Trump ‘Freeze’ Only Technically Delays Driver-Training Rule
Photo: FMCSA
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Photo: FMCSA
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Thanks to a “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” issued by the White House on Jan. 20, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has “temporarily delayed” the effective date of its final rule on minimum entry-level CDL training requirements until March 21.
However, while the rule’s effective date has been extended, the agency did not adjust the rule’s all-important compliance date— which remains Feb. 7, 2020. In practical terms, that means the delay is a move on paper only.
On the other hand, the notice goes on to point out that FMCSA “may consider delaying the effective date of the above referenced regulation beyond March 21, 2017, consistent with the memorandum of the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff.” So, there could be another delay announced after this one— or not.
The agency explained that the “freeze” memorandum, issued by President Trump’s Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, directed agencies to temporarily postpone for 60 days from the date of the memo, the effective dates of certain regulations that had been published in the Federal Register, but had not yet taken effect.
“Because the original effective date of the final rule published on December 8, 2016, falls within that 60-day window, the effective date of the rule is delayed until March 21, 2017,” FMCSA stated.
The rule was mandated by Congress under the MAP-21 highway bill, passed in 2012. FMSCA said the rule was based, in part, on recommendations of the agency’s Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee, a negotiated rulemaking committee that held a series of meetings in 2015.
Although applauded by trucking interests, including the American Trucking Associations, the rule remains controversial because it does not include a requirement for 30 hours of behind-the-wheel training for new drivers, which had been included in the notice of proposed rulemaking that FMCSA issued in March, …Read the rest of this story
