Truck parking bill clears hurdle; House floor next

July 20, 2022

Tyson Fisher

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The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act cleared a major hurdle in Congress, inching it closer to the finish line.

On Wednesday, July 20, the full House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure pushed an amended version of the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act through the markup process by a unanimous, bipartisan vote. The next move for HR2187 is to go to the House floor for consideration.

The Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act would allocate $755 million over four years to projects that add truck parking capacity. Per the bill, no project funded by HR2187 could charge for parking.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., introduced the bill with Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has been working with Bost in drafting the truck parking bill. Todd Spencer, president and CEO of OOIDA, said it’s a major step forward but that there is still plenty of work to do.

“We thank all the House lawmakers from both parties who have worked together on this and hope that the U.S. Senate will follow their lead by stepping up to address American truckers’ top safety concern,” Spencer said.

If passed by the house, the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act will have to get through the Senate before being signed into law. Anything can happen there, including significant amendments that could alter the scope of the bill.

In the House version of the infrastructure bill, funding for truck parking was included. However, the Senate bill did not. It was the Senate version that was signed into law.

The next step is for the bill to clear the full House. Truckers are encouraged to let their representatives know about HR2187 and encourage them to sign on as a co-sponsor. LL