In The News

NPRM on HOS sent to Office of Management and Budget

WASHINGTON — A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation said late Monday that the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for a new Hours of Service rule had been sent to the Office of Management and Budget.

Monday was the target date set forth for the document to be in the hands of the OMB in the schedule for the issuance of a Final Rule next year.

The OMB will have 90 days to review the proposal before it is scheduled to be published Nov. 4 for the public comment period, which will end Jan. 4, 2011.

The Office of the Secretary of Transportation received the draft late last month from FMCSA.

The document in essence is the first draft of a new HOS rule.

As part of the NPRM process, FMCSA has set forth the general direction for a new rule, which at this stage is by no means in a near final form, the source said, but neither could the agency eventually publish a Final Rule that was totally opposite the direction set forth in the NPRM.

A new HOS rule is part of an agreement by FMCSA to “review and reconsider the 2008 rule” as the basis for a settlement of the most recent lawsuit against HOS brought by the Truck Safety Coalition and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Within the agreement, FMCSA said it would submit the NPRM to the OMB for review nine months from the date of the settlement (Oct. 26) and would publish a final rule within 21 months of the date of settlement, which would be July 26, 2011.

The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at [email protected] .

www.theTrucker.com