[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 756 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 756

 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe standards for 
  the maximum number of hours that an operator of a commercial motor 
 vehicle may be reasonably detained by a shipper or receiver, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 17, 2011

 Mr. DeFazio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe standards for 
  the maximum number of hours that an operator of a commercial motor 
 vehicle may be reasonably detained by a shipper or receiver, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. DETENTION OF OPERATORS OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES BY 
              SHIPPERS AND RECEIVERS.

    (a) Study.--The Secretary of Transportation shall conduct a study 
on the detention of operators of commercial motor vehicles by shippers 
and receivers before the loading and unloading of such vehicles.
    (b) Elements of Study.--In conducting the study, the Secretary 
shall assess--
            (1) the average length of time that operators of commercial 
        motor vehicles are detained before the loading and unloading of 
        such vehicles;
            (2) how such detentions impact such operators under various 
        compensation structures in the motor carrier industry;
            (3) the extent to which such detentions result in 
        violations of the Secretary's regulations on maximum hours of 
        service prescribed under section 31502 of title 49, United 
        States Code; and
            (4) the feasibility of tracking the causes of violations of 
        such regulations.
    (c) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the 
results of the study.

SEC. 2. RULEMAKING.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of 
submission of the report under section 1, the Secretary of 
Transportation shall prescribe, by regulation, standards for the 
maximum number of hours that an operator of a commercial motor vehicle 
transporting property in interstate commerce may be reasonably detained 
by a shipper or receiver before the loading or unloading of the 
vehicle, if the operator is not compensated for time detained.
    (b) Contents.--As part of the rulemaking, the Secretary shall--
            (1) consider whether the effect on safety of unreasonable 
        detention of operators of commercial motor vehicles differs 
        based on how an operator is compensated;
            (2) consider any correlation between unreasonable detention 
        time of such an operator and a violation of the Secretary's 
        regulations on maximum hours of service prescribed under 
        section 31502 of title 49, United States Code;
            (3) establish a process for an employer, shipper, receiver, 
        broker, or commercial motor vehicle operator to report 
        violations of the Secretary's standards on detention time, 
        including by providing data contained in an electronic on-board 
        recorder or through another mechanism authorized by the 
        Secretary; and
            (4) institute appropriate enforcement measures, including 
        penalties, for violations of the Secretary's standards on 
        detention time.

SEC. 3. LOADING AND UNLOADING MOTOR VEHICLES.

    (a) Limitations on Certain Detentions.--Section 14103 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Limitations on Certain Detentions.--A shipper or receiver may 
not detain a person who operates a commercial motor vehicle 
transporting property in interstate commerce before the loading or 
unloading of such vehicle without providing compensation for time 
detained beyond the maximum number of hours that the Secretary 
determines, by regulation, is reasonable.''.
    (b) Penalties.--Section 14905 of such title is amended by striking 
``of subsection (a) or (b)'' and inserting ``of subsection (a), (b), or 
(c)''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this section, the following definitions apply:
            (1) Shipper.--The term ``shipper'' means a person who 
        offers property for transportation subject to jurisdiction 
        under subchapter I of chapter 135 of title 49, United States 
        Code.
            (2) Receiver.--The term ``receiver'' means a person who 
        accepts property for transportation subject to jurisdiction 
        under subchapter I of chapter 135 of such title.
            (3) Employer.--The term ``employer'' has the meaning such 
        term has under section 31301 of such title.
            (4) Broker.--The term ``broker'' has the meaning such term 
        has under section 13102 of such title.
            (5) Commercial motor vehicle.--The term ``commercial motor 
        vehicle'' has the meaning such term has under section 31101 of 
        such title.
            (6) Interstate commerce.--The term ``interstate commerce'' 
        has the meaning such term has under section 390.5 of title 49, 
        Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of 
        enactment of this Act.
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