSPORTATION › Subject 515-16-13 - MOTOR CARRIER LEASING REGULATIONS › Rule 515-16-13-.04 - Written Lease Requirements

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) Except as provided in the exemptions set
				forth in subpart C of this part, the written lease required under Commission
				Transportation Rule
				515-16-13-.03(1)(a)
				shall contain the following provisions. The required lease provisions shall be
				adhered to and performed by the authorized carrier.
(a) Parties - The lease shall be made between
				the authorized carrier and the owner of the equipment. The lease shall be
				signed by these parties or by their authorized representatives.
(b) Duration to be specific - The lease shall
				specify the time and date or the circumstances on which the lease begins and
				ends. These times or circumstances shall coincide with the times for the giving
				of receipts required by Commission Transportation Rule
				515-16-13-.03(1)(b).
(c) Exclusive possession and responsibilities
				- The lease shall provide that the authorized carrier lessee shall have
				exclusive possession, control, and use of the equipment for the duration of the
				lease. The lease shall further provide that the authorized carrier lessee shall
				assume complete responsibility for the operation of the equipment for the
				duration of the lease.
1. Provision may be
				made in the lease for considering the authorized carrier lessee as the owner of
				the equipment for the purpose of subleasing it under these regulations to other
				authorized carriers during the lease.
2. When an authorized carrier of household
				goods leases equipment for the transportation of household goods, the parties
				may provide in the lease that the provisions required by paragraph (1)(c) of
				this Rule apply only during the time the equipment is operated by or for the
				authorized carrier lessee.
3.
				Nothing in the provisions required by paragraph (1)(c) of this Rule is intended
				to affect whether the lessor or driver provided by the lessor is an independent
				contractor or an employee of the authorized carrier lessee. An independent
				contractor relationship may exist when a carrier lessee complies with
				applicable provisions of Georgia and Federal law.
(d) Compensation to be specified - The amount
				to be paid by the authorized carrier for equipment and driver's services shall
				be clearly stated on the face of the lease or in an addendum which is attached
				to the lease. Such lease or addendum shall be delivered to the lessor prior to
				the commencement of any trip in the service of the authorized carrier. An
				authorized representative of the lessor may accept these documents. The amount
				to be paid may be expressed as a percentage of gross revenue, a flat rate per
				mile, a variable rate depending on the direction traveled or the type of
				commodity transported, or by any other method of compensation mutually agreed
				upon by the parties to the lease. The compensation stated on the lease or in
				the attached addendum may apply to equipment and driver's services either
				separately or as a combined amount.
(e) Items specified in lease - The lease
				shall clearly specify which party is responsible for removing identification
				devices from the equipment upon the termination of the lease and when and how
				these devices, other than those painted directly on the equipment, will be
				returned to the carrier. The lease shall clearly specify the manner in which a
				receipt will be given to the authorized carrier by the equipment owner when the
				latter retakes possession of the equipment upon termination of the lease
				agreement, if a receipt is required at all by the lease. The lease shall
				clearly specify the responsibility of each party with respect to the cost of
				fuel, fuel taxes, empty mileage, permits of all types, tolls, ferries,
				detention and accessorial services, base plates and licenses, and any unused
				portions of such items. The lease shall clearly specify who is responsible for
				loading and unloading the property onto and from the motor vehicle, and the
				compensation, if any, to be paid for this service. Except when the violation
				results from the acts or omissions of the lessor, the authorized carrier lessee
				shall assume the risks and costs of fines for overweight and oversize trailers
				when the trailers are pre-loaded, sealed, or the load is containerized, or when
				the trailer or lading is otherwise outside of the lessor's control, and for
				improperly permitted overdimension and overweight loads and shall reimburse the
				lessor for any fines paid by the lessor. If the authorized carrier is
				authorized to receive a refund or a credit for base plates purchased by the
				lessor from, and issued in the name of, the authorized carrier, or if the base
				plates are authorized to be sold by the authorized carrier to another lessor
				the authorized carrier shall refund to the initial lessor on whose behalf the
				base plate was first obtained a prorated share of the amount
				received.
(f) Payment period - The
				lease shall specify that payment to the lessor shall be made within 15 days
				after submission of the necessary delivery documents and other paperwork
				concerning a trip in the service of the authorized carrier. The paperwork
				required before the lessor can receive payment is limited to log books required
				by the Department of Transportation and those documents necessary for the
				authorized carrier to secure payment from the shipper. In addition, the lease
				may provide that, upon termination of the lease agreement as a condition
				precedent to payment, the lessor shall remove all identification devices of the
				authorized carrier and, except in the case of identification painted directly
				on equipment, return them to the carrier. If the identification devices has
				been lost or stolen, a letter certifying its removal will satisfy this
				requirement. Until this requirement is complied with the carrier may withhold
				final payment. The authorized carrier may require the submission of additional
				documents by the lessor but not as a prerequisite to payment. Payment to the
				lessor shall not be made contingent upon submission of a bill of lading to
				which no exceptions have been taken. The authorized carrier shall not set time
				limits for the submission by the lessor of required delivery documents and
				other paperwork.
