July 24, 2008, Introduced by Senator GILBERT and referred to the Committee on Transportation.
A bill to amend 1933 PA 254, entitled
"The motor carrier act,"
by amending the title and section 1 of article I, sections 2, 6,
and 7 of article IV, and sections 2, 8, 9, and 10 of article V (MCL
475.1, 478.2, 478.6, 478.7, 479.2, 479.8, 479.9, and 479.10), the
title and section 10 of article V as amended by 1982 PA 399,
section 1 of article I and section 2 of article V as amended by
2007 PA 33, section 2 of article IV as amended by 1993 PA 352, and
section 7 of article IV as amended by 1989 PA 221.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
TITLE
An act to promote safety upon and conserve the use of public
highways of the state; to provide for the supervision, regulation,
and control of the use of such highways by all motor vehicles
operated by carriers of property for hire upon or over such
highways; to preserve, foster, and regulate transportation and
permit the coordination of motor vehicle transportation facilities;
to provide for the supervision, regulation, and control of the use
of such highways by all motor vehicles for hire for such purposes;
to classify and regulate carriers of property by motor vehicles for
hire upon such public highways for such purposes; to give the
Michigan Public Service Commission jurisdiction and authority to
prevent evasion of this act through any device or arrangement; to
insure adequate transportation service; to give the commission
jurisdiction and authority to fix, alter, regulate, and determine
rates, fares, charges, classifications, and practices of common
motor carriers for such purposes; to give the commission
jurisdiction and authority to require registration, conduct audits,
and assess fees for motor carriers for unified carrier
registration; to require filing with the commission of rates,
fares, and charges of contract carriers and to authorize the
commission to prescribe minimum rates, fares, and charges, and to
require the observance thereof; to prevent unjust discrimination;
to prescribe the powers and duties of said commission with
reference thereto; to provide for appeals from the orders of such
commission; to confer jurisdiction upon the circuit court for the
county of Ingham for such appeals; to provide for the levy and
collection of certain privilege fees and taxes for such carriers
for such purposes and the disposition of such fees and taxes; and
to provide for the enforcement of this act; and to prescribe
penalties for its violations.
ARTICLE I
Sec. 1. The words and phrases used in this act shall be
construed as follows, unless the context shall otherwise require:
(a) "Motor vehicle" means any automobile, truck, trailer,
semitrailer, truck tractor, road tractor, or any self-propelled or
motor or mechanically driven vehicle, or any vehicle in anywise
attached to, connected with, or drawn by any self-propelled or
motor or mechanically driven vehicle, used upon any public highway
of this state for the purpose of transporting property.
(b) "Public highway" means any public highway, road, street,
avenue, alley, or thoroughfare of any kind, or any bridge, tunnel,
or subway used by the public.
(c) "Commission" means the Michigan public service commission.
(d) "Person" means any individual, partnership, association,
or corporation, and their lessees, trustees, or receivers appointed
by any court.
(e) "For hire" means for remuneration or reward of any kind,
paid or promised, either directly or indirectly.
(f) "Motor common carrier of property" means any person who
holds himself or herself out to the public as being engaged in the
business of a for hire common carrier as at the common law, either
directly or through any device or arrangement, including but not
limited to those who operate over fixed routes or within 1 mile of
a fixed route or between fixed termini, in the transportation by
motor vehicle from place to place upon or over the highways of this
state, the property, or any property, or any class of property of
others who may choose to employ the person.
(g) "The public" means that part or portion of the general
public which the motor carrier is ready, able, willing, and
equipped to serve.
(h) "Motor contract carrier of property" means any person
providing motor vehicle transportation upon the highways of this
state for a series of shipments under continuing agreement of not
less than 1 year with a person which agreement provides for the
assignment of motor vehicles exclusively for each such person while
the vehicle is in the service of such person and which agreement is
designed to meet the distinct needs of each such person. Lower
rates, in and of themselves, shall not constitute a distinct need.
