SC&RA in 2022: Keeping Your Priorities at the Top of our Agenda
(December 21,2022) -The big-picture view coming out of SC&RA as 2022 comes to a close is that things finally seem to be trending towards normal again within the Association community. Which is just one of the many positives to build on heading into next year, according to CEO Joel Dandrea. “SC&RA will continue to urge FMCSA to renew the Hours-of-Service exemption for mobile cranes, which is set to expire in 2023,” he said. “As both an Association and a membership, we all worked really hard to establish some degree of normal operations this year and as a result, member retention is up, and we saw a high degree of participation at events, especially with first-timers and new members.”
SC&RA was busy as usual and remained focused on a broad collection of issues and initiatives pertinent to members. In May, SC&RA helped defeat expansion of OSHA’s “Occupational Exposure to COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings” Rule, 87 Fed. Reg. 16426. In October, the Association unveiled SC&RA’s OSHA Legal Defense Guide to help members with OSHA’s new Compliance Directive. The Guide, written by attorney Michael Rubin, is free to members.
Transponders was another hot topic in 2022, and in November, the Association filed formal comments opposing federal government requests for access to transponders in large commercial motor vehicles, including mobile cranes – which industry sees as a way for government to ultimately impose additional regulations. SC&RA is also considering joining a coalition unified in opposition to legislative or regulatory proposals (i.e., “Right to Repair”) that would allow for unfettered government access to the software that governs safety, security and, in the case of engine-powered products, emissions technology.
Automated permitting systems were again a focus in 2022. Two new systems came online this year – Virginia and North Carolina. Connecticut and California announced they’re looking to come online as well. As for national and regional priorities, 11 states remain in the “red” on the UPT 2021 map, while a recent audit of Phases I and II of SC&RA’s Permit Harmonization initiative revealed that only 50 percent of states have fully implemented changes over the last decade. The Association will continue to pursue Phase III under the condition that Phases I and II must still be fully implemented. As part of a continuing permit harmonization initiative for both transportation and crane Association members (permitted loads include both OS/OW as well as mobile cranes), five individual states have been targeted for prioritized advocacy in 2023: Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Utah and Iowa.
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