49 U.S.C. § 14501 — Federal authority over intrastate trans-

Page 513 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 14501 (2) A purchase, lease, or contract to operate property of another carrier by any number of carriers. (3) Acquisition of control of a carrier by any number of carriers. (4) Acquisition of control of at least 2 car- riers by a person that is not a carrier. (5) Acquisition of control of a carrier by a person that is not a carrier but that controls any number of carriers. (b) STANDARD FOR APPROVAL.—The Board shall approve and authorize a transaction under this section when it finds the transaction is con- sistent with the public interest. The Board shall consider at least the following: (1) The effect of the proposed transaction on the adequacy of transportation to the public. (2) The total fixed charges that result from the proposed transaction. (3) The interest of carrier employees affected by the proposed transaction. The Board may impose conditions governing the transaction. (c) DETERMINATION OF COMPLETENESS OF APPLI- CATION.—Within 30 days after the date on which an application is filed under this section, the Board shall either publish a notice of the appli- cation in the Federal Register or reject the ap- plication if it is incomplete. (d) COMMENTS.—Written comments about an application may be filed with the Board within 45 days after the date on which notice of the ap- plication is published under subsection (c). (e) DEADLINES.—The Board shall conclude evi- dentiary proceedings by the 240th day after the date on which notice of the application is pub- lished under subsection (c). The Board shall issue a final decision by the 180th day after the conclusion of the evidentiary proceedings. The Board may extend a time period under this sub- section; except that the total of all such exten- sions with respect to any application shall not exceed 90 days. (f) EFFECT OF APPROVAL.—A carrier or cor- poration participating in or resulting from a transaction approved by the Board under this section, or exempted by the Board from the ap- plication of this section pursuant to section 13541, may carry out the transaction, own and operate property, and exercise control or fran- chises acquired through the transaction without the approval of a State authority. A carrier, cor- poration, or person participating in the ap- proved or exempted transaction is exempt from the antitrust laws and from all other law, in- cluding State and municipal law, as necessary to let that person carry out the transaction, hold, maintain, and operate property, and exer- cise control or franchises acquired through the transaction. (g) LIMITATION ON APPLICABILITY.—This sec- tion shall not apply to transactions involving carriers whose aggregate gross operating reve- nues were not more than $2,000,000 during a pe- riod of 12 consecutive months ending not more than 6 months before the date of the agreement of the parties. (h) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS.— When the Board approves and authorizes a transaction under this section in which a person not a carrier providing transportation subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I of chapter 135 acquires control of at least 1 carrier subject to such jurisdiction, the person is subject, as a car- rier, to the following provisions of this title that apply to the carrier being acquired by that per- son, to the extent specified by the Board: sec- tions 504(f), 14121–14123, 14901(a), and 14907. (i) INTERIM APPROVAL.—Pending determina- tion of an application filed under this section, the Board may approve, for a period of not more than 180 days, the operation of the properties sought to be acquired by the person proposing in the application to acquire those properties, when it appears that failure to do so may result in destruction of or injury to those properties or substantially interfere with their future useful- ness in providing adequate and continuous serv- ice to the public. Transportation provided by a motor carrier under a grant of approval under this subsection is subject to this part. (j) SUPPLEMENTAL ORDERS.—When cause ex- ists, the Board may issue appropriate orders supplemental to an order made in a proceeding under this section. (Added Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 103, Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 897.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in sections 11341, 11343, 11344, 11345a, 11348, 11349, and 11351 of this title prior to the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, § 102(a). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise pro- vided in Pub. L. 104–88, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of this title. CHAPTER 145—FEDERAL-STATE RELATIONS Sec. 14501. Federal authority over intrastate transpor- tation. 14502. Tax discrimination against motor carrier transportation property. 14503. Withholding State and local income tax by certain carriers. [14504. Repealed.] 14504a. Unified Carrier Registration System plan and agreement. 14505. State tax. 14506. Identification of vehicles. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2005—Pub. L. 109–59, title IV, §§ 4305(c), 4306(b), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1773, 1774, added items 14504a and 14506. Pub. L. 109–59, title IV, § 4305(a), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1764, as amended by Pub. L. 110–53, title XV, § 1537(c), Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 467, struck out item 14504 ‘‘Registration of motor carriers by a State’’, effective Jan. 1, 2008. § 14501. Federal authority over intrastate trans- portation (a) MOTOR CARRIERS OF PASSENGERS.— (1) LIMITATION ON STATE LAW.