A motor contract carrier that possesses a motor common carrier
certificate of authority of that class set forth at section 5(6)(a)
of article II may commingle authorized contract carrier shipments
while providing common carrier service over fixed routes, without
assigning any vehicle exclusively for the person or persons for
whom contract service is provided. A motor contract carrier
authorized to transport packages or articles weighing 70 pounds or
less for 1 or more contract shippers may commingle such authorized
packages or articles weighing 70 pounds or less in the same vehicle
with commodities transported as a common or contract carrier,
without assigning any vehicle exclusively for the person or persons
for whom contract service is provided. A motor contract carrier
authorized to transport coin, currency, or food stamps for 1 or
more contract shippers, may commingle such authorized coin,
currency, or food stamps in the same vehicle with commodities
transported as a common or a contract carrier, without assigning
any vehicle exclusively for the person for whom contract service is
provided.
(i) "Motor carrier" means both motor common carriers of
property and motor contract carriers of property. Motor carrier
does
not include a private carrier any
person engaged in the
transportation of property by motor vehicle upon public highways
where the transportation is incidental to, or in furtherance of,
any commercial enterprise of the person, other than transportation.
(j) "Certificate of authority" means a certificate issued to a
motor common carrier authorizing a transportation service that
serves a useful public purpose responsive to a public demand or
need, which certificate is issued under the terms of this act.
(k) "Permit" means the permit issued to motor contract
carriers under the terms of this act.
(l) "Through any device or arrangement" means any and all
methods, means, agreements, circumstances, operations, or
subterfuges under which any person undertakes for hire to conduct,
direct, control, or otherwise perform the transportation by motor
vehicle of property upon the public highways of this state.
(m) "Modified procedure" means that administrative procedure
by which the commission may consider evidence and testimony
submitted in the form of verified statements in motor carrier
matters without the necessity for an oral hearing. The commission
may delegate decision-making authority to an employee of the
commission staff, so that decisions in modified procedure may be
issued under the signature of the employee without a formal
commission order.
(n) "Occasional accommodative service" means service limited
to operations conducted by persons not regularly engaged in the
transportation business of a motor common carrier or a motor
contract carrier.
(o) "Useful public purpose" means a purpose for which an
applicant can provide adequate, economic, safe, effective,
competitive, and equitable motor carrier service to satisfy a
demonstrated public need.
(p) "Fit", as applied to a proposed motor carrier service,
means safe, suitable, and financially responsible as determined by
the commission.
(q)
"Private carrier" means any person engaged in the
transportation
of property by motor vehicle upon public highways
where
the transportation is incidental to, or in furtherance of,
any
commercial enterprise of the person, other than transportation.
(q) (r)
"General rate" means a
rate applicable to 2 or more
motor carriers which rate is filed pursuant to section 6b of
article V.
(r) (s)
"Base rate, fare, or
charge" means that nondiscounted
rate, fare, or charge specified in a carrier's rate schedule on
file with the commission.
(s) (t)
"Predatory rate" means a
rate that is below its fully
allocated costs. As used in this subdivision, "fully allocated
costs" means total costs, including variable costs, plus an
allocation of fixed costs.
(t) (u)
"Household goods" means
personal effects and property
used or to be used in a dwelling when a part of the equipment or
supply of that dwelling. Household goods do not include property
moving from a factory or store, except such property as the
householder has purchased with intent to use in his or her dwelling
and that is transported at the request of the householder, the
carrier's transportation charges for which are paid by that
householder.
(u) (v)
"Local move" means a
household goods shipment of 40
miles or less, from point of origin to point of destination, as
determined by actual miles traveled by the motor carrier and
verifiable by odometer reading or mileage guide in general public
use.
(v) "Intrastate-only motor carrier of property" means a motor
carrier of property that is not a UCR motor carrier.
(w) "Intrastate motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle that is
operated by 1 of the following:
(i) An intrastate-only motor carrier of property.
(ii) A motor carrier that uses the motor vehicle to transport
household goods on an intrastate basis.
(x) "UCR motor carrier" means a person that is required to pay
fees and file information under section 4305 of the federal unified
carrier registration act of 2005, 49 USC 14504a.
