Opinion ID: 574329
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Preemption Standards Under the HMTUSA

Text: 8 The Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the Constitution provides Congress with the power to preempt state law. Congress can preempt state law in several ways--one of which is express preemption. Express preemption occurs when Congress, in enacting a federal statute, announces a clear intent to preempt state law. Jones v. Rath Packing Co., 430 U.S. 519, 97 S.Ct. 1305, 51 L.Ed.2d 604 (1977). Express preemption may result not only from action taken by Congress itself; a federal agency acting within the scope of its congressionally delegated authority also may preempt state law. Fidelity Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. De La Cuesta, 458 U.S. 141, 102 S.Ct. 3014, 73 L.Ed.2d 664 (1982); State Corp. Comm'n of Kan. v. FCC, 787 F.2d 1421, 1425 (10th Cir.1986). 9 The HMTUSA, like its predecessor, grants the Secretary of Transportation broad powers to promulgate regulations governing the transportation of hazardous materials: The Secretary shall issue regulations for the safe transportation of hazardous materials in intrastate, interstate, and foreign commerce. The regulations issued under this section shall govern any aspect of hazardous materials transportation safety which the Secretary deems necessary or appropriate. 49 U.S.C.App. § 1804(a)(1). Pursuant to this section, the Secretary's regulations establish requirements for, among other things, highway routing, driver training, placarding, and shipping papers. 10 When it enacted the HMTUSA, Congress specified the standards for preemption under the Act by creating three different standards for separate areas of regulation. Section 1819 establishes the highest preemption standard. Pursuant to this section, after the Secretary enacts regulations with regard to motor carrier registration and permitting forms for states that register persons who transport hazardous material by motor vehicle, no State [may] establish, maintain, or enforce any requirement which relates to the subject matter of such regulation unless such requirement is the same as such regulation. 49 U.S.C.App. § 1819(e) (emphasis added). 11 The second standard applies to certain covered subjects. Congress stated that unless otherwise authorized by Federal law, any law, regulation, order, ruling, provision, or other requirement of a State or political subdivision thereof or an Indian tribe, which concerns a subject listed in subparagraph (B) [covered subjects] and which is not substantively the same as any provision of this Act or any regulation under such provision which concerns such subject, is preempted. Id. § 1804(a)(4) (emphasis added). Any regulation issued by the Secretary of Transportation concerning a covered subject has the same preemptive effect. Id. § 1804(a)(5). 12 Finally, unless the Secretary waives preemption or the regulation is otherwise authorized by federal law, any regulation, regardless of the subject matter, 13 is preempted if--(1) compliance with both the State or political subdivision or Indian tribe requirement and any requirement of this chapter or of a regulation issued under this chapter is not possible, (2) the State or political subdivision or Indian tribe requirement as applied or enforced creates an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of this chapter or the regulations issued under this chapter, or (3) it is preempted under section 1804(a)(4) of this Appendix or section 1804(b) of this Appendix. 14 Id. § 1811(a). 3 The enactment of these standards demonstrates that Congress clearly intended to preempt state law under certain circumstances. 4 We first must examine the subject matter of the NT-Regulations at issue to determine which of the three preemption categories applies; then we must determine whether each regulation is preempted under that standard. 15