Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/588174
CHANGING LANES 16 NOVEMBER 2015 // WWW.CHANGINGLANESDIGITAL.COM Capitol Hill Report Obama's remaining months in office could be busy ones for FMCSA, says former agency head By James Jaillet On the trucking regulatory front, "the next year should be fun," said former FMCSA Administrator Annette Sandberg, taking a sarcastic jab at the looming regulatory onslaught carriers and others in the industry can expect in the coming year and a half. Sandberg spoke at the FTR Conference in September in Indianapolis, where she gave an overview of recent and upcoming regulatory changes expected to be finalized in the remainder of this year and throughout 2016. Though many of the regulations have been in the works before President Obama took office in January 2009, pressure is on to get new rules published before he leaves office, she said. "The president has made it clear he wants to have a robust regulatory agenda, and not just in transportation," Sandberg said, saying regulations that will be "pushed through no matter what" include rules to mandate electronic logging devices, bar driver coercion and implement the Safety Fitness Determination scoring system to supplement the Compliance, Safety, Accountability program. Sandberg, who headed the agency in the first half of last decade and preceded former Administrator Anne Ferro, now runs compliance assistance firm TransSafe Consulting. FMCSA may face pressure in the coming months to push hard to publish regulations before President Obama's second term ends, says former FMCSA Administrator Annette Sandberg Other regulations that could come before 2017 include the CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, an entry- level driver training rule, a speed limiter mandate and the next phase of emissions and fuel economy regulations.