Full Text of HR0470 97th General Assembly
HR0470 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Early this year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety | 3 | | Administration (FMCSA) began to define crop-share tenant | 4 | | farmers as "for-hire" carriers and implements of husbandry as | 5 | | "commercial motor vehicles"; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The "for-hire" designation for crop-share tenant | 7 | | farmers would have a dramatic effect on farmers because it | 8 | | voids exemptions from the Commercial Driver's License program | 9 | | and would require a minimum of $750,000 in insurance coverage | 10 | | for the farmer; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Most Illinois farmers are impacted by the change, | 12 | | as a reported 37% of farmland acres in Illinois in 2009 were | 13 | | farmed under a crop-share arrangement; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Agricultural organizations in Illinois and across | 15 | | the nation have been working with the FMCSA to come to an | 16 | | agreement on these issues; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The FMCSA agreed to reconsider its recent | 18 | | interpretation of these regulations; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, In late May 2011, the FMCSA published a notice in | 20 | | the Federal Register requesting comment on |
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| 1 | | previously-published regulatory guidance on the distinction of | 2 | | interstate and intrastate commerce with regard to agricultural | 3 | | operations; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The notice also requests comment on agricultural | 5 | | transportation as part of a crop-share agreement being subject | 6 | | to commercial driver's license regulations and whether | 7 | | implements of husbandry are considered commercial motor | 8 | | vehicles; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Regulators claim that because a crop-share tenant | 10 | | farmer hauls grain to the elevator that ultimately will become | 11 | | the property of the landlord, the tenant must then be | 12 | | considered a "for-hire" carrier; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The requirement for a CDL mentioned in the Federal | 14 | | Register falls far short of recognizing the range of impacts | 15 | | associated with the for-hire designation of crop-share tenant | 16 | | farmers under FMCSA's current interpretation; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, No shipment of grain produced under a crop-share | 18 | | agreement should be considered to be a for-hire move unless | 19 | | there is a separate agreement between tenant and landlord for | 20 | | the transportation of grain; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, It is discriminatory to single out farmers who |
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| 1 | | compensate their landlord with a share of the crop produced on | 2 | | the land versus those tenant farmers who make that payment in | 3 | | the form of cash; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, The form of compensation paid to the landlord by | 5 | | the tenant farmer in exchange for use of the farmland does not | 6 | | transform the farmer from a private carrier to a for-hire | 7 | | carrier; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, It is clear that the United States Congress and | 9 | | early regulation administrators had not intended the Motor | 10 | | Carrier Safety Regulations to apply to implements of husbandry; | 11 | | and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Implements of husbandry used on public roads | 13 | | should not be considered commercial motor vehicles under the | 14 | | MCSR; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, The FMCSA is expected to provide final guidance on | 16 | | these issues in August of 2011; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 18 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 19 | | we urge the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to | 20 | | carefully examine the comments received regarding crop-share | 21 | | tenant farmers being considered for-hire carriers and |
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| 1 | | implements of husbandry being considered commercial motor | 2 | | vehicles; and be it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That we urge the FMCSA to reverse its recent | 4 | | interpretation so that agricultural operations are not | 5 | | adversely affected; and be it further | 6 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 7 | | delivered to the United States Secretary of Transportation, the | 8 | | Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation, and | 9 | | each member of the Illinois congressional delegation.
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