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Indemnification Update

House Civil Law Committee

   After barely passing the Senate, SB 693 by Sen. J.P. Morrell (D-New Orleans) was referred to the House Civil Law Committee and will be heard in the committee at 9:30 am on Monday, May 14^th. 

   The sponsor of two other bills that would repeal the anti-indemnification law, Rep. Neil Abramson (D-New Orleans), is also the Chairman of the House Civil Law Committee which bodes well for proponents of the bill.  However, the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) and the AFL-CIO still oppose the bill and will work hard to defeat it in the Committee.   

   The trucking industry was amended out of SB 693.  However, we are still very much opposed to “knock-for-knock” and/or any amendment that would make a motor carrier responsible for someone else’s negligence and require a motor carrier to purchase insurance to cover someone else’s liability. Therefore, we will continue to watch this legislation very closely to make sure that transportation is not amended back into the bill.   

   Many legislators who originally supported the anti-indemnification effort on behalf of the trucking industry are still very wary of this bill.  They are concerned that if this bill passes, they will attack the trucking industry in the future since this legislation will codify and/or legalize the transfer of liability – contrary to the very foundation of tort reform. It is a slippery slope…

Courtesy Vehicle Inspection – May 17^th – LaPlace.  The LMTA Safety Management Council will host a safety meeting and courtesy vehicle inspection on Thursday, May 17^th LaPlace.  The breakfast safety meeting will be held at 7:30 a.m. at the IHOP Restaurant on LA-3188 S (Belle Terre Blvd.) in LaPlace. The Louisiana State Police, Weights & Standards and FMCSA will be on hand to discuss enforcement issues and to provide an enforcement update.

   Following breakfast, we will go to the LaPlace scales to perform courtesy vehicle inspections.  Notify the LMTA office if you or someone from your company will be able to attend the safety meeting and vehicle inspection. We hope that you will plan to join us in LaPlace!

Leadership LMTA at the Capitol.  The second session of Leadership LMTA was held last week with the participants gathering at the State Capitol for their introduction to the state legislative process. Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Robert Adley (R-Benton) and Sen. Danny Martiny (R-Metairie) asked for a personal privilege on the Senate floor and officially recognized the group and welcomed them to the Senate.  Participants sent notes out to their personal legislators on the Senate floor with a request to visit with them.  Most were able to speak to their legislator before attending the meeting of the Senate Transportation Committee where they witnessed a very interesting dialog on a towing bill being heard by the committee. 

   Special thanks to motor carrier executive Tom O’Neal, President of Hercules Transport, who visited with the group over lunch.  Tom discussed his experience in the trucking industry, his personal and business priorities, the importance of being active in government affairs as a trucking company executive as well as to the general business community.  Unfortunately, participants did not get to visit with their House member as the House got stuck on HB 1 – the state budget – and recessed until much later that day. It was an interesting day for all involved!  

Federal Electronic Logging Device Mandate Update.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued a subsequent final rule that affects its April 2010 final rule concerning electronic onboard recorders for hours-of-service compliance.  Read this week’s LMTA Legislative Bulletin for more information on this new mandate and what it may mean to motor carriers as well as ATA’s new Highway Bill negotiations.

Roadcheck 2012:  June 5-7.  Roadcheck 2012 will be held on June 5-7 throughout the U.S. and portions of Canada and Mexico. Roadcheck is the largest targeted enforcement program on commercial vehicles in the world, with approximately 14 trucks or buses being inspected, on average, every minute from Canada to Mexico during a 72-hour period. Each year, approximately 10,000 CVSA-certified local, state, provincial and federal inspectors at 1,500 locations across North America perform the truck and bus inspections.

Alabama Anti-Indemnification Legislation.  Supported by the Alabama Trucking Association, House Bill 339 was approved by the Alabama State Senate but not before agreement was reached on a compromise position.  For more information on the on what the shipper can demand in the indemnification clause of the contract as a result of HB 339 read this week’s LMTA Legislative Bulletin.

ATRI Research: Truck Rollover Sites.  The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released findings from the first phase of a three-part research effort aimed at mitigating costly large truck rollovers.  ATRI’s first phase produced a database of locations with the highest frequency of large truck rollovers using over 50,000 crash records from a nine-year period.  The database, which covers 31 states, provides valuable insight into the location of high frequency rollover locations to both public transportation officials and the trucking industry. For more information on how get a copy of the full report, state-specific summary reports and an online interactive map read this week’s LMTA Legislative Bulletin.

ATRI Motor Carrier CSA Survey.  ATRI has launched its second annual motor carrier survey to identify Compliance, Safety and Accountability (CSA) impacts on trucking operations, as well as carrier perceptions and attitudes toward FMCSA’s maturing regulatory program. This survey, which specifically seeks trucking company input, will be compared and contrasted with last year’s CSA research – where ATRI received responses from a representative sample of approximately 700 fleets. Motor carriers are encouraged to provide confidential input on CSA through ATRI’s survey, available online at www.atri-online.org.

Senate Hearing on State Tax Issues.  On April 25, 2012, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on a variety of issues concerning state and local revenues and taxation. Much of the hearing focused on states’ efforts aimed at direct marketers – both on-line and by catalogue – to collect sales taxes.  Read this week’s LMTA Legislative Bulletin to find out about ATA’s testimony on this issue.