BARTLETT MEMBER KENNY CRENSHAW, owner of Herbi-Systems, has been on a crusade against unfair enforcement of interstate trucking regulations for 12 years. The lawn-care specialist, whose business runs medium-sized trucks, has made multiple appeals to regulators and lawmakers at the state and federal levels in attempts to cease the practice of treating business trucks as if they were huge freight haulers.
One legislator who heard Crenshaw’s pleas was state Sen. Mark Norris (Collierville), who had worked with his constituent to address legal concerns over federal regulations. As chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, Sen. Norris recognized an opportunity to help relieve small businesses from burdensome state regulations. When his committee was presented with a bill that addressed the appropriate section of Tennessee law, Norris pounced on the opportunity to protect users of small trucks.
In compelling testimony, Crenshaw told the Senate Transportation Committee how the state’s unfair application of federal regulations was stifling his business. “We are not a trucking company, and by any sensible definition we are not a motor carrier,” Crenshaw said. “We should not be regulated as such.” Noting “a plumber’s van should not be subject to the same standards as an over-the-road semi-truck,” Sen. Norris amended two bills before the committee to clarify that commercial truck regulations do not apply to trucks between 10,000 and 26,000 lbs., that are engaged in intrastate commerce and not for hire. He then shepherded the bills through the legislative process, sending them to the governor’s desk for his signature.
Thanks to Crenshaw’s dogged persistence and Sen. Mark Norris’ astute maneuverings, many businesses that run small- and mid-sized trucks are now bearing much less of a regulatory burden. When an informed and activated NFIB member and a thoughtful, pro–small-business lawmaker come together, real change is possible. |
Kenny Crenshaw, shown here with one of his trucks at his headquarters in Bartlett, takes his business and his small-business activism seriously. The small-business owner made a difference for himself and fellow entrepreneurs by pursuing reforms in commercial vehicle enforcement.
Federal vs. State Regulations Uncertainty Created
FEDERAL LAW CONTAINS stringent regulations for trucks with gross vehicle weight in excess of 26,000 lbs. But state vehicle enforcement officers have for years, as a matter of policy, enforced the same regulations on trucks weighing 10,000 lbs., or more, making the rules apply to even large pickup trucks. Such regulations were reserved for commercial vehicles while government and personal-use vehicles were exempt. This means that drivers of smaller commercial trucks must have a health certificate and must keep driver logs; that the employer has to maintain U.S. Department of Transportation drug-free workplace standards; and that the employer must perform daily vehicle inspections and keep records on file. Even though they were designed for over-the-road semis, the highly burden-some regulations were being applied to small businesses that run small trucks (e.g. wreckers, construction vehicles, lawn care trucks). |
