In response to several petitions for reconsideration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is proposing to revise from 14 days to 30 days the length of the emergency relief automatically granted by a regional declaration of emergency by a governor of a state, their authorized representative, or FMCSA. This proposal would reverse one change made by a final rule published on October 13, 2023.

The 2023 final rule provided the automatic exemption would be limited to 14 days and exempt motor carriers and commercial motor vehicle drivers from only the hours of service regulations in 49 CFR sections 395.3 and 395.5. The previous regulation provided that the automatic exemption was limited to 30 days and covered all regulations in 49 CFR parts 390 through 399.

In response to petitions for reconsideration, FMCSA is reconsidering the 14- day time limit for the automatic relief of the October 2023 final rule. However, the terms of the exemption would require that it not continue after the emergency period if that period is less than 30 days. This limitation existed prior to the October 2023 final rule and was maintained with that final rule, triggered by a regional emergency declaration, found at section 390.23(b). This proposed rule, if adopted, would revert the automatic time limit for regional emergency exemptions back to the 30-day limit that existed prior to the issuance of the October 2023 final rule.

This means that should a governor issue an emergency declaration for 14 days, the emergency exemption would also be limited to 14 days. Likewise, if a governor cancels a 30-day emergency declaration after 20 days, the emergency exemption would also be cancelled. In addition, the limitation that the emergency relief from sections 395.3 and 395.5 during a declared emergency only applies to motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance during the emergency would remain in place.

NEFI is preparing comments in support of this proposal. Comments are due March 10, 2026.