The Voice of Trucking in Illinois

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 ILLINOIS TRUCKING THIS WEEK

March 21, 2014

 

ILLINOIS STATE LEGISLATIVE REPORT

After taking last week off to prepare for Tuesday's Primary Elections, the Illinois House and Senate returned to Springfield this week to continue mostly committee work.  The deadline for bills to pass out of committee is next Friday, March 28.  Following is an update on several trucking-industry related bills:

 

CDF Repeal - Legislation to repeal the Commercial Distribution Fee (CDF) on truck license plates is not likely to move out of subcommittee this session.  ITA lobbyists received word this week that legislative leaders were not willing to advance the legislation this year.  SB 2927 is sponsored by Senator Martin Sandoval (D-Chicago).  An identical bill in the House, HB 4384, is sponsored by Rep. Rita Mayfield (D-Waukegan). 

 

Truck Towing Restrictions - Legislation to prohibit the practice of "towing" semis from unauthorized lots by driving the vehicle away is pending approval in the full Senate.  SB 2932 is sponsored by Sen. John Sullivan.  The Senate Transportation Committee is expected to approve a technical amendment to the bill next week that will clear the way for the bill to be voted on by the full Senate.

 

Minimum Wage Hike Approved by Senate Committee - The Senate Executive Committee voted 10-5 on Thursday to approve legislation that would raise Illinois' minimum wage from $8.25 per hour to $10.65 per hour over two years.  The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.  SB 68 is sponsored by Sen. Kimberly Lightford (D-Chicago).  The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

 

 

SAFETY MAINTENANCE COUNCIL WEBINAR

The ITA Safety Maintenance Council partnered with HNI Truck Group on Thursday with an SMC webinar: Safety for the Non-Safety Professional.  Chad Tisonik of HNI Truck Group covered ways you can work to improve safety and compliance at your organization including how safety impacts the success of your company, things every safety program should include, and documentation required related to safety and compliance.

 

The ITA would like to thank Bill Prester, President of HNI Truck Group and ITA Board Member, for partnering with the Safety Maintenance Council to provide Thursday's webinar.

 

 

ITA FLEET SAFETY AWARDS: ENTER NOW

The Illinois Trucking Association is seeking nominations for the 2014 ITA Fleet Safety Awards, presented by Great West Casualty Company.  This year, fleet safety award winners will be recognized at an awards luncheon on May 15 during the ITA Safety Maintenance Conference.

 

Click here to download the entry form.  Nominations must be received by April 16.

 

 

REGISTER NOW FOR SAFETY MAINTENANCE CONFERENCE: MAY 14-15

Where can you hear from Illinois's FMCSA Division Administrator, IDOT Auditors, IL Secretary of State, IL State Police, receive certification for drug & alcohol testing, and learn about Natural Gas in trucking?  It's all at the 2014 ITA Safety Maintenance Conference, May 14 & 15 at the iHotel & Conference Center in Champaign, IL. 

 

The conference will be a valuable educational and networking opportunity for anyone that is involved with safety or with maintenance at your trucking company.   Click on any of the links below for more information or to register.

 

Schedule of Events

Registration Form

Sponsorship Form

Exhibitor Form

 

 

FDA SEEKS COMMENTS ON RULE FOR SAFE FOOD TRANSPORT

(courtesy of Jon Samson, Director of the Ag & Food Transporters Conference of ATA)

The US Food and Drug Administration recently proposed a rule that would require certain shippers, receivers, and carriers that transport food by motor or rail vehicles to take steps to prevent contamination of human and animal food during transportation. This proposal marks the seventh and final major rule in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act's (FSMA) central framework.  Click here for the complete article.

 

 

IANA CONFERENCE: APRIL 29-MAY 1

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) would like to invite members of the Illinois Trucking Association to attend IANA's Intermodal Operations, Safety and Compliance Seminar April 29-May 1 in Oak Brook.  The 2-day seminar is a great opportunity for intermodal carriers to learn about the latest in intermodal operations and to network with other intermodal leaders from across the country.

