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36-477: Motor Carrier Act may refer to: Motor Carrier Act of 1935 , an amendment to the Interstate Commerce Act that regulated bus lines and airlines as public utilities Motor Carrier Act of 1980 , a law that deregulated the trucking industry Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

72-519: A USDOT number and a Motor Carrier (MC) number that replaced the ICC numbers. The ICC served as a model for later regulatory efforts. Unlike, for example, state medical boards (historically administered by the doctors themselves), the seven Interstate Commerce Commissioners and their staffs were full-time regulators who could have no economic ties to the industries they regulated. Since 1887, some state and other federal agencies adopted this structure. And, like

108-642: A new agency, the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB), which reviews mergers and acquisitions, rail line abandonments and railroad corporate filings. ICC jurisdiction on rail safety (hours of service rules, equipment and inspection standards) was transferred to the Federal Railroad Administration pursuant to the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970. Before the ICC was abolished motor carriers (bus lines, trucking companies) had safety regulations enforced by

144-478: Is the same at the state level, though it is probably less pronounced. The Interstate Commerce Commission had a strong influence on the founders of Australia. The Constitution of Australia provides ( §§ 101-104 ; also § 73 ) for the establishment of an Inter-State Commission , modeled after the United States' Interstate Commerce Commission. However, these provisions have largely not been put into practice;

180-1039: The Commerce Clause of the Constitution , which gives Congress the exclusive power "to regulate Commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." With many of those questions of approach decided, Congress passed the Interstate Commerce Act the following year; it was signed into law by President Grover Cleveland on February 4, 1887. The act worked to keep rates and railroad revenue up on routes where competition existed. It did this by attempting to force publicity about rates and make rebates and discrimination illegal. ('Discrimination' meant lower rates for certain customers, e.g. politicians, large customers, sharp bargainers, long haul shippers, shippers in competitive markets, low season travelers.) Railroads saw that competition made it hard to pay their stockholders and bondholders

216-744: The Consumer Product Safety Commission (1975). In recent decades, this regulatory structure of independent federal agencies has gone out of fashion. The agencies created after the 1970s generally have single heads appointed by the President and are divisions inside executive Cabinet Departments (e.g., the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (1970) or the Transportation Security Administration (2002)). The trend

252-811: The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 ("4R Act"), the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 and the Staggers Rail Act of 1980. Senator Fred R. Harris of Oklahoma strongly advocated the abolition of the Commission. In December 1995, when most of the ICC's powers had been eliminated or repealed, Congress finally abolished the agency with the ICC Termination Act of 1995 . Final Chair Gail McDonald oversaw transferring its remaining functions to

288-620: The 1870s various constituencies, notably the Grange movement representing farmers, lobbied Congress to regulate railroads. While the Senate would investigate and report its findings and recommendations in 1874, Congress declined to step in, mirroring the lack of consensus in approach. In the 1886 decision on Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Company v. Illinois however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state laws regulating interstate railroads were unconstitutional because they violated

324-505: The 1930s. Of those lines that survived, the stronger ones were not interested in supporting the weaker ones. Congress repudiated Ripley's Plan with the Transportation Act of 1940, and the consolidation idea was scrapped. Although racial discrimination was never a major focus of its efforts, the ICC had to address civil rights issues when passengers filed complaints. The limitation on railroad rates in 1906-07 depreciated

360-509: The 1970s and 1980s. The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 (often called the "4R Act") gave railroads more flexibility in pricing and service arrangements. The 4R Act also transferred some powers from the ICC to the newly formed United States Railway Association , a government corporation, regarding the disposition of bankrupt railroads. The Staggers Rail Act of 1980 further reduced ICC authority by allowing railroads to set rates more freely and become more competitive with

396-612: The 20th century, several of ICC's authorities were transferred to other federal agencies. The ICC was abolished in 1995, and its remaining functions were transferred to the Surface Transportation Board . The Commission's five members were appointed by the President with the consent of the United States Senate . This was the first independent agency (or so-called Fourth Branch ). The ICC

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432-524: The ICC to organize a Bureau of Valuation that would assess the value of railroad property. This information would be used to set freight shipping rates. In 1935, Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act, which amended the Interstate Commerce Act to regulate bus lines and trucking as common carriers . Congress enacted simplifying and reorganizing amendments in 1978, 1983 and 1994. Congress passed various railroad deregulation measures in

468-474: The ICC to set maximum railroad rates, and extended the agency's authority to cover bridges, terminals, ferries, sleeping cars, express companies and oil pipelines. A long-standing controversy was how to interpret language in the Act that banned long haul-short haul fare discrimination. The Mann-Elkins Act of 1910 addressed this question by strengthening ICC authority over railroad rates. This amendment also expanded

504-417: The ICC's jurisdiction to include regulation of telephone , telegraph and wireless companies. The Valuation Act of 1913 required the ICC to organize a Bureau of Valuation that would assess the value of railroad property. This information would be used to set rates. The Esch-Cummins Act of 1920 expanded the ICC's rate-setting responsibilities, and the agency in turn required updated valuation data from

540-405: The ICC's powers. The ICC became the United States' investigation agency for railroad accidents. Congress expanded the commission's powers through subsequent legislation. The 1893 Railroad Safety Appliance Act gave the ICC jurisdiction over railroad safety, removing this authority from the states, and this was followed with amendments in 1903 and 1910. The Hepburn Act of 1906 authorized

576-836: The ICC, later agencies tended