In late March bipartisan legislation was introduced in both the House and Senate to authorize USDOT to make grants to provide more spaces for truck parking.
TIA has supported such legislation to improve truck safety (drivers can more readily find places to park and rest) and improve supply chain efficiency (reducing lost time and fuel as drivers search for parking within their hours of service).
?The Senate legislation was introduced by Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.); the House companion bill was introduced by Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.).
On April 11, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced two significant rules seeking to dramatically increase the number of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) on the road. The EPA is proposing new aggressive emissions standards for Light and Medium Duty vehicles, which are cars, trucks, and vans up to 14,000 lbs, that could require up to 67% of new vehicle sales to be ZEVs in 2032. Additionally, the EPA announced Phase III of its greenhouse gas regulations, which will set increasingly more stringent emissions standards for Model Years 2027-2032 trucks and buses.
Importantly, these rules are being solely proposed by the EPA, as the agency had previously worked with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on previous truck and bus greenhouse gas rules or Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) standards for vehicles. Accordingly, these proposed rules on light and medium-duty vehicles are not considered new CAFE standards by the EPA but rather new emission standards for Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Particulate Matter (PM), ozone, Carbon Dioxide (CO2), and other greenhouse gases.
TIA is planning to submit comments in opposition to both of these rules, and we have already had multiple conversations with members about the potential impact of these rules. Of note, we will highlight the negative impact on the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) that these new regulations will have. These proposals have not been formally published in the Federal Register, but we do know that there will be a 50-day comment period for the heavy-duty truck rule and a 60-day comment period for the light and medium-duty vehicle rule.
If you haven’t seen the rule for light and medium-duty cars, trucks, and vans, you may view it here: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-04/lmdv-multi-pollutant-emissions-my-2027-nprm-2023-04.pdf