Bipartisan legislation introduced on March 25 by U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) would establish a working group at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to examine specific regulations for long-haul agricultural truckers.
The Modernizing Agricultural Transportation Act, S. 1053, which Sen. Hoeven sponsored with original cosponsors including U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Michael Bennet (D-CO), would reform the Hours of Service (HOS) and Electronic Logging Device (ELD) regulations at the DOT.
“We’ve worked to provide needed certainty and flexibility to our agricultural haulers under the HOS and ELD regulations so that they can get their products to market safely and efficiently,” said Sen. Hoeven. “This legislation builds on our efforts, establishing a process to address unnecessary burdens under these regulations and advance reforms based on the input of agriculture producers, while also ensuring roadway safety is maintained.”
Specifically, S. 1053 would require the new working group to consider the impact of existing HOS and ELD rules on the commercial transport of livestock, insects, and agricultural commodities and develop guidelines on reforming these rules, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Hoeven’s office.
Within 120 days of receiving the working group’s report, the DOT Secretary must propose regulatory changes to the HOS and ELD regulations, taking into account the group’s findings and recommendations, according to the text of the bill.
S. 1053 has garnered support from the National Pork Producers Council, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the United States Cattlemen’s Association, the Livestock Marketing Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Honey Producers Association, The American Horse Council, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the American Sheep Industry Association, the National Turkey Federation, and the National Aquaculture Association.