HR0470LRB097 12451 GRL 56933 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Early this year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
3Administration (FMCSA) began to define crop-share tenant
4farmers as "for-hire" carriers and implements of husbandry as
5"commercial motor vehicles"; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The "for-hire" designation for crop-share tenant
7farmers would have a dramatic effect on farmers because it
8voids exemptions from the Commercial Driver's License program
9and would require a minimum of $750,000 in insurance coverage
10for the farmer; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Most Illinois farmers are impacted by the change,
12as a reported 37% of farmland acres in Illinois in 2009 were
13farmed under a crop-share arrangement; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Agricultural organizations in Illinois and across
15the nation have been working with the FMCSA to come to an
16agreement on these issues; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The FMCSA agreed to reconsider its recent
18interpretation of these regulations; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In late May 2011, the FMCSA published a notice in
20the Federal Register requesting comment on

 

 

HR0470- 2 -LRB097 12451 GRL 56933 r

1previously-published regulatory guidance on the distinction of
2interstate and intrastate commerce with regard to agricultural
3operations; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The notice also requests comment on agricultural
5transportation as part of a crop-share agreement being subject
6to commercial driver's license regulations and whether
7implements of husbandry are considered commercial motor
8vehicles; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Regulators claim that because a crop-share tenant
10farmer hauls grain to the elevator that ultimately will become
11the property of the landlord, the tenant must then be
12considered a "for-hire" carrier; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The requirement for a CDL mentioned in the Federal
14Register falls far short of recognizing the range of impacts
15associated with the for-hire designation of crop-share tenant
16farmers under FMCSA's current interpretation; and
 
17    WHEREAS, No shipment of grain produced under a crop-share
18agreement should be considered to be a for-hire move unless
19there is a separate agreement between tenant and landlord for
20the transportation of grain; and
 
21    WHEREAS, It is discriminatory to single out farmers who

 

 

HR0470- 3 -LRB097 12451 GRL 56933 r

1compensate their landlord with a share of the crop produced on
2the land versus those tenant farmers who make that payment in
3the form of cash; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The form of compensation paid to the landlord by
5the tenant farmer in exchange for use of the farmland does not
6transform the farmer from a private carrier to a for-hire
7carrier; and
 
8    WHEREAS, It is clear that the United States Congress and
9early regulation administrators had not intended the Motor
10Carrier Safety Regulations to apply to implements of husbandry;
11and
 
12    WHEREAS, Implements of husbandry used on public roads
13should not be considered commercial motor vehicles under the
14MCSR; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The FMCSA is expected to provide final guidance on
16these issues in August of 2011; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
19we urge the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to
20carefully examine the comments received regarding crop-share
21tenant farmers being considered for-hire carriers and

 

 

HR0470- 4 -LRB097 12451 GRL 56933 r

1implements of husbandry being considered commercial motor
2vehicles; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That we urge the FMCSA to reverse its recent
4interpretation so that agricultural operations are not
5adversely affected; and be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
7delivered to the United States Secretary of Transportation, the
8Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation, and
9each member of the Illinois congressional delegation.