—No State or political subdivision thereof and no interstate Page 514 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 14501 agency or other political agency of 2 or more States shall enact or enforce any law, rule, regulation, standard, or other provision hav- ing the force and effect of law relating to— (A) scheduling of interstate or intrastate transportation (including discontinuance or reduction in the level of service) provided by a motor carrier of passengers subject to ju- risdiction under subchapter I of chapter 135 of this title on an interstate route; (B) the implementation of any change in the rates for such transportation or for any charter transportation except to the extent that notice, not in excess of 30 days, of changes in schedules may be required; or (C) the authority to provide intrastate or interstate charter bus transportation. This paragraph shall not apply to intrastate commuter bus operations, or to intrastate bus transportation of any nature in the State of Hawaii. (2) MATTERS NOT COVERED.—Paragraph (1) shall not restrict the safety regulatory au- thority of a State with respect to motor vehi- cles, the authority of a State to impose high- way route controls or limitations based on the size or weight of the motor vehicle, or the au- thority of a State to regulate carriers with re- gard to minimum amounts of financial respon- sibility relating to insurance requirements and self-insurance authorization. (b) FREIGHT FORWARDERS AND BROKERS.— (1) GENERAL RULE.—Subject to paragraph (2) of this subsection, no State or political sub- division thereof and no intrastate agency or other political agency of 2 or more States shall enact or enforce any law, rule, regula- tion, standard, or other provision having the force and effect of law relating to intrastate rates, intrastate routes, or intrastate services of any freight forwarder or broker. (2) CONTINUATION OF HAWAII’S AUTHORITY.— Nothing in this subsection and the amend- ments made by the Surface Freight Forwarder Deregulation Act of 1986 shall be construed to affect the authority of the State of Hawaii to continue to regulate a motor carrier operating within the State of Hawaii. (c) MOTOR CARRIERS OF PROPERTY.— (1) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), a State, political sub- division of a State, or political authority of 2 or more States may not enact or enforce a law, regulation, or other provision having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of any motor carrier (other than a carrier affiliated with a direct air car- rier covered by section 41713(b)(4)) or any motor private carrier, broker, or freight for- warder with respect to the transportation of property. (2) MATTERS NOT COVERED.—Paragraph (1)— (A) shall not restrict the safety regulatory authority of a State with respect to motor vehicles, the authority of a State to impose highway route controls or limitations based on the size or weight of the motor vehicle or the hazardous nature of the cargo, or the au- thority of a State to regulate motor carriers with regard to minimum amounts of finan- cial responsibility relating to insurance re- quirements and self-insurance authorization; (B) does not apply to the intrastate trans- portation of household goods; and (C) does not apply to the authority of a State or a political subdivision of a State to enact or enforce a law, regulation, or other provision relating to the regulation of tow truck operations performed without the prior consent or authorization of the owner or operator of the motor vehicle. (3) STATE STANDARD TRANSPORTATION PRAC- TICES.— (A) CONTINUATION.—Paragraph (1) shall not affect any authority of a State, political subdivision of a State, or political authority of 2 or more States to enact or enforce a law, regulation, or other provision, with respect to the intrastate transportation of property by motor carriers, related to— (i) uniform cargo liability rules, (ii) uniform bills of lading or receipts for property being transported, (iii) uniform cargo credit rules, (iv) antitrust immunity for joint line rates or routes, classifications, mileage guides, and pooling, or (v) antitrust immunity for agent-van line operations (as set forth in section 13907), if such law, regulation, or provision meets the requirements of subparagraph (B). (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A law, regulation, or provision of a State, political subdivision, or political authority meets the requirements of this subparagraph if— (i) the law, regulation, or provision cov- ers the same subject matter as, and com- pliance with such law, regulation, or provi- sion is no more burdensome than compli- ance with, a provision of this part or a reg- ulation issued by the Secretary or the Board under this part; and (ii) the law, regulation, or provision only applies to a carrier upon request of such carrier. (C) ELECTION.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a carrier affiliated with a direct air carrier through common control- ling ownership may elect to be subject to a law, regulation, or provision of a State, po- litical subdivision, or political authority under this paragraph. (4) NONAPPLICABILITY TO HAWAII.—This sub- section shall not apply with respect to the State of Hawaii. (5) LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUC- TION.—Nothing in this section shall be con- strued to prevent a State from requiring that, in the case of a motor vehicle to be towed from private property without the consent of the owner or operator of the vehicle, the per- son towing the vehicle have prior written au- thorization from the property owner or lessee (or an employee or agent thereof) or that such owner or lessee (or an employee or agent thereof) be present at the time the vehicle is towed from the property, or both. (d) PRE-ARRANGED GROUND TRANSPORTATION.— Page 515 TITLE 49—TRANSPORTATION § 14502 (1) IN GENERAL.