June 15, 2010
Broker reform bill starts trek toward becoming law
A bill not only targeting reform of the brokering and freight forwarding segments of the trucking industry, but also outlining harsh penalties for those operating outside the legal wire has moved to committee.
Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-ME, and co-sponsor, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-MN, introduced the “Motor Carrier Protection Act of 2010,” which is Senate bill 3483, last week. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
In introducing the bill, Snowe made her intentions behind the legislation very clear.
“I rise today to introduce legislation that I believe will ensure that our motor vehicle operators, particularly those smallest businesses who rely on only one or two vehicles, are no longer subject to the nefarious practices of unscrupulous logistic companies and brokers,” Snowe said in her remarks on the Senate floor.
She went on to educate her fellow senators on the dark side of the brokering industry and how easy it is to even operate without any authority whatsoever.
“(F)ly-by-night brokers and intermediaries … connect the truck operators with shippers who need goods moved, then defraud the operators of their payments before vanishing in the night, depriving the operator of any legal recourse in an effort to recover their losses,” she explained.
“This legislation will bolster the rather meager framework of regulations now in place to guard against deceitful behavior from the handful of freight forwarders who engage in these criminal practices.”
Snowe’s grasp on the problems facing small-business truckers and reputable brokers can largely be attributed to the involvement of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and the Transportation Intermediaries Association in helping develop the language of the bill.
Although the two sides have traditionally been polar opposites on the issue of broker reform, the organizations began a dialogue some time ago, laying out positions in a straightforward and candid manner, OOIDA Director of Legislative Affairs Mike Joyce explained.
That allowed Snowe and Klobuchar to write into their proposal specific provisions that are agreeable to both OOIDA and TIA.
Landmark provisions in the bill include:
- An increase in the required bond amount to $100,000, up from the current $10,000 requirement;
- Annual registration with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and revocation of authority if registration is not kept current;
- Unlimited liability on freight charges for agents who broker or forward freight without the required bond amount or authority.
To read S3483, the “Motor Carrier Protection Act of 2010,” click
here.
“If passed, this law would put a stop to a system that allows rogue brokers and scam artists to operate unchecked,” said OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer. “For too long, bad brokers have gotten away with ripping off truckers.”
– By Jami Jones, senior editor
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