Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) recently led a bipartisan group of U.S. senators to reintroduce the Transporting Livestock Across America Safely Act.
The act relaxes Hours of Service (HOS) and electronic logging device (ELD) regulations for haulers of livestock, fish or insects.
“Agriculture drives Nebraska, and nobody works harder to ensure the safety and well-being of livestock than the Nebraskans who hustle day in and day out,” Sasse said. “Overly strict regulations are hurting our ranchers and our haulers. My legislation pushes back against those dumb regulations and works to promote safe transportation. This is good, reasonable, common-sense, bipartisan legislation — and it should pass so we can give Nebraskans the flexibility they need to keep livestock safe and to keep our state running and feeding the world.”
If the bill becomes law HOS and ELD requirements would not apply until drivers travel more than 300-air-miles from the origin of their load. Currently, haulers must start tracking their on-duty time after crossing a 150-air-mile radius and can only drive 11 hours before taking the mandatory 10-hour rest time. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is evaluating HOS requirements for livestock.
Additionally, HOS maximum on-duty requirements would be extended to a minimum of 15 hours and a maximum of 18 hours, and loading and unloading times would be exempted from the driving time calculations.
Drivers would also be permitted to rest at any point during their trip without the time counting against HOS time. If drivers come within 150-air miles of their delivery points, they would be permitted to complete their trip regardless of HOS requirements. After concluding a delivery, drivers would be allowed to take a break that is 10 hours, five hours less than the maximum on-duty time.
Several farming and cattle associations support the legislation.