(y) "Unified carrier registration agreement" means the
interstate agreement developed under the unified carrier
registration plan governing the collection and distribution of
registration and financial responsibility information provided and
fees paid by UCR motor carriers, motor private carriers, brokers,
freight forwarders, and leasing companies under section 4305 of the
federal unified carrier registration act of 2005, 49 USC 14504a.
(z) "Unified carrier registration plan" means the organization
of state, federal, and industry representatives responsible for
developing, implementing, and administering the unified carrier
registration agreement under section 4305 of the federal unified
carrier registration act of 2005, 49 USC 14504a.
(aa) "Broker" means that term as defined in 49 USC 13102.
(bb) "Freight forwarder" means that term as defined in 49 USC
13102.
(cc) "Motor private carrier" means that term as defined in 49
USC 13102.
(dd) "Commercial motor vehicle" means that term as defined in
49 USC 14504a.
(ee) "Leasing company" means that term as defined in 49 USC
14504a.
ARTICLE IV
Sec. 2. (1) In addition to the license fees or taxes otherwise
imposed upon motor carriers, there shall be assessed against and
collected from each motor carrier for the administration of this
act, an annual fee of $100.00 for each self-propelled intrastate
motor vehicle operated by or on behalf of the motor carrier, except
as otherwise provided in this subsection. A motor carrier shall pay
a fee of only $50.00 for each self-propelled intrastate motor
vehicle operated by or on behalf of the motor carrier, if the motor
carrier begins operation of the vehicle after June 30 and has not
previously paid a fee under this subsection for that vehicle. After
payment
of the $100.00 annual fee for a an
intrastate motor
vehicle, or the $50.00 fee paid for a vehicle operated after June
30, or the $50.00 fee paid for a vehicle used for the
transportation of household goods if a motor carrier seeks to begin
operating a self-propelled intrastate motor vehicle in place of
another motor vehicle not leased to the motor carrier by an owner
operator for which a fee was paid and surrenders the identification
allocated to the motor vehicle by the commission, accompanied by a
fee of $10.00, a replacement identification shall be issued. If the
owner operator replaces a vehicle while it is still leased to the
same motor carrier to whom it was leased when the identification
was
issued, the replacement identification fee shall be $10.00. For
all
other replacement vehicles, the fee shall be $25.00 for each
complete
or partial calendar year quarter remaining in the year as
of
the date the replacement vehicle is to begin operating upon
surrender
of the identification allocated to the motor carrier by
the
commission. For each truck or
tractor used exclusively for the
transportation of household goods as defined by the commission, the
annual fee shall be $50.00.
(2)
A motor carrier licensed in this state shall pay an annual
fee
of $100.00 for each vehicle operated by the motor carrier which
is
registered in this state and operating entirely in interstate
commerce.
A motor carrier shall pay a fee of only $50.00 for each
self-propelled
motor vehicle operated by or on behalf of the motor
carrier
if the motor carrier begins operation of the vehicle after
June
30 and has not previously paid a fee under this subsection for
that
vehicle.
(2) (3)
The commission may issue a
temporary 72-hour permit
for the operation of a vehicle subject to rules and conditions of
the commission at a fee of $10.00, which is in place of any other
fee otherwise required under this section. The commission shall
reserve the authority to deny or curtail the use of temporary
permits authorized by this section.
(3) (4)
A motor carrier shall not operate
any motor vehicle
upon or over the highways of this state, except as otherwise
provided in this act, while any of the fees imposed by this act
remain
unpaid. The commission is prohibited from extending the time
of
payment or permitting the operation while the delinquency
continues.
(4) (5)
Motor carriers subject to this act
shall not be
required to pay the fee on operations of vehicles within the area
described in section 2(1)(a) of article V.
(6)
The commission shall cooperate with other state
departments
involved with the registration of commercial motor
vehicles
to implement a system whereby owners or drivers of
commercial
motor vehicles can obtain registration plates, decals,
or
tabs and pay the required fees at a single designated location,
rather
than at multiple locations.
Sec.
