The California Scene
This is just a reminder of the changes to come for 2025. AB 2754 was a newly passed legislation , signed into law on September 27, 2024, that will impact employment contracts and agreements in the port drayage motor carrier’s industry.
As of January 1, 2025, certain vehicles will no longer be subject to California’s 90-day inspection program. Recently enacted Assembly Bill 3278 removes vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of under 26,001 from the state’s mandatory 90-day vehicle inspection program (sometimes referred to as the California Highway Patrol’s 90-day BIT inspection).
I am glad that someone has finally the gumption to take on CARB. Now I’m waiting for some transportation company with the chutzpah to charge a California surge charge on freight.
As state and national regulatory changes continue to impact heavy-duty transportation, one local California rule that has not received as much attention requires warehouse operators in Southern California to track truck trips to their facility and prepare to pay hefty annual fees for total diesel truck visits to their docks.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, so don’t shoot the messenger but California rears its ugly head again but some refrigerated straight-truck fleets operating in California must convert at least 15% of their trucks to electric transport refrigeration units by the end of next year. Some may not be able to meet the deadline.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said it’s going to try again to mandate speed limiters for heavy trucks and other commercial vehicles.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to consider the California Trucking Association’s challenge of California’s AB5 contractor law at the court’s conference scheduled for Thursday June 23.
The California Air Resources Board approved a regulation that would require some medium- and heavy-duty trucks and bus owners to inspect their vehicles’ emissions control systems twice a year.
A further disruption to the nation’s supply chain was averted on Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court requested more information before making a decision on whether to hear the California Trucking Association’s lawsuit challenging Assembly Bill 5, California’s controversial worker-classification law.
The California Trucking Association on Aug. 9 filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a state independent contractor law — known as AB 5 — that it argued should be exempt from enforcement for motor carriers based on federal pre-emption.
