The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE REAL INTERSTATE DRIVER EQUITY ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Senate section on pages S11555-S11556 on Nov. 19, 2002.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE REAL INTERSTATE DRIVER EQUITY ACT
Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, the coming days will be historic for a large number of small businesses that make up the luxury ground transportation industry. After much hard work from several members of the New Jersey Delegation and hundreds of constituents in New Jersey and around the country, the President will sign H.R. 2546, The Real Interstate Driver Equity Act. This Act will bring tremendous relief to those operators of the luxury ground transportation industry conducting interstate business.
Four years ago, two of my constituents Don Kensey of Au Premiere Limousine of Bellmawr, and James Moseley of James Limousine of Cherry Hill, approached my good friend Congressman Rob Andrews concerning the problem limousine operators in New Jersey were having with local jurisdictions in other States seizing and fining properly authorized vehicles upon picking up their clients to return them to New Jersey. Joining with many other limousine businesses in New Jersey and the National Limousine Association, our constituents organized a national grassroots campaign in the 106th Congress to educate the House and Senate. Today, the Congress is aware of the hardships faced by these small business owners across the country.
Because such a substantial portion of their service does not occur in a single State, limousine and other prearranged ground transportation service providers are frequently assessed registration and licensing fees by these other States. Enforcement of these requirements, which includes vehicle impoundment and heavy fines, has caused tremendous hardship to drivers and owners of these businesses, over 80% of which are one-to-three car operators grossing less than $500,000 a year. I would note that these problems are especially hard on small businesses in New Jersey, which borders on two States with large cities and airports.
Indeed, I was shocked to hear that in one particularly egregious instance, the CEO of McGraw Hill Publishing was forced out of his limousine, which was seized in another State and told to find another way home. That was when Senator Corzine and myself, along with Congressman Andrews decided to take action.
The Real Interstate Driver Equity Act simply prohibits States other than a home licensing State from enacting or enforcing a law requiring a fee or some other payment requirement on vehicles that provide prearranged transportation service. States and localities can no longer restrict limousine or sedan services if the service is registered with the Department of Transportation as an interstate carrier; the company meets all of the requirements of the State in which it is domiciled or do business; and the limousine or sedan service is engaged in providing pre-arranged transportation from one state to another, including round trips.
This Congress, through the hard work of our constituents, has finally remedied this inequity in our interstate commerce law.
There were several other members who were instrumental in passing this legislation. I would like to thank Congressmen Roy Blunt and Rob Andrews, who took the lead on H.R. 2546 in the House of Representatives and helped ensure its passage last year. In April of this year, with the assistance of my colleagues Senator Hollings and Senator McCain, the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed H.R. 2546 unanimously. I am also most grateful to Senator Reid, Senator Bond, and Senator Corzine for their able assistance in passing this important small business legislation.
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