6. All moneys money received under the provisions of this
act shall be placed to the credit of the commission. The
legislature
shall appropriate such moneys money
to the commission
and
the motor vehicle highway fund department
of state police in
such
proportions as the legislature may determine a manner that is
consistent with the requirement of section 4305 of the unified
carrier registration act of 2005, 49 USC 14504a, that a state
demonstrate that it uses an amount at least equal to the revenue
derived from its participation in the unified carrier registration
agreement for motor carrier safety programs, enforcement, and the
administration of the uniform carrier registration plan and
agreement.
Sec. 7. (1) A UCR motor carrier, motor private carrier,
broker, freight forwarder, leasing company, or other person subject
to the requirements of section 4305 of the federal unified carrier
registration
act of 2005, 49 USC 14504a, shall not engage
in the
interstate
or foreign transportation of property for compensation
conduct operations or otherwise provide transportation services in
this
state without first having registered with
the commission and
paid
the required registration and vehicle fees under, and met the
obligations imposed by, the unified carrier registration plan and
agreement.
(2)
A motor carrier operating in this state under authority
granted
by the interstate commerce commission pursuant to section
10922
of subchapter II of chapter 109 of subtitle IV of title 49 of
the
United States code, 49 U.S.C. 10922, shall file and maintain a
record
of that authority with the commission. A motor carrier shall
not
operate within this state without first complying with this
subsection.
(3)
A motor carrier shall not engage in the interstate
transportation
of property within this state pursuant to exemptions
from
economic regulation permitted under the interstate commerce
act,
under subtitle IV of title 49 of the United States code, 49
U.S.C.
10101 to 11917, without the approval by the commission of an
application
for the registration of the exempt operations.
(4)
The annual fee levied on each interstate or foreign motor
carrier
vehicle operated in this state and licensed in another
state
or province of Canada shall be $10.00. The commission may
enter
into a reciprocal agreement with a state or province of
Canada that does not charge vehicles licensed in this
state
economic
regulatory fees or taxes and may waive the fee required
under
this subsection.
(2) (5)
Of Not less than $750,000.00
or 10% of the fees
collected
pursuant to this section,
whichever is greater, not less
than
90% of those fees collected in excess of $1,400,000.00
annually
shall be deposited in the truck
safety fund established in
section
25 of Act No. 51 of the Public Acts of 1951, being section
247.675
of the Michigan Compiled Laws 1951 PA 51, MCL 247.675.
ARTICLE V
Sec.
2. (1) This Except as
provided in section 7 of article
IV,
this act shall does not
apply to any of the following:
(a) A vehicle, other than a vehicle transporting household
goods, operated entirely within a city or village of this state; or
to a motor carrier of property, other than a motor carrier of
household goods, whose operations may extend a distance of not more
than 8 miles beyond the boundary of a city or village having a
population of less than 500,000, if the origin and destination of
the property being transported is within an 8-mile radius of the
city or village. The territory within the external corporate limits
of a city, even though it includes and embraces the area of 1 or
more separately organized and existing cities, shall be considered
a single city. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subdivision, a certificate or permit issued under this act is
required for the operation of a vehicle of a motor carrier,
including a vehicle transporting household goods, other than a
vehicle exempted under subdivisions (b) to (q), in the
transportation of property between a city having a population of
500,000 or more and a city or village located within the commercial
zone of a city having a population of 500,000 or more, or between
cities or villages within that commercial zone. As used in this
subdivision, "commercial zone" means the area within an 8-mile
radius of a city having a population of 500,000 or more and
includes all cities and villages, any part of which are located
within that 8-mile radius.
(b) A vehicle owned or operated by the state or the United
States, or by a state or federal corporation, agency, or
instrumentality.
(c) A vehicle owned or operated by an incorporated city,
village, or school district, or by a county or township in the
state or by a corporation, agency, or instrumentality of the state,
for governmental purposes.
(d) A vehicle used exclusively for carrying United States
mail.
(e) A vehicle used for the transportation of farm products,
including livestock, when transported by other than the owner, from
the farm to the market in the raw state, or used for the
transportation of milk from the farm to milk stations, or trucks
owned by a farmer bearing a farm truck license issued under section
801(1)(c) of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.801,
when being used by the farmer in hauling farm produce, livestock,
or farm equipment, and supplies for other farmers for remuneration
in kind or in labor, but not for money.
