State rules board approves temporary adoption of updated out-of-service criteria for commercial motor vehicles

The State Rules and Regulations Board voted to approve a temporary regulation, K.A.R. 82-41, that adopts the latest North American Standard out-of-service (OOS) criteria for commercial motor vehicles.

Deputy Attorney General Robert Hutchison, who opened the meeting, framed the board’s action under K.S.A. 77-4-22, saying the statute requires the board to find a temporary rule is necessary to preserve “public peace, health, safety or welfare.” "I think that last comment you made about giving tools for safety and closing a loophole that would get drivers who shouldn't be on the road off the road is the justification for the temporary process," Hutchison said during the meeting.

Kansas Corporation Commission litigation counsel Assam Latif told the board the update aligns Kansas with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s practices and improves consistency across states for interstate motor carriers. "This proposed change would update the definition to adopt the latest version of the North American standard out of service criteria," Latif said, adding the change is intended to help law enforcement ensure safe operation on Kansas roads.

Latif said the revised criteria include a recently published provision allowing motor carrier inspectors to place drivers out of service when they cannot adequately communicate with inspectors, including through an English-proficiency assessment at roadside. "Adoption of the new rule helps to close a loophole that allowed some drivers to keep driving even though they had not demonstrated an ability to safely operate commercial motor vehicles among the motoring public," he said.

Representative Wasinger asked technical questions about terminology and federal funding: she noted the regulation’s use of "air miles," which can mean nautical miles, and asked whether failing to adopt the standard could put federal funding at risk. Latif replied that "air miles" is typically interpreted as straight-line ("as the crow flies") distance for certain exemptions and that the North American Standard in this case is about consistency in enforcement; it is not one of the specific standards that the staff said would automatically trigger loss of particular federal funds.

KCC staff announced a public hearing and comment period on the permanent version of the regulation scheduled for June 30 at 10 a.m.; notice will be published in the Kansas Register. Latif said the transportation division aims to adopt the permanent rule promptly after the public hearing.

Representative Wasinger moved to approve the temporary regulation; Mr. Barker seconded. The chair called the vote and members present and online voiced "aye;" no opposing votes were recorded. The board approved the temporary regulation consistent with the statutory finding cited by Hutchison.

The board had no further matters on the agenda; Hutchison thanked participants and closed the meeting.