HR0470 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0470 LRB097 12451 GRL 56933 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Early this year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) began to define crop-share tenant farmers as "for-hire" carriers and implements of husbandry as "commercial motor vehicles"; and

WHEREAS, The "for-hire" designation for crop-share tenant farmers would have a dramatic effect on farmers because it voids exemptions from the Commercial Driver's License program and would require a minimum of $750,000 in insurance coverage for the farmer; and

WHEREAS, Most Illinois farmers are impacted by the change, as a reported 37% of farmland acres in Illinois in 2009 were farmed under a crop-share arrangement; and

WHEREAS, Agricultural organizations in Illinois and across the nation have been working with the FMCSA to come to an agreement on these issues; and

WHEREAS, The FMCSA agreed to reconsider its recent interpretation of these regulations; and

WHEREAS, In late May 2011, the FMCSA published a notice in the Federal Register requesting comment on previously-published regulatory guidance on the distinction of interstate and intrastate commerce with regard to agricultural operations; and

WHEREAS, The notice also requests comment on agricultural transportation as part of a crop-share agreement being subject to commercial driver's license regulations and whether implements of husbandry are considered commercial motor vehicles; and

WHEREAS, Regulators claim that because a crop-share tenant farmer hauls grain to the elevator that ultimately will become the property of the landlord, the tenant must then be considered a "for-hire" carrier; and

WHEREAS, The requirement for a CDL mentioned in the Federal Register falls far short of recognizing the range of impacts associated with the for-hire designation of crop-share tenant farmers under FMCSA's current interpretation; and

WHEREAS, No shipment of grain produced under a crop-share agreement should be considered to be a for-hire move unless there is a separate agreement between tenant and landlord for the transportation of grain; and

WHEREAS, It is discriminatory to single out farmers who compensate their landlord with a share of the crop produced on the land versus those tenant farmers who make that payment in the form of cash; and

WHEREAS, The form of compensation paid to the landlord by the tenant farmer in exchange for use of the farmland does not transform the farmer from a private carrier to a for-hire carrier; and

WHEREAS, It is clear that the United States Congress and early regulation administrators had not intended the Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to apply to implements of husbandry; and

WHEREAS, Implements of husbandry used on public roads should not be considered commercial motor vehicles under the MCSR; and

WHEREAS, The FMCSA is expected to provide final guidance on these issues in August of 2011; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to carefully examine the comments received regarding crop-share tenant farmers being considered for-hire carriers and implements of husbandry being considered commercial motor vehicles; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the FMCSA to reverse its recent interpretation so that agricultural operations are not adversely affected; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the United States Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation, and each member of the Illinois congressional delegation.