(f) A vehicle used for the transportation of fruits, eggs,
poultry, fish and seafood, grain, vegetables, seeds, nursery stock,
horticultural products, and sugar beets. This subdivision shall not
exempt a vehicle transporting the commodities described in this
subdivision in other than the raw state.
(g) A vehicle used for occasional accommodative service
including seasonal transportation of perishable commodities even
though the cost of the accommodative service and seasonal
transportation of perishable commodities may be paid by the person
accommodated.
(h) A dump truck having not more than 4 axles or any dump
vehicle moving directly to and from a public highway, airport, or
railroad or bridge construction site, when used for the
transportation of sand, gravel, slag, stone, limestone, crushed
stone, marl, pebbles, cinders, bituminous aggregates, asphalt,
blacktop, dirt, or fill material, or any dump vehicle transporting
commodities generally transported in the dump vehicle operating
within an 8-mile radius of a city having a population of 500,000 or
more and including all other cities or villages, any part of which
is located within the 8-mile radius.
(i) A vehicle used to transport a vehicle that is temporarily
disabled from a point within an 8-mile radius of a city having a
population of 500,000 or more and including all other cities or
villages, any part of which is located within the 8-mile radius to
another point within that radius.
(j) A vehicle used for the transportation of pulpwood, logs,
wood chips, bark, and sawdust when the vehicle is being used to
move the commodities from a forest, woodlot, cutting site, sawmill,
or chipping site to a market or railroad siding of not more than a
140-mile radius from the place where the vehicle is loaded.
(k) A vehicle having a manufacturer's rating of not more than
1-1/2 tons capacity or the equivalent gross vehicle weight rating
used for the transportation of newspapers.
(l) A vehicle towing a disabled motor vehicle from the location
at which it was disabled to another location or a vehicle towing a
motor vehicle involved in an accident from the location of the
accident to another location.
(m) A vehicle used in the transportation of livestock, poultry
feed, chemicals, pesticides, and fertilizers on movements directly
to a farm for use in agricultural production.
(n) A vehicle used for the transportation of property for
compensation provided by a person who is a member of a corporate
family for other members of the corporate family, if all of the
following conditions are met:
(i) The parent corporation notifies the commission annually of
its intent or the intent of 1 of its subsidiaries to provide the
transportation.
(ii) The notice described in subparagraph (i) contains a list of
participating subsidiaries and an affidavit that the parent
corporation owns directly or indirectly a 100% interest in each of
the subsidiaries.
(iii) The notice described in subparagraph (i) is accompanied by
a fee of $100.00.
(iv) The commission publishes the notice described in
subparagraph (i) in the biweekly bulletin.
(v) A copy of the notice described in subparagraph (i) is
carried in the cab of all vehicles conducting the transportation.
(o) A vehicle transporting animal and poultry feed or feed
ingredients to sites of agricultural production or to a business
enterprise engaged in the sale to agricultural producers of goods
used in agricultural production.
(p) A vehicle transporting recyclable materials to or from a
resource recovery facility. The terms "recyclable materials" and
"resource recovery facility" have the meanings attributed to these
terms in part 115 of the natural resources and environmental
protection act, 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.11501 to 324.11550, except
that the term recyclable materials does not include industrial
scrap metal. This subdivision shall not be construed to exempt from
this act a vehicle transporting new products.
(q) A vehicle transporting property for, or on behalf of, a
nonprofit charitable institution or for a house of public worship.
(2) As used in subsection (1)(n), "corporate family" means a
group of corporations consisting of a parent corporation and all
subsidiaries in which the parent corporation owns directly or
indirectly a 100% interest.
(3) None of the exemptions in this section, where applicable,
apply to a vehicle entering this state from another state, foreign
country, or subdivision of a state or foreign country that does not
extend similar exemptions to vehicles from this state entering the
state, foreign country, or subdivision.
