[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 13, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34188-34189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9150]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2006-25004]


Identification of Vehicles: Oregon Department of Transportation 
Tax Credentials; Petition for Determination

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of petition for determination; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received a petition or formal 
request from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for a 
determination whether the State may continue to require motor carriers 
to display weight-mile tax credentials. The Safe, Accountable, 
Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users 
(SAFETEA-LU) prohibits States from requiring motor carriers to display 
in, or on, commercial motor vehicles any form of identification other 
than forms required by the Secretary of Transportation. However, 
SAFETEA-LU also provides that a State may continue to require display 
of credentials that are required under a State law regarding motor 
vehicle license plates or other displays that the Secretary determines 
are appropriate. ODOT requested that FMCSA make a determination that 
its weight-mile tax credentials are appropriate under SAFETEA-LU. FMCSA 
requests public comment on ODOT's petition for determination.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 13, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by DOT DMS Docket No. 
FMCSA-2006-25004] using any of the following methods:
     Web Site: http://dmses.dot.gov/submit. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the 
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number for this notice. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov including any personal 
information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading for further 
information.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-
401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. The DMS is available 24 hours each day, 365 
days each year. If you want to be notified that we received your 
comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or postcard 
or print the acknowledgement page that appears after submitting 
comments online.
    Privacy Act: Anyone may search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of DOT's dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or of the person signing the comment, if 
submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, or other 
entity). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the 
Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477). This 
statement is also available at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Thomas Yager, Chief, Driver and 
Carrier Operations Division, Office of Bus and

[[Page 34189]]

Truck Standards and Operations, MC-PSD, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001. 
Telephone: 202-366-4009. E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4306 of SAFETEA-LU prohibits States from requiring motor 
carriers to display in or on commercial motor vehicles any form of 
identification other than forms required by the Secretary of 
Transportation [49 U.S.C. 14506(a)]. However, Sec.  14506(b)(3) 
provides, in part, that ``a State may continue to require display of 
credentials that are required * * * under a State law regarding motor 
vehicle license plates or other displays that the Secretary determines 
are appropriate.''
    ODOT requests that FMCSA make a determination that the State's 
weight-mile tax credentials are appropriate in the context of 49 U.S.C. 
14506(a). Oregon has been requiring motor carriers to obtain weight-
mile tax credentials since 1947.
    Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) 825.454 authorize ODOT to require the 
use of identification devices, such as cab cards, stamps or carrier 
identification numbers, to identify, and be carried in or placed upon, 
each motor vehicle authorized to be operated in Oregon. ODOT may 
require annual application for identification devices and it may charge 
a fee not to exceed $8 for each device issued on an annual basis. ORS 
825.450 requires ODOT to issue a permanent credential and ORS 825.470 
authorizes issuance of temporary credentials. Until 2001, ODOT required 
out-of-state carriers to display a special Oregon license plate on each 
truck registered to operate in the State. State legislation passed in 
2001 eliminated the need for out-of-state based vehicles to display the 
Oregon license plate and substituted the simpler requirement to carry a 
permanent or temporary paper credential.
    ODOT states the current weight-mile tax credentials identify a 
motor carrier's Oregon account, facilitate reporting and payment of the 
tax, and assist in tracking vehicle-miles traveled over Oregon 
highways. ODOT also believes truck drivers want to have the credential 
at hand when fueling in Oregon, because fuel providers use it to verify 
that a vehicle is exempt from Oregon fuel tax. ODOT advises that 
approximately 15,000 out-of-state based carriers operate 283,000 trucks 
that carry a permanent Oregon tax credential. It also advises that 
approximately 10,000 trucks with a 10-day temporary credential operate 
within the State at any given time. A copy of ODOT's petition for 
determination is available for review in the docket for this notice.

Request for Comments

    FMCSA requests public comment on ODOT's request that the Agency 
determine whether the State may continue to require commercial motor 
carriers to display weight-mile tax credentials. Interested parties are 
requested to limit their comments to the display of weight-mile tax 
credentials, as FMCSA has no authority to review the tax for which the 
credential is issued. FMCSA will consider all comments received by 
close of business on July 13, 2006. Comments will be available for 
examination in the docket at the location listed under the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice. FMCSA will file comments received after the 
comment closing date in the public docket and will consider them to the 
extent practicable. In addition to late comments, FMCSA will also 
continue to file in the public docket relevant information that becomes 
available after the comment closing date. Interested persons should 
monitor the public docket for new material.

    Issued on: June 7, 2006.
David Hugel,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6-9150 Filed 6-12-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P