[Federal Register: June 13, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 113)]
[Notices]
[Page 34188-34189]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13jn06-116]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2006-25004]
Identification of Vehicles: Oregon Department of Transportation
Tax Credentials; Petition for Determination
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of petition for determination; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received a petition or formal
request from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for a
determination whether the State may continue to require motor carriers
to display weight-mile tax credentials. The Safe, Accountable,
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
(SAFETEA-LU) prohibits States from requiring motor carriers to display
in, or on, commercial motor vehicles any form of identification other
than forms required by the Secretary of Transportation. However,
SAFETEA-LU also provides that a State may continue to require display
of credentials that are required under a State law regarding motor
vehicle license plates or other displays that the Secretary determines
are appropriate. ODOT requested that FMCSA make a determination that
its weight-mile tax credentials are appropriate under SAFETEA-LU. FMCSA
requests public comment on ODOT's petition for determination.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 13, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by DOT DMS Docket No.
FMCSA-2006-25004] using any of the following methods:
- Web Site: http://dmses.dot.gov/submit. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
- Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
- Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401,
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
- Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
- Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and
docket number for this notice. Note that all comments received will be
posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov including any personal
information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading for further
information.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-
401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays. The DMS is available 24 hours each day, 365
days each year. If you want to be notified that we received your
comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or postcard
or print the acknowledgement page that appears after submitting
comments online.
Privacy Act: Anyone may search the electronic form of all comments
received into any of DOT's dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or of the person signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, or other
entity). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477). This
statement is also available at http://dms.dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Thomas Yager, Chief, Driver and
Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and [[Page 34189]]
Truck Standards and Operations, MC-PSD, Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Telephone: 202-366-4009. E-mail: MCPSD@dot.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4306 of SAFETEA-LU prohibits States from requiring motor
carriers to display in or on commercial motor vehicles any form of
identification other than forms required by the Secretary of
Transportation [49 U.S.C. 14506(a)]. However, Sec. 14506(b)(3)
provides, in part, that "a State may continue to require display of
credentials that are required * * * under a State law regarding motor
vehicle license plates or other displays that the Secretary determines
are appropriate."
ODOT requests that FMCSA make a determination that the State's
weight-mile tax credentials are appropriate in the context of 49 U.S.C.
14506(a). Oregon has been requiring motor carriers to obtain weight-
mile tax credentials since 1947.
Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 825.454 authorize ODOT to require the
use of identification devices, such as cab cards, stamps or carrier
identification numbers, to identify, and be carried in or placed upon,
each motor vehicle authorized to be operated in Oregon. ODOT may
require annual application for identification devices and it may charge
a fee not to exceed $8 for each device issued on an annual basis. ORS
825.450 requires ODOT to issue a permanent credential and ORS 825.470
authorizes issuance of temporary credentials. Until 2001, ODOT required
out-of-state carriers to display a special Oregon license plate on each
truck registered to operate in the State. State legislation passed in
2001 eliminated the need for out-of-state based vehicles to display the
Oregon license plate and substituted the simpler requirement to carry a
permanent or temporary paper credential.
ODOT states the current weight-mile tax credentials identify a
motor carrier's Oregon account, facilitate reporting and payment of the
tax, and assist in tracking vehicle-miles traveled over Oregon
highways. ODOT also believes truck drivers want to have the credential
at hand when fueling in Oregon, because fuel providers use it to verify
that a vehicle is exempt from Oregon fuel tax. ODOT advises that
approximately 15,000 out-of-state based carriers operate 283,000 trucks
that carry a permanent Oregon tax credential. It also advises that
approximately 10,000 trucks with a 10-day temporary credential operate
within the State at any given time. A copy of ODOT's petition for
determination is available for review in the docket for this notice.
Request for Comments
FMCSA requests public comment on ODOT's request that the Agency
determine whether the State may continue to require commercial motor
carriers to display weight-mile tax credentials. Interested parties are
requested to limit their comments to the display of weight-mile tax
credentials, as FMCSA has no authority to review the tax for which the
credential is issued. FMCSA will consider all comments received by
close of business on July 13, 2006. Comments will be available for
examination in the docket at the location listed under the ADDRESSES
section of this notice. FMCSA will file comments received after the
comment closing date in the public docket and will consider them to the
extent practicable. In addition to late comments, FMCSA will also
continue to file in the public docket relevant information that becomes
available after the comment closing date. Interested persons should
monitor the public docket for new material.
Issued on: June 7, 2006.
David Hugel,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6-9150 Filed 6-12-06; 8:45 am]
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