Hyde-Smith Cosponsors Bill to Ease Regulations on Livestock Haulers

Statement

U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today announced that she has cosponsored legislation to make commonsense regulatory changes for livestock haulers, who face the prospect of complying with strict rules regarding electronic monitoring and hours of service.

The Transporting Livestock Across America Safely Act (S.2938) would require the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to change its rule mandating rest time for livestock haulers, which would put livestock at risk during summer and winter months.

"The 150-mile limit and mandatory rest time regulations are out of touch with the realities of transporting livestock. They are another example of the government making the mistake of trying to impose one-size-fits all regulations," said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

"This legislation would fix those problems by putting in place flexible rules that make sense for drivers and their valuable livestock cargo," she said.

Current law mandates all livestock haulers to activate electronic logging devices (ELD) after crossing a 150-air mile radius of the origin of their load. After crossing a 150-air mile radius, haulers must meet Hours of Service (HOS) limitations--11 hours driving before taking a mandatory 10-hour rest time. Congress has exempted livestock haulers from these rules at least until Sept. 30, 2018.

S.2938 would establish new standards for livestock haulers. Under this bill, ELD and HOS requirements would become applicable after a driver travels more than 300-air miles from their source. The HOS on-duty time maximum hour requirement would be extended from 11 hours to a minimum of 15 hours and a maximum of 18 hours of on-duty time.

The measure would also allow drivers to complete a trip, regardless of HOS requirements, if they are within 150-air miles of their delivery point.

Introduced by Senator Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), the bipartisan bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

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