[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 29, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1910-S1911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. TORRICELLI:
  S. 2325. A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to ensure 
equity in the provision of transportation by limousine services; to the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


       contracted automobile regulatory relief act of 2000 (carr)

  Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
that will eliminate burdensome and unnecessary regulations which are 
devastating the nation's limousine companies, 80 percent of which are 
small business owners.
  Federal Highway Administration regulations grant limo operators the 
right to cross states lines ``without interference''. Yet local 
entities across the U.S. have taken it upon themselves to establish 
unnecessary bureaucracies for the purpose of placing excessive and 
arbitrary requirements upon limo operators that enter their 
jurisdictions.
  Current law already requires limo operators to be certified and 
registered at three different stages: the U.S. Department of 
Transportation; the state in which they principally operate; and the 
locality in which the business is located. Therefore, company owners, 
drivers, and vehicles must already comply with a myriad of safety and 
financial requirements that includes carrying at least $1.5 million in 
liability insurance. Public safety is clearly being upheld.
  Yet, after satisfying these three stages of compliance, limo 
operators often find that there is a fourth, fifth, sixth and sometimes 
even more bureaucratic hoops to jump through to simply conduct their 
business. This happens when a locality sets up a Local Taxi and 
Limousine Commission to place certification requirements not only on 
companies located in their jurisdiction, but on any other limo that 
enters their locality to pick up or drop off a customer. These 
additional licenses can cost up to several hundred dollars annually--
and that's just to enter one jurisdiction.
  The purpose of the CARR ACT is simple. It says that if a limo 
operator has satisfied federal, state, and local requirements, no other 
state or entity has the authority to establish additional requirements. 
The bill will not lower the quality of service which the public expects 
from the limousine industry nor does it compromise public safety. In 
fact, my legislation does not affect any safety regulations or 
financial requirements on interstate operations required by the U.S. 
DOT nor does it affect the power of states to regulate safety or 
financial responsibility as they may do under current law.
  The same protections were granted to the trucking industry in 1995, 
to the armor car industry in 1997, and to the chartered bus industry 
under TEA-21. The time for these protections to be extended to the 
limousine industry is long overdue. No small business should be faced 
with the unfair and excessive bureaucracy faced by the nation's 9,000 
limousine operators.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent at this time that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2325

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

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Contracted Automobile 
     Regulatory Relief Act''.

     SEC. 2. REGULATION OF INTERSTATE AND CERTAIN INTRASTATE 
                   TRANSPORTATION SERVICES.

       Section 14501(a) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)--
       (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting a semicolon; and

[[Page S1911]]

       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) prohibiting, restricting, licensing, permitting, or 
     regulating the operation of a motor vehicle that is providing 
     limousine service on an interstate basis, except in the case 
     of the State or political subdivision in which the limousine 
     operator maintains its principal place of business; or
       ``(E) requiring that a person, that has secured any 
     mandatory State license, permit, certificate, or authority to 
     operate a limousine service on an intrastate basis between or 
     among political subdivisions within the State, obtain, in 
     order to conduct limousine service between or among political 
     subdivisions of the State, a license, permit, certificate, or 
     other form of authority from any political subdivision of the 
     State other than the political subdivision in which the 
     limousine operator maintains its principal place of 
     business.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) Definitions.--In this subsection:
       ``(A) Limousine service.--The term `limousine service' 
     means a prearranged ground transportation service in a motor 
     vehicle (other than a motor vehicle providing taxicab 
     service), the seating capacity of which does not exceed 15 
     passengers (including the driver), that--
       ``(i) is provided on a dedicated, nonscheduled, charter 
     basis;
       ``(ii) is not conducted on a regular route; and
       ``(iii) does not entail shuttle service.
       ``(B) Shuttle service.--The term `shuttle service' means 
     the simultaneous provision of a nondedicated transportation 
     service to more than 1 paying customer in a case in which the 
     service provider, rather than the customer, reserves the 
     power to determine the pickup or destination point.''.
                                 ______