News

Truckers Seek to Halt California Regulations Imposing Multi-Billion Dollar Interstate Electric Truck Requirements

  On October 29, 2021, The Cullen Law Firm submitted objections (OOIDA’s comments) to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) on behalf of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), the nation’s largest trade association representing the interests of independent truckers, regarding CARB’s proposed Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) Regulations which seek to require virtually every single […]

OOIDA Tells Supreme Court that California’s AB 5 Eliminates the Business Model Driving the Trucking Industry—Independent Owner-Operators.

  On September 10, 2021, the Cullen Law Firm filed on behalf of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association a brief as amicus curiae in support of truckers challenging California’s worker classification rule, AB 5. OOIDA stressed to the high court that the independent owner-operator model represents the lifeblood of the interstate trucking industry, providing small […]

Supreme Court asked to review decision narrowing Commerce Clause and expanding Market Participant exception. Lower court decision leaves no constitutional limit on the highway tolls a state could impose on vehicles moving in interstate commerce.    Petition for certiorari can be found here, Seventh Circuit decision here. Amicus briefs in support of this petition are due by […]

Truckers Ask Federal Appeals Court to Rehear its Decision that the Constitution Does Not Limit the Amount of Highway Tolls a State Can Impose on Interstate Commerce

  On March 9, 2021, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a lower court ruling that the Constitution does not limit the amount of highway tolls a state can impose on trucks operating in interstate commerce. The opinion in case no. 20-1445, authored by Circuit Judge […]

OOIDA Explains to Supreme Court How False Reporting Hurts Truckers’ Reputations and Employability

  On March 10, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. (OOIDA) filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, outlining the damage caused to truckers by inaccurate and misleading reporting, emphasizing the importance of being able to hold consumer reporting agencies liable for inaccurate employment histories […]

FMCSA to Host Listening Session on Broker Transparency Regulation

From 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EDT on Wednesday, October 28, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will host a public listening session concerning the pending broker transparency rulemaking petitions. These petitions propose to modify the federal regulations requiring brokers to disclose certain information to carriers, including the amount the shippers paid a broker to […]

Fourteen States Join California in a Commitment to Phasing Out Diesel Trucks

  The California Air Resource Board (“CARB”) recently adopted a new rule requiring truck manufacturers to transition from diesel to electric zero-emission trucks starting in 2024. The ultimate objective of CARB’s Advanced Clear Trucks (“ACT”) regulation is to eliminate all diesel trucks by 2045 (this blog’s more detailed discussion of the ACT regulation can be […]

Congress Considering Raising Minimum Motor Carrier Public Liability Insurance to $2 Million

  An already challenging economic environment for truckers may worsen with a proposal in Congress to increase minimum public liability insurance limits to $2 million. In mid-June, Representative Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL-04) introduced a proposal in Congress that require commercial motor vehicles to be insured against liability at a level of $2 million—266% higher than […]

Judge Gives the Green Light to Constitutional Challenge to Rhode Island’s Truck-Tolling Scheme

Earlier this month, a federal judge allowed a legal challenge to Rhode Island’s exorbitant truck-only tolls to proceed.  The court rejected Rhode Island officials’ latest arguments that their discriminatory toll scheme is immune from a constitutional challenge—the same defense that Pennsylvania officials relied upon in defending its excessive Turnpike tolls last year.  This decision and […]