Insights - February 2016 - (Page 17)

PEOPLE - from page 15 deputy executive director since 2010. He has been serving as acting executive director since the September departure of Stephen A. Keppler, now IANA's Senior Vice President. FEDERAL UPDATE - from page 2 FMCSA estimates that under this proposal, less than 300 motor carriers each year would be proposed as "unfit" solely as a result of on-road safety violations. Further, the agency's analysis has shown that the carriers identified through this on-road safety data have crash rates of almost four times the national average. FMCSA encourages the public to review the NPRM and to submit comments and evidentiary materials to the docket. The public comment period will be open for 60 days. FMCSA will also be providing a reply comment period allowing for an additional 30 days for the agency to respond to the initial comments. Government Funded Through September 2016 On Dec. 18, President Barack Obama signed into law The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, which funds the federal government until Sept. 30, 2016. The FY2016 measure, sometimes referred to as the omnibus, combines all 12 annual appropriations bills into a single piece of legislation, totaling $1.1 trillion. The US Department of Transportation receives $76 billion in FY2016, equating to a roughly five percent increase over FY2015 levels. This increase is made possible by both the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, which raised budget caps on discretionary spending, and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, a five year surface transportation bill which included augmented authorizations for programs funded through appropriations. In addition to funding the twelve major governmental departments, the FY2016 omnibus contains a policy rider with the potential to extend the current suspension of the 34-hour restart. Last year's omnibus temporarily suspended enforcement of the July 2013 restart rule and required the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to conduct a field study assessing the operational, safety, health and fatigue impacts of the restart provision. Before reinstating the 34-hour restart rule, the FY2016 omnibus now requires FMCSA to demonstrate "statistically significant improvement in all outcomes related to safety, operator fatigue, driver health and longevity, and work schedules." With this new requirement, the July 2013 rule will most likely remain suspended until FMCSA assesses the implications and makes any necessary adjustments to the ongoing examination of the 34-hour restart portion of the hours-of-service rule. Finally, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, provides $500 million for the popular Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. TIGER funds capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and typically a significant portion of the money each round is awarded to multimodal freight projects. Surface Transportation Board Overhaul On Dec. 18, President Obama signed the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, S. 808. The bill passed the Senate and House unanimously, on July 18 and December 10 respectively. This bill performs the first major overhaul of the Surface Transportation Board since the Board's inception in 1995. It establishes the STB as an independent government agency, removing it from its previous position as a subsidiary of the Department of Transportation. The bill also increases membership on the Board from three to five, authorizes five years of appropriations for STB programs, and makes key changes to arbitration procedures in both rate and service disputes. These changes provide railroads options within the STB to resolve disputes and strengthen the board's ability to provide oversight of freight railroads. INTERMODAL CALENDAR March 6-9 2016 TCA Annual Convention Truckload Carriers Association Wynn Las Vegas Resort * Las Vegas, Nevada www.truckload.org March 13-15 2016 IWLA Convention & Expo International Warehouse Logistics Association Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate * Orlando, Florida www.iwla.com April 3-6 2016 Connections Convention American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association Gaylord National Harbor * National Harbor, Maryland www.aslrra.org April 6-9 2016 TIA Capital Ideas Conference & Exhibition Transportation Intermediaries Association Grand Hyatt * San Antonio, Texas www.tianet.org April 24-27 2016 NASSTRAC Shippers Conference & Transportation Expo National Shippers Strategic Transportation Council Rosen Shingle Creek * Orlando, Florida www.nasstrac.org May 3-5 Intermodal Operations & Maintenance Business Meeting Intermodal Association of North America The Westin Lombard Yorktown Center * Lombard, Illinois www.intermodal.org May 24-26 AASHTO Spring Meeting American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Des Moines Marriott Downtown * Des Moines, Iowa www.aashtospringmeeting.org September 18-20 Intermodal EXPO 2016 Intermodal Association of North America George R. Brown Convention Center * Houston, Texas www.intermodalexpo.com February 2016 | Intermodal Insights 17 http://www.truckload.org http://www.iwla.com http://www.aslrra.org http://www.tianet.org http://www.nasstrac.org http://www.intermodal.org http://www.aashtospringmeeting.org http://www.intermodalexpo.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - February 2016

Insights - February 2016
FMCSA Proposes Fitness Revisions
IANA Announces Expanded Sponsorship Package
IANA’s Chair Discusses Association’s 2016 Priorities
Container Weight Verification a 2016 Reality
Freight Reports
Sustainability News
Caution Urged on California Driver Reclassification
Port News
In Brief
People in the News
Welcome New Members
Intermodal Calendar

Insights - February 2016