Rulemaking Briefing: Clarification to the Applicability of Emergency Exemptions
Rulemaking Briefing: Clarification to the Applicability of Emergency Exemptions
Kathryn Sinniger, December 12, 2023
Rule Overview – What’s Changed?
Regional Declarations of Emergency
Old Regulation
- 30 days (or when declaration expires, whichever occurs first)
- All FMCSRs Parts 390-99
New Regulation
- 14 days (or when declaration expires, whichever occurs first)
- HOS Rules in 49 CFR 395.3 and 395.5
Local Declarations of Emergency
- 5 days (or when declaration expires, whichever occurs first)
- All FMCSRs Parts 390-99
- Still 5 days (or when declaration expires, whichever occurs first)
- HOS Rules in 49 CFR 395.3 and 395.5
Extensions/Modifications
- FMCSA on own or after request, but not for all exemptions (no local, no tow trucks)
- Requests made to region covering principal place of business
- Allowed for conditions
- FMCSA on own or after request for any exemption
- All requests to a single email inbox
- Conditions still allowed, but now explicitly states reporting may be a condition
Definitions
Included definitions of:
- Direct Assistance
- Emergency
- Emergency Relief
- Removed definition of Emergency Relief (term no longer used)
- Revised Emergency definition to clarify scenarios that are NOT considered emergencies (primarily economic, market based)
- Added substance of emergency relief definition into definition of direct assistance
- Added Residential Heating Fuel definition from old 49 CFR 390.23
Rule Overview - What's Stayed the Same?
- Emergency Exemptions triggered by presidential declarations
- 30 days (or when declaration expires, whichever occurs first)
- All FMCSRs Parts 390-99
- Home Heating Fuel exemption, taxi exemption
- What qualifies as direct assistance: relief provided by a motor carrier or its driver(s) incident to the immediate restoration of essential services or essential supplies
- FMCSA’s ability to modify or extend emergency exemptions of any length of time, for more than just the HOS limits, with or without conditions
- FMCSA can do this from the onset of the emergency as well
- Procedures for Waivers or Individual Exemptions (found in 49 CFR part 381)
Key Contacts
- 49 CFR 390.27 Locations of motor carrier safety service centers.
- Includes service center and field office contact information
- FMCSAdeclaration@dot.gov
- https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/emergency-declarations
Last updated: Thursday, December 7, 2023