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H0048........................................................by MR. SPEAKER
Requested by: Idaho State Police
MOTOR CARRIERS - COMPLIANCE REVIEW - Amends existing law to provide for
civil penalties for violations of motor carrier compliance reviews; to
provide for the recovery of civil penalties by the state of Idaho; and to
provide for the determination of civil penalty amounts.
01/08 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
Rpt prt - to Transp
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-sixth Legislature First Regular Session - 2001IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 48 BY MR. SPEAKER Requested by: Idaho State Police 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO COMPLIANCE REVIEWS OF MOTOR CARRIERS; AMENDING SECTION 67-2901A, 3 IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR CIVIL PENALTIES, TO PROVIDE FOR THE RECOVERY OF 4 CIVIL PENALTIES BY THE STATE OF IDAHO AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE DETERMINATION 5 OF CIVIL PENALTY AMOUNTS. 6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 7 SECTION 1. That Section 67-2901A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 8 amended to read as follows: 9 67-2901A. AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT SAFETY INSPECTIONS AND COMPLIANCE REVIEWS 10 OF MOTOR CARRIERS -- ADOPTION OF RULES -- PENALTY. (1) The director of the 11 Idaho state police shall have responsibility for ensuring that safety inspec- 12 tions and compliance reviews are conducted and that motor carriers are 13 inspected for compliance with federal motor carrier safety and hazardous mate- 14 rials regulations and for compliance with applicable Idaho laws and such rules 15 as are adopted pursuant to this section. 16 (2) The director shall have the authority and is directed to promulgate 17 rules to provide for the safe operation of motor carriers and for the inspec- 18 tion of records, books, papers and documents relating to safety management 19 systems or programs and compliance with the federal safety fitness standard. 20 The director is further authorized to adopt temporary rules as necessary. 21 (3) Any person who violates or fails to comply with any rule promulgated 22 by the director under the provisions of this section is guilty of a misde- 23 meanor. 24 (4) Any person who violates or fails to comply with, or who procures, 25 aids or abets any violation of the provisions of this section governing com- 26 pliance reviews of motor carriers, or of any order, decision or rule duly 27 issued by the Idaho state police governing compliance reviews of motor carri- 28 ers, shall also be subject to a civil penalty of not more than two thousand 29 dollars ($2,000) per violation for each day that the violation persists, pro- 30 vided however, that the maximum civil penalty for any related series of viola- 31 tions shall not exceed two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000). 32 (5) Actions to recover penalties under this section shall be brought in 33 the name of the state of Idaho, in the district court in and for the county in 34 which the cause of action or some part of the cause of action arose, or in 35 which the corporation complained of, if any, has its principal place of busi- 36 ness, or in which the person complained of, if any, resides. Such action shall 37 be commenced and prosecuted to final judgment by the attorney for the Idaho 38 state police. The procedure and rules of evidence shall be the same as in 39 ordinary civil actions except as otherwise herein provided, and all penalties 40 incurred up to the time of commencing such action may be sued for and recov- 41 ered. All fines and penalties recovered by the state, together with the costs 42 of the action, shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the gen- 43 eral fund. Any such action may be compromised or discontinued on application 2 1 of the Idaho state police upon such terms as the court shall approve and 2 order. 3 (6) Any civil penalty may be compromised by the Idaho state police. In 4 determining the amount of the penalty, or the amount agreed upon in compro- 5 mise, the appropriateness of the penalty to the size of the business of the 6 person charged, the gravity of the violation, and the good faith of the person 7 charged in attempting to achieve compliance after notification of a violation 8 shall be considered. The amount of the penalty, when finally determined, or 9 the amount agreed upon in compromise, may be deducted from any sums owing by 10 the state to the person charged or may be recovered in a civil action in the 11 state courts.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 10548
This proposal amends Idaho Code Section 67-2901A to provide the
Idaho State Police civil penalty authority as an enforcement tool
following safety compliance reviews of commercial vehicles.
With the passage in 1999 of H335 the intent was to transfer
motor carrier safety responsibilities from the Idaho Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) to the Idaho State Police with all
elements and authorities remaining essentially the same. One
element, however, was not included. The PUC had civil penalty
authority, which is an important enforcement tool for
compliance reviews of motor carriers. The nature and number
of violations of the safety regulations detected during a
safety compliance review is not best addressed by the issuance
of misdemeanor citations. The civil penalty authority will
enhance the ISP's ability to effectively address motor carrier
safety regulation violations.
FISCAL NOTE
The cost of extra meetings with carriers and provision of due
process will have a small and as-yet undetermined fiscal impact.
It is anticipated that the use of civil penalty authority will
be fairly infrequent initially, providing time to accurately
assess fiscal impact and the ability to absorb any increase in
operating expenses.
CONTACT:
Name: Ann Thompson, Policy, Planning and Budget Manager
Agency: Idaho State Police
Phone: (208) 884-7000
Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Note H 48