FMCSA’s latest regulatory plans

The federal government’s latest regulatory agenda is out now, detailing agency plans for commercial vehicles' speed limiters, automated driving systems, and more.

The agenda shares all the current regulatory plans of the Department of Transportation and its agencies, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The agenda gives carriers a vague idea of what regulatory changes they can expect in the coming years.

This latest agenda, however, may not be so reliable. It is the last regulatory agenda under President Joe Biden’s DOT. With a new administration under President-elect Donald Trump only days away, DOT and FMCSA may soon change their priorities.

Here is a breakdown of each of FMCSA’s latest regulatory plans.

Final rules awaiting publication

How a Trump administration changes the regulatory agenda

The next U.S. president used deregulation as a major platform for both of his election campaigns. Here's what the industry can expect:

Likely fewer rulemakings

Trump’s policy priorities differ significantly from Biden’s. Not only do the presidents differ on emissions and migration, but on the number of executive agencies’ regulations as a whole.

In the first month of his first term, Trump issued an executive order requiring a “two-for-one” deregulation effort. For every one new regulation with costs, two others needed to be removed. Deregulatory orders like this might come again in the next Trump term.

“We are wondering if something like that still comes into play,” Heller told FleetOwner. “It was not necessarily agency-specific. It could be two DOT rules that could be rolled back, that may not necessarily have anything to do with trucking, in order to institute a new rule that did pertain to trucking.”

The “two-for-one” order had only a small impact on new regulatory costs. Trump recently suggested a “ten-for-one” order for his next term.

Slower rulemaking to start the year

Rulemaking processes also tend to slow down during a change in administration. The agenda’s regulatory deadlines tend to be far from accurate, and a change in executive appointments will only further delay rulemaking.

“Somebody comes into the seat to lead FMCSA and they have to be caught up to speed on where they are on the rulemakings, brought up to speed on the rulemaking process and where they stand right now, as well as understanding all the background of those rules that were going on in the Biden administration that may or may not move forward in the Trump administration,” Heller said.

FMCSA has three major regulations in the final rule stage. These regulations already received a notice of proposed rulemaking and now await FMCSA to incorporate public comments and finalize the rules. The agency plans to issue final rules on AEB systems, broker transparency, and state-level CLP testing.

Automated emergency braking requirement

FMCSA plans to issue a final rule to require automatic emergency braking systems on all heavy trucks. The agency issued a joint NPRM with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2023.

Broker transparency

The agency in November issued an NPRM for “Transparency in Property Broker Transactions,” which would make it easier for carriers to receive brokers’ transaction records. Following the rule’s public comment period, which ends January 21, FMCSA could issue a final rule on broker transparency within the next year.

State-issued CLP tests

FMCSA hopes to issue a final rule to allow State Driver Licensing Agencies to administer commercial driver’s license tests to issue CLPs. FMCSA suggested that the rule might make CDL administration more efficient and flexible.

Plans for proposed rules

FMCSA has a suite of regulations that it hopes to propose to stakeholders. These regulations are often vague ideas that lack specific details until the agency publishes a notice of proposed rulemaking. Occasionally, before the NPRM, FMCSA issues an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to solicit stakeholder feedback. Here are the regulations that FMCSA is currently considering for NPRMs.

Heavy vehicle speed limiters

The agency said it intends to move forward with the speed limiter rulemaking alongside the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA and FMCSA issued their first joint NPRM for speed limiters in 2016, and the agencies still hope to issue a supplementary NPRM soon.

The agencies originally planned to implement a 68 mph speed limiter requirement but quickly withdrew that number. The second NPRM would reveal what speed the agencies plan to implement. However, the rule has seen several delays, and there is no guarantee that the NPRM will come out in 2025.

“Speed limiters have been kicked down the road several times,” David Heller, VP of government affairs for the Truckload Carriers Association, said. “There were several due dates in which the agency was going to come out with a supplementary notice of proposed rulemaking.”

Autonomous vehicle accommodations

FMCSA is considering a notice of proposed rulemaking to “ensure the safe introduction of automated driving systems (ADS)-equipped commercial motor vehicles” onto roadways. The proposed rule would see changes to CMV operations, inspection, and maintenance regulations to recognize the difference between human-operated and ADS-operated vehicles. The administration previously published ANPRMs in 2019 and 2023.

More accessible Clearinghouse information

FMCSA hopes to make driver violation information in the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse more available. The agency also plans to propose unannounced improvements to the efficiency of Clearinghouse processes.

Revise carrier fitness program

FMCSA is working on changes in how it determines motor carrier fitness. The agency issued an ANPRM and solicitated stakeholder feedback in 2023. Now, FMCSA is planning to review its safety fitness rating methodology with a pending NPRM.

Exams for household goods carriers

The agency is considering a rulemaking that could implement proficiency exams for household goods carriers. The rule would implement a requirement from a 2012 bill that called for an examination process for household goods motor carriers.

Codify driver seizure exemptions

The agency plans to issue an NPRM that would allow some CMV drivers with a history of seizures to continue operating. Federal regulations officially require drivers to have no history of epilepsy, but FMCSA already has an exemption process. The NPRM would codify FMCSA’s exemptions.

Deregulate agricultural aircraft fuel hauls

FMCSA plans to make the transport of some agricultural aircraft fuels less regulated. Following a petition from the National Agricultural Aviation Association, FMCSA plans to issue a rule to allow states to waive the hazardous materials endorsement to transport the fuel. The pending NPRM could propose to allow states to choose hazmat endorsement for no more than 1,000 gallons of aviation-grade kerosene for agricultural operations.

Rules for securing dressed lumber

FMCSA has plans to update the rules for securing dressed lumber or similar building products. The agency wants to align its regulations to those from the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, including making some of its violations more specific.

Raise processing fees

The agency may try to raise the processing fees for its self-insurance program in 2025. FMCSA also plans to adjust fees for the Unified Carrier Registration program.

Unregister non-compliant medical examiners

FMCSA still hopes to propose removing medical examiners from a federal registry. The NPRM would implement an unannounced process to remove examiners from the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners when they no longer comply with the registry’s requirements.

Update hazmat permit rule reference

The agency plans to update its Hazardous Materials Safety Permit rules to keep its references current with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s out-of-service criteria. FMCSA expects CVSA’s criteria to be updated in April.

Improve ELD rules

FMCSA hopes to streamline ELD requirements and make the regulatory text more clear in a pending NPRM. The agency issued an ANPRM in September 2022.

UCR updates

FMCSA again included an update to the Unified Registration System in its regulatory agenda, suggesting a suite of general improvements and provisions from the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act of 2012.

Amend Rules of Practice

The agency plans to propose improvements to its Rules of Practice for proceedings. FMCSA said that a miscellany of changes could improve the efficiency of administrative enforcement proceedings.