A bill to allow small carriers, including single-truck owner-operators, to forgo use of electronic logging devices and return to using paper logs is being prepped to file in the U.S. House, according to an aide for Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.). Peterson introduced the legislation last Congress and is the lawmaker prepping the same bill, H.R. 5948, for the current session.
The bill, dubbed the Small Carrier Electronic Logging Device Exemption Act, would exempt all carriers with 10 trucks or fewer from the ELD mandate, meaning they could revert back to using paper logs to record duty status.
“As far as dates are concerned, I’m not quite sure,” the aide said of the bill’s introduction. “I do know that Congressman Peterson does plan on to continue to support this effort.”
It’s unclear whether the legislation would gain much support in Congress or at the White House. The legislation was originally introduced last May but failed to make it out of committee. Other than Peterson, a Democrat, the bill gained 33 co-sponsors last Congress — all of them Republicans.