—No State or political sub- division thereof and no interstate agency or other political agency of 2 or more States shall enact or enforce any law, rule, regula- tion, standard or other provision having the force and effect of law requiring a license or fee on account of the fact that a motor vehicle is providing pre-arranged ground transpor- tation service if the motor carrier providing such service— (A) meets all applicable registration re- quirements under chapter 139 for the inter- state transportation of passengers; (B) meets all applicable vehicle and intra- state passenger licensing requirements of the State or States in which the motor car- rier is domiciled or registered to do business; and (C) is providing such service pursuant to a contract for— (i) transportation by the motor carrier from one State, including intermediate stops, to a destination in another State; or (ii) transportation by the motor carrier from one State, including intermediate stops in another State, to a destination in the original State. (2) INTERMEDIATE STOP DEFINED.—In this sec- tion, the term ‘‘intermediate stop’’, with re- spect to transportation by a motor carrier, means a pause in the transportation in order for one or more passengers to engage in per- sonal or business activity, but only if the driv- er providing the transportation to such pas- senger or passengers does not, before resuming the transportation of such passenger (or at least 1 of such passengers), provide transpor- tation to any other person not included among the passengers being transported when the pause began. (3) MATTERS NOT COVERED.—Nothing in this subsection shall be construed— (A) as subjecting taxicab service to regula- tion under chapter 135 or section 31138; (B) as prohibiting or restricting an airport, train, or bus terminal operator from con- tracting to provide preferential access or fa- cilities to one or more providers of pre-ar- ranged ground transportation service; and (C) as restricting the right of any State or political subdivision of a State to require, in a nondiscriminatory manner, that any indi- vidual operating a vehicle providing pre- arranged ground transportation service orig- inating in the State or political subdivision have submitted to pre-licensing drug testing or a criminal background investigation of the records of the State in which the oper- ator is domiciled, by the State or political subdivision by which the operator is licensed to provide such service, or by the motor car- rier providing such service, as a condition of providing such service. (Added Pub. L. 104–88, title I, § 103, Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 899; amended Pub. L. 105–178, title IV, § 4016, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 412; Pub. L. 105–277, div. C, title I, § 106, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–586; Pub. L. 107–298, § 2, Nov. 26, 2002, 116 Stat. 2342; Pub. L. 109–59, title IV, §§ 4105(a), 4206(a), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1717, 1754; Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title V, § 5514, Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1557.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Surface Freight Forwarder Deregulation Act of 1986, referred to in subsec. (b)(2), is Pub. L. 99–521, Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2993. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1986 Amend- ment note set out under section 10101 of this title and Tables. PRIOR PROVISIONS Provisions similar to those in this section were con- tained in section 11501 of this title prior to the general amendment of this subtitle by Pub. L. 104–88, § 102(a). AMENDMENTS 2015—Subsec. (c)(2)(C). Pub. L. 114–94 substituted ‘‘the regulation of tow truck operations’’ for ‘‘the price of for-hire motor vehicle transportation by a tow truck, if such transportation is’’. 2005—Subsec. (c)(2)(B). Pub. L. 109–59, § 4206(a), in- serted ‘‘intrastate’’ before ‘‘transportation’’. Subsec. (c)(5). Pub. L. 109–59, § 4105(a), added par. (5). 2002—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 107–298 added subsec. (d). 1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–178 reenacted heading without change and amended text of subsec. (a) gen- erally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: ‘‘No State or political subdivision thereof and no interstate agency or other political agency of 2 or more States shall enact or enforce any law, rule, regulation, stand- ard, or other provision having the force and effect of law relating to scheduling of interstate or intrastate transportation (including discontinuance or reduction in the level of service) provided by motor carrier of pas- sengers subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I of chapter 135 of this title on an interstate route or relat- ing to the implementation of any change in the rates for such transportation or for any charter transpor- tation except to the extent that notice, not in excess of 30 days, of changes in schedules may be required. This subsection shall not apply to intrastate commuter bus operations.’’ Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 105–277 substituted ‘‘oper- ations, or to intrastate bus transportation of any na- ture in the State of Hawaii’’ for ‘‘operations’’ in con- cluding provisions. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2015 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–94 effective Oct. 1, 2015, see section 1003 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out as a note under section 5313 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1996, except as otherwise pro- vided in Pub. L. 104–88, see section 2 of Pub. L. 104–88, set out as a note under section 1301 of this title. § 14502. Tax discrimination against motor carrier transportation property (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following definitions apply: (1) ASSESSMENT.—The term ‘‘assessment’’ means valuation for a property tax levied by a taxing district. (2) ASSESSMENT JURISDICTION.—The term ‘‘assessment jurisdiction’’ means a geo- graphical area in a State used in determining the assessed value of property for ad valorem taxation. (3) MOTOR CARRIER TRANSPORTATION PROP- ERTY.—The term ‘‘motor carrier transpor-