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October 20, 1999 1:28 PM, EDT

In voting to establish a motor carrier administration Oct. 14, the House also approved language that could nail the coffin lid on the state-based Single State Registration System, which allows trucking companies to register their operations using proof of insurance.

Repeal of SSRS was part of the bigger bill creating a separate truck and bus office within the Department of Transportation. Trucking groups such as American Trucking Associations pressed hard for the repeal, but other trucking interests expressed concern that some states would impose more onerous fees in replacing the revenue from SSRS.

“The SSRS has served no purpose since economic regulation of the motor carrier industry ended. It is an unnecessary tax on motor carriers,” said Kenneth E. Siegel, deputy general counsel for ATA.

Instead, the Uniform Carrier Registration System, which would use a central clearinghouse to handle such matters, would be a reliable source of information, he said.

For the full story, see the Oct. 18 print edition of Transport Topics. .