Washington — The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved another short-term surface transportation reauthorization bill (H.R. 4348), but according to the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA), the proposal does not include the hazardous materials reform provisions that had been included in the “American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act” (H.R. 7), which was approved by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in February. ARA said H.R. 4348 also does not include the hours of service (HOS) agricultural exemption technical corrections that were included in H.R. 7. ARA joined The Fertilizer Institute and a coalition of industry groups on April 18 in sending a letter to all House members urging their support for the hazardous materials provision. “The hazardous materials provisions in HR 7 address a number of reforms that will improve safety and will eliminate mismanaged earmarks as well as unnecessary regulatory burdens,” the letter states. “These reforms address long-standing issues such as DOT’s special permits and approvals program, the hazardous materials safety permit program, cargo tank wetlines, NTSB and CSB recommendations, state permitting and hazmat routing, user fees, hazmat training and handling requirements, and civil penalties. These provisions do not add to the cost of surface transportation programs.” ARA noted that the Senate’s multi-year surface transportation bill (S. 1813), passed on March 14, also does not include any of the hazardous materials reform provisions, although it does include the ARA-backed HOS ag exemption language. ARA said Senate and House leaders will soon appoint members to negotiate on a conference report. “The House will be at a significant disadvantage advocating for these reforms if it goes to conference when neither the House nor the Senate bills contain policy on these matters,” the April 18 letter said. “With no comparable provisions, these issues will not be within the scope of the conference.”
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