The Senate Appropriations Committee last week advanced a spending bill on Thursday that takes aim at current HOS regulations.
According to The Hill, last week, lawmakers voted 30-0 to advance a spending bill that included a provision to change HOS laws that went into effect in 2013. The bill states that proposed changes to HOS rules cannot be implemented until DOT can prove that the regulations would improve safety. “But legislators left out essential language clarifying what would happen if the agency fails to find that the rule is beneficial for drivers, which would force the DOT to revert to rules put in place more than a decade ago,” The Hill states.
The transportation spending bill includes a cap on the amount of time drivers can spend behind the wheel at 73 hours per week.
“Section 131 makes a technical correction to the hours of service provision in section 133 of division L of title I of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, Public Law 114-113. If the 34-hour restart rule in effect on June 30, 2013, is restored, then drivers who use the 34-hour restart may not drive after being on duty more than 73 hours in a 7-day period,” the bill states.
The bill will now advance to the Senate floor.