(g) Copies of
				freight bill or other form of freight documentation - When a lessor's revenue
				is based on a percentage of the gross revenue for a shipment, the lease must
				specify that the authorized carrier will give the lessor, before or at the time
				of settlement, a copy of the rated freight bill or a computer-generated
				document containing the same information, or, in the case of contract carriers,
				any other form of documentation actually used for a shipment containing the
				same information that would appear on a rated freight bill. When a
				computer-generated document is provided, the lease will permit lessor to view,
				during normal business hours, a copy of any actual document underlying the
				computer-generated document. Regardless of the method of compensation, the
				lease must permit lessor to examine copies of the carrier's tariff or, in the
				case of contract carriers, other documents from which rates and charges are
				computed, provided that where rates and charges are computed from a contract of
				a contract carrier, only those portions of the contract containing the same
				information that would appear on a rated freight bill need be disclosed. The
				authorized carrier may delete the names of shippers and consignees shown on the
				freight bill or other form of documentation.
(h) Charge-back items - The lease shall
				clearly specify all items that may be initially paid for by the authorized
				carrier, but ultimately deducted from the lessor's compensation at time of
				payment or settlement, together with a recitation as to how the amount of each
				item is to be computed. The lessor shall be afforded copies of those documents
				which are necessary to determine the validity of the charge.
(i) Products, equipment, or services from
				authorized carrier - The lease shall specify that the lessor is not required to
				purchase or rent any products, equipment, or services from the authorized
				carrier as a condition of entering into the lease arrangement. The lease shall
				specify the terms of any agreement in which the lessor is a party to an
				equipment purchase or rental contract which gives the authorized carrier the
				right to make deductions from the lessor's compensation for purchase or rental
				payments.
(j) Insurance -
1. The lease shall clearly specify the legal
				obligation of the authorized carrier lessee to maintain cargo insurance and
				public liability insurance coverage for the protection of the public pursuant
				to Chapter 11 of the Commission's Transportation Rules and O.C.G.A. §
											44-1-13 and Chapter 46-7. The
				lease shall further specify who is responsible for providing any other
				insurance coverage for the operation of the leased equipment, such as bobtail
				insurance. If the authorized carrier will make a charge back to the lessor for
				any of this insurance, the lease shall specify the amount which will be charged
				back to the lessor.
2. If the
				lessor purchases any insurance coverage for the operation of the leased
				equipment from or through the authorized carrier, the lease shall specify that
				the authorized carrier will provide the lessor with a copy of each policy upon
				the request of the lessor. Also, where the lessor purchases such insurance in
				this manner, the lease shall specify that the authorized carrier will provide
				the lessor with a certificate of insurance for each such policy. Each
				certificate of insurance shall include the name of the insurer, the policy
				number, the effective dates of the policy, the amounts and types of coverage,
				the cost to the lessor for each type of coverage, and the deductible amount for
				each type of coverage for which the lessor may be liable.
3. The lease shall clearly specify the
				conditions under which deductions for cargo or property damage may be made from
				the lessor's settlements. The lease shall further specify that the authorized
				carrier must provide the lessor with a written explanation and itemization of
				any deductions for cargo or property damage made from any compensation of money
				owed to the lessor. The written explanation and itemization must be delivered
				to the lessor before any deductions are made.
(k) Escrow funds - If escrow funds are
				required, the lease shall specify:
1. The
				amount of any escrow fund or performance bond required to be paid by the lessor
				to the authorized carrier or to a third party.
2. The specific items to which the escrow
				fund can be applied.
3. That while
				the escrow fund is under the control of the authorized carrier, the authorized
				carrier shall provide an accounting to the lessor of any transactions involving
				such fund. The carrier shall perform this accounting in one of the following
				ways:
(i) By clearly indicating in individual
				settlement sheets the amount and description of any deduction or addition made
				to the escrow fund; or
(ii) By
				providing a separate accounting to the lessor of any transactions involving the
				escrow fund. This separate accounting shall be done on a monthly
				basis.
4. The right of
				the lessor to demand to have an accounting for transactions involving the
				escrow fund at any time.
5. That
				while the escrow fund is under the control of the carrier, the carrier shall
				pay interest on the escrow fund on at least a quarterly basis. For purposes of
				calculating the balance of the escrow fund on which interest must be paid, the
				carrier may deduct a sum equal to the average advance made to the individual
				lessor during the period of time for which interest is paid. The interest rate
				shall be established on the date the interest period begins and shall be at
				least equal to the average yield or equivalent coupon issue yield on 91-day,
				13-week Treasury bills as established in the weekly auction by the Department
				of Treasury.
6. The conditions the
				lessor must fulfill in order to have the escrow fund returned. At the time of
				the return of the escrow fund, the authorized carrier may deduct monies for
				those obligations incurred by the lessor which have been previously specified
				in the lease, and shall provide a final accounting to the lessor or all such
				final deductions made to the escrow fund. The lease shall further specify that
				in no event shall the escrow fund be returned later than 45 days from the date
				of termination.
(l)
				Copies of the lease - An original and two copies of each lease shall be signed
				by the parties. The authorized carrier shall keep the original and shall place
				a copy of the lease on the equipment during the period of the lease unless a
				statement, as provided for in Commission Transportation Rule
				515-16-13-.03(1)(c)2.,
				is carried on the equipment instead. The owner of the equipment shall keep the
				other copy of the lease.
(m) This
				subparagraph applies to owners who are not agents but whose equipment is used
				by an agent of an authorized carrier in providing transportation on behalf of
				that authorized carrier. In this situation, the authorized carrier is obligated
				to ensure that these owners receive all the rights and benefits due an owner
				under the leasing regulations, especially those set forth in paragraphs
				(1)(a)-(l) of this Rule. This is true regardless of whether the lease for the
				equipment is directly between the authorized carrier and its agent rather than
				directly between the authorized carrier and each of these owners. The lease
				between an authorized carrier and its agent shall specify this
				obligation.