Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, March 10, 2021:
The state of ‘ugly’ bills that could hit trucking in Washington state
Given the geopolitics of Washington state, Sheri Call, executive vice president of the Washington Trucking Associations, often finds herself between her state’s legislative moves to follow in the footsteps of a bigger sibling to the south, California, and protecting the interests of her state’s member carriers.
Once again, that’s exactly where she was when CCJ touched base with Call late last week. “We’re really fighting some truly ugly bills right now,” she said. Ones in which the skids are greased and the state legislature is moving quickly on their potential passage include an emissions law that she said will cause diesel prices to spike, and one that likely would lead to a spike in petty lawsuits brought against trucking companies.
We originally contacted Call to talk about the issue of a nationalized ABC test law in the works in the U.S. Congress, given WTA’s ongoing work to fend off a state-level ABC test law in recent years and get her take on how such laws impact trucking companies large and small, as well as owner-operators that run under the authority of a larger carrier.
But fending off the two more pressing pieces of legislation in her state was top of mind.
The first is House Bill 1091, which seeks to enact a low-carbon fuel standard mandate in the state, targeting transportation fuels like diesel and gasoline. The bill passed the state’s House for the fourth straight year last weekend and is set to enter the hearings process in the state Senate this week.
RELATED: West Coast fleets high on benefits of renewable diesel but low on supply
