Missouri Senate

Perfected

COVERED FARM VEHICLES - On July 6, 2012, Moving Ahead For Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) was enacted into law. MAP-21 includes provisions that exempt commercial motor vehicles operating as "covered farm vehicles" from certain Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). The covered farm vehicle and the person operating the CFV are exempt by MAP-21 from several federal motor carrier safety laws and regulations applicable to for-hire motor carriers, including, but not limited to, possession of a valid commercial drivers' license, submitting to drug tests, possession of valid medical certification and others.

Under MAP-21, hours of service regulations (49 CFR § 395) do not apply when operating a commercial motor vehicle within the scope of the covered farm vehicle exemptions. Under current Missouri state law, the federal regulations relating to hours of service do not apply to drivers transporting agricultural commodities or farm supplies if certain conditions are met. Since Missouri's exemption regarding hours of service is inconsistent with the federal law, this act repeals the provision to be consistent with MAP-21.

Under current Missouri law, certain federal regulations regarding the equipment and operation of motor vehicles do not apply to commercial motor vehicles that transport property in intrastate commerce if such vehicles have a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of 26,000 pounds or less. Under this act, this exception shall not apply to covered farm vehicles required to be placarded for hazardous materials under federal law (Section 307.400).

LICENSE PLATE TABS - This act modifies the process for obtaining free license plate tabs. Under current law, any person replacing a stolen license plate tab may receive at no cost up to two sets of two license plate tabs per year when the application for the replacement tab is accompanied with a police report. This act replaces the police report with a notarized affidavit so that a person may receive up to two sets of license plate tabs per year when the application for the replacement tab is accompanied by a notarized affidavit verifying that the tab or tabs were stolen (Section 301.301). This provision is also contained in SB 217 (2013).

STEPHEN WITTE