 

Click here for the brochure on the seminar.  Click here for detailed information on the meeting schedule.  More information is also available at www.intermodal.org.   

ATA STATE LAWS NEWSLETTER

The following is courtesy of Bob Pitcher, American Trucking Associations

 

IN County Finds APUs Exempt - The Indiana Motor Truck Association reports that during a recent property tax audit of a motor carrier based in Marion County (Indianapolis and its suburbs), the county's auditor at first considered the carrier's auxiliary power units to be subject to personal property tax, since they had been installed after the company had purchased the tractors. Rolling stock of for-hire carriers is exempt from property tax in Indiana through the payment of an in-lieu fee at registration. Following discussions with the carrier, the auditor changed his position, and exempted the APUs. IMTA points out that Marion County has recently hired more auditors to conduct property tax audits of businesses, and suggests that the result in this case may come in handy either in that county or elsewhere in the state. For more information, contact Gary Langston at IMTA, at [email protected]. 

 

AL to Get Tax Tribunal - By legislation (H.B. 105) signed into law by Governor Bentley on March 11, 2014, and effective October 1 this year, Alabama will finally get an independent tax tribunal to hear tax appeals. Alabama is one of the last states to have such an independent agency. The new body will have jurisdiction over decisions of the state department of revenue and those of local governments on their sales taxes, unless a locality opts out. Many localities in Alabama employ their own sales tax auditors or use contract auditors, and this has evidently resulted in conflicting practices and interpretations of the law. The first chief judge of the tribunal is expected to be current chief administrative law judge Bill Thompson, whose decisions are highly regarded. The legislation also adds to taxpayers' procedural protections under the state's taxpayer bill of rights. 

Court Rules Challenge to CO TABOR Can Proceed - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has held that an unusual challenge to Colorado's Taxpayer Bill of Rights may proceed in federal court. This decision upholds a district court ruling almost two years ago. (See the SLN of 8/17/2012.)   TABOR, as the bill of rights is known, requires a popular vote to approve either an increase in taxes or a major change in state tax policy. The plaintiffs here argued that this violates the Guaranty Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the provision that guarantees a "republican form of government" to each state of the union, because TABOR, they said, unduly restricts what the legislature may do. In defense, the state argued that the matter is a political question and the plaintiffs lacked standing to make the challenge. The appeals court held that at least the plaintiff legislators had standing, and that although the people of Colorado had made a political decision when they approved TABOR in the first place, it wasn't one that the courts couldn't rule on in this connection. Kerr, et al. v. Hickenlooper, docket no. 12-1445, decided March 7, 2014 Observers have pointed out that although the decision does not rule on the merits of the case, the appeals court may nonetheless have invalidated some of the defense's arguments. More than half the states have limits of one kind or another on legislative taxing powers. Prior interpretations of the Guaranty Clause have been few and far between.

 

ITA CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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APR 9 - ITA Southern IL Meeting - O'Fallon

APR 12 - ITA Day at Cardinals-Cubs Game - St. Louis, MO - SOLD OUT

MAY 14&15 - ITA Safety Maintenance Conference - Champaign (click here for info)

JUNE 4 - Southern Illinois Golf Outing - Jackson County Country Club, Murphysboro

JUNE 6&7 - IL Truck Driving Championship - Tinley Park (click here for info)

JUNE 18 - ITA Safety Maintenance Council - Springfield 

JUNE 25 - Central Illinois Golf Outing

JULY 15 - ITA Golf Outing - Silver Lakes - Orland Park

JULY 18&19 - ITA Technicians Competition

AUG 13 - DOT Compliance Seminar - Willowbrook

SEP 25-27 - ITA Annual Meeting & Expo - Oak Brook

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All information contained herein is proprietary and for the expressed use of Illinois Trucking Association members.

Any re-use of this material is acceptable as long as credit is provided in writing or verbally to the Illinois Trucking Association.

Matt Hart 
Executive Director
Illinois Trucking Association
7000 S. Adams, Suite 130 / Willowbrook, IL 60527 / Phone: (630) 654-0884
932 S. Spring St. / Springfield, IL 62704 / Phone: (217) 789-6017
  
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