The combination of a new administration, a new Congress in 2021, a pending reauthorization of the Highway Bill, and a President pushing for a transformative infrastructure plan has many people wondering what is coming down the pike. This flurry has many of us thinking about kitchen sinks, Christmas trees, and a little something you might remember called earmarks.
With all this transition, the industry has been anxiously awaiting the roll-out of the Biden Administration’s regulatory agenda. That wait is over, for now. Earlier this month, the Biden Administration published their semiannual regulatory agenda a few months later than usual. In it is a laundry list of priorities, many of which will look familiar such as proposals to:
- Eliminate the records of violation rule
- Extend of the entry-level driver training and medical examiner’s certification integration deadlines
- Revise the vision standard
What piqued STC’s interest, however, is what’s missing, including no mention of key measures:
- CSA-based safety ratings
- Minimum liability insurance limits
- Mandatory use of speed limiters
- New sleep apnea rules
Our regular readers will point to our January 2021 issue of 60 Seconds and ask us to wipe the egg off our face. Not so fast. STC believes a confluence of factors may be keeping these issues off FMCSA’s public-facing radar… for now. Specifically, pending research on CSA, a new administrator (still acting) getting up to speed on some arcane trucking issues, and the political football game playing out over the infrastructure bill. STC is diamond hands on these issues and thinks the fall edition of the regulatory agenda will look different and that we should hold tight before wiping the proverbial egg of our face.