Sec. 8. The commission shall furnish proper and sufficient
identification for each vehicle that an intrastate-only motor
carrier of property is authorized to operate or that a motor
carrier is authorized to operate for transporting household goods
under
the terms of this act, in addition to the regular
registration or license plates required by law. The commission is
authorized to remove and take custody of any identification found
attached to a motor vehicle for which it was not issued, or when
the holder of the identification has made or is making unlawful use
thereof.
Sec. 9. Insurance and bond requirements. The commission shall
have full power and authority to make and shall make such insurance
or
bond requirements under uniform regulations for intrastate-only
motor carriers of property and motor carriers of household goods as
it may deem necessary adequately to protect the interests of the
public.
Sec.
10. (1) All certificates or permits granted hereunder to
intrastate-only motor carriers of property and motor carriers
transporting household goods shall be made to terminate as of
December 31 of the calendar year during which the certificate or
permit is issued. All intrastate-only motor carriers of property
and motor carriers transporting household goods shall make
application for the renewal of their certificates or permits not
before October 1 and not later than December 1 of the year in which
their current certificate or permit expires. Certificate and permit
holders not making application by December 1 shall be advised by
the commission and given the opportunity to file their applications
on or before December 31 on payment of a penalty of $50.00. The
renewal application shall be accompanied with the required fees,
proof of insurance, and all other things required to be filed with
the commission by law or by the rules and orders of the commission.
(2) The certificate or permit of any intrastate-only motor
carrier of property or motor carrier transporting household goods
who is delinquent in the payment of the earned fees required by
this act to be paid at the time of any renewal thereof shall be
deemed canceled and terminated, on and after January 1 of the year
for which application should have been made under the requirements
of
this section. , and the motor carrier Upon expiration, an
intrastate-only motor carrier of property shall be prohibited from
operating any of its vehicles, and a motor carrier authorized to
transport household goods shall be prohibited from operating any
vehicle to transport household goods or engage in any other service
subject to renewal of the certificate, upon or over the highways of
this
state. and all All
privileges granted it under its
the
expiring certificate or permit shall cease.
(3) In case any applicant for renewal of a certificate or a
permit fails, otherwise than in the payment of fees, to comply in
all respects with the law and the rules of the commission in
connection with the filing of the application for renewal, the
commission immediately shall give specific written notice of that
failure to the applicant and shall require in the notice that the
applicant correct the matter specified within 10 days after the
notice. Upon the failure of the applicant to make the correction
within the time, or in case of the failure to accompany the
application with the required filing fee, the certificate or permit
of the applicant shall be revoked without any action whatever upon
the part of the commission.
(4) Except as in this section otherwise provided, the
provisions in this act voiding a certificate or a permit for cause
shall be self-executing and shall not require any affirmative act
on the part of the commission, and the commission is expressly
prohibited from extending and shall not have any power to extend
the privilege or permit nor to allow the carrier to engage in any
operation over the public highway. In no case shall the revocation
of any certificate or a permit release any motor carrier from
liability for accrued fees.
(5) Upon full compliance with the requirements with respect to
the filing of the application, the certificate or permit shall
issue for the succeeding calendar year, subject to all the
provisions of this act.
(6) The holder of a certificate or permit under this act may
add equipment at any time, but when adding equipment subject to a
privilege
fee prescribed by this act, the holder of a certificate
or
permit shall file an ex parte
application in the form as the
commission requires and pay for each unit of equipment added, the
fee prescribed in section 2 of article IV. A notice of hearing on
the application shall not be required and a public hearing shall
not be held thereon. When the holder of any certificate or permit,
excepting a certificate or permit that authorizes the
transportation of household goods while such household goods are
being transported, by lease, contract, or any arrangement other
than outright purchase, augments his or her equipment, the lease,
contract, or arrangement shall be in writing and of such a
character so as to vest in the holder exclusive possession and
control of the vehicle under the lease or arrangement for the
entire term of the lease or arrangement. Any operation of the
vehicle shall be conducted under the exclusive supervision,
direction, and control of the holder.
(7) A certificated or permitted unit of equipment may be
withdrawn from service at any time by surrendering to the
commission the identification allocated to the unit at the time it
was certificated or permitted.