2024 Facts for Drivers OCR - Copy PDF

State Regulations Both interstate and intrastate trucking operations are subject to many types of state regulations — tax, environmental, and safety, to name just a few. State Authority: On January 1, 1995, the Federal Aviation Administra- tion Authorization Act of 1994 went into effect. It pr...

State Regulations Both interstate and intrastate trucking operations are subject to many types of state regulations — tax, environmental, and safety, to name just a few. State Authority: On January 1, 1995, the Federal Aviation Administra- tion Authorization Act of 1994 went into effect. It prohibits States from enacting or enforcing any law or regulation affecting the prices (rates), routes, or services of any motor carrier of property (except household goods). That same law, however, permits States to continue to regulate motor vehicle safety, including the transportation of hazardous materials (as long as the state regulation is consistent with the federal hazmat regulations). It also permits States to control routing based on the size and weight of vehicles, and financial responsibility (insurance). In addition, states may also enact laws and regulations governing cargo liability, extension of credit, bills of lading, classification, mileage guide and joint line rates, but these “economic” laws can be no more burdensome than federal laws and/ or regulations addressing the same subject and may only apply to carriers who elect to be subject to them. State and city ordinances may also govern speed limits, idling, mud flaps, and parking on ramps. ‘The constitutionality of whether the federal government could prohibit states from enacting/enforcing such pricing, route, or service laws was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and later by the U.S. Supreme Court in February 2008. State Taxes; Every state taxes the operations of motor carriers, both inter- and intrastate, through highway taxes such as vehicle registra- tion fees and fuel taxes and through general business taxes like sales and corporate income taxes. Depending on the type of carrier operation, drivers may have substantial tax compliance respomsi- bilities, including the creation of trip reports for mileage and fuel tax records, and the proper presentation of tax and registration creden- tials for the states in which they travel. Business taxes are becoming more complex for motor carriers as technology and laws change. Currently, carriers can expect to pay business taxes in states other than their domicile state, generally 20