The window of opportunity to weigh in on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s broker transparency proposal is rapidly closing.
Truckers, as well as the general public, have through Thursday, March 20, to let the agency know whether it should move forward with its proposal to strengthen existing broker transparency regulations.
In November 2024, FMCSA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, which includes four main provisions:
- It requires brokers to keep their records in an electronic format.
- It requires that records contain information about charges and payments connected to the shipment, including a description, amount and dates, as well as any claims connected to the shipment.
- It affirms that brokers have a regulatory obligation to provide transaction records.
- It requires brokers to provide an electronic copy of records within 48 hours after a carrier makes a request.
The initial proposal prompted a 60-day comment period that ended on Jan. 21. In February, FMCSA granted a petition to reopen comments for another 30 days. So far, more than 6,200 comments have been filed to the Regulations.gov website.
How to comment
Through March 20, the public can submit comments by going to Regulations.gov and entering Docket No. FMCSA-2023-0257-0001.
For an even easier option, truckers can go to the Fighting For Truckers website, which includes a comment guide and a place to submit comments directly to FMCSA.
Previous comments
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which petitioned the agency to begin the rulemaking process in 2020, told FMCSA that it must begin holding brokers accountable for evading transparency regulations.
“Broker transparency would result in fewer instances of motor carriers being unfairly billed by brokers after transactions are completed,” OOIDA wrote in its comments to the agency. “There are cases when everything appears fine regarding compensation upon delivery. Then, days or weeks later, a carrier will have wages automatically deducted or receive a bill saying there was a claim on the load without any proof from the broker … These issues could be resolved with access to transaction records. If FMCSA implements the proposals, brokers will be accountable for fully compensating motor carriers for their services. Fair compensation is critical for sustaining small trucking businesses. Additionally, enhancing fairness and efficiency in the marketplace through transparency will improve driver recruitment and retention.”
In addition to OOIDA, thousands of individual truck drivers have submitted comments in support of broker transparency.
The Transportation Intermediaries Association, on the other hand, is doing everything it can to kill the rulemaking.
“TIA strongly opposes this notice of proposed rulemaking,” the group wrote. “Simply put, FMCSA’s amplification of what is already an outdated, unnecessary and burdensome regulation is a solution in search of a problem.”
The group also suggested that FMCSA was not authorized by Congress to propose the rulemaking, signaling a potential legal battle if a final rule is issued. LL
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