New Hampshire Senator Introduces Bill That Would Turn Back the Clock on HOS

On Friday, New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte issued a bill to the Senate that is a companion bill to House bill H.R. 3413, that would overturn the 34-hour restart provision of HOS.

H.R. 3413, entitled the “True Understanding of the Economy” and Safety Act or the “True Safety Act,” was written by New York Representative Richard Hanna, South Carolina Representative Tom Rice and Maine Representative Mike Michaud, would reverse the 34-hour restart provision.

The authors of the bill say they would like to see the 34-hour restart provision overturned until an independent study could be done on the provision’s necessity. The representatives say that the new rule has created a hardship for drivers. They noted that trucking is “the lifeblood of the American economy.”

The bill states that drivers should be allowed to operate under the 34-hour restart rule that was in place before the July 1, change and that the Government Accountability Office should conduct an independent assessment of the FMCSA’s methodology that was used to come up with the 34-hour restart rule.

In addition, the bill would prohibit the FMCSA from applying a new restart rule if the independent study results are in contradiction to the FMCSA’s findings.

Ayotte’s bill is similar to H.R. Bill 3413 in that, pending an assessment by the Government Accountability Office, the 34-hour restart provision would be overturned.

Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns co-sponsored Ayotte’s bill.

Like H.R. 3413, If passed, Ayotte’s bill would turn back the clock on HOS to the pre-July 1, HOS rules.