Legislative Bulletin - June 11, 2010

TRALA and Industry Succeed in Preserving Graves Law in U.S. Senate Committee

TRALA and its coalition of industry allies has again succeeded in stopping an attempt to repeal the federal Graves Law which preempts states from imposing vicarious liability on owners or rented and leased vehicles. The industry victory came when the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation completed a markup of S. 3302, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010, without including an amendment repealing the Graves Law sought last week by committee member Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL). This comes a little more than two weeks after TRALA and the same coalition stopped an attempt to repeal the Graves Law during the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce consideration of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010, H.R. 5381.

The Graves Law (49 USC 30106) was passed in August 2005 as part of the SAFETEA-LU highway bill. It created a uniform standard against liability without fault by preempting state vicarious liability laws imposing liability on non-negligent leasing and renting companies. Since its enactment into law, the highest courts in several states, including New York, Florida and Minnesota, have upheld its authority. Federal circuit courts and the U.S. Court of Appeals have also ruled in support of the Graves Law.

Upon learning of Senator Nelson’s consideration of an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 to repeal the Graves Law, TRALA engaged the same coalition of companies and organizations that opposed the similar May 2010 effort in the U.S. House. TRALA representatives met with the Senator’s office to discuss the vicarious liability issue and its broad impact on commercial transportation, vehicle manufacturing and consumer vehicle leasing and renting. TRALA and its coalition allies outlined the likelihood of increasing of commercial truck transportation costs, losing car and truck manufacturing jobs, eliminating the option of consumer leasing in some states and limiting the availability and raising the cost of insurance should vicarious liability laws be re-imposed. To see a list of coalition members opposed to repealing the Graves Law, please click here.

“This is just the latest example of our Congressional leaders upholding the common sense provisions of the Graves Law,” said TRALA President and CEO Tom James. “Just as courts of law at both the state and federal level have continued to uphold the Graves Law, Congress has showed that they agree.”

TRALA will continue to be on guard for further attempts to weaken or repeal the Graves Law. TRALA and its member companies including Ryder, Enterprise, Avis Budget Group and Volvo Group North America, were joined by its allies including the American Trucking Associations, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Trucking Association in the effort to push back a U.S. Senate amendment to re-impose vicarious liability. For more information, please contact TRALA’s Tom James at tjames@trala.org or at 703-299-9120.