KMCA briefs Senate committee on Kansas trucking rules, fees and safety programs

Travis Grauerholtz, representing the Kansas Motor Carriers Association, told the Kansas Senate Transportation Committee in Topeka that Kansas has about 17,000 trucking companies and that the industry supplies tens of thousands of jobs and large wage income to the state economy.

"Safety for our association and the industry is at the top of everybody's priority," Grauerholtz said during a Trucking 101 presentation to the committee. He spoke with several KMCA colleagues in the room and answered lawmakers' questions about registration, fees, weight limits and safety programs.

The KMCA representatives described the layered regulatory and fee structure that applies to motor carriers. Grauerholtz told the committee that all motor carriers operating on public roads carry a DOT number for identification and safety reporting, while farm-registered vehicles that operate only inside Kansas are exempt from some federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requirements. He said carriers seeking interstate authority must apply to the FMCSA, pay a roughly $300 application fee, and meet federal insurance minimums that the KMCA summarized as roughly $750,000 for basic commercial liability, about $1,000,000 for some petroleum-hauling operations and up to $5,000,000 for hazardous materials.

Grauerholtz reviewed multistate registration and tax systems, including the International Registration Plan (IRP) and the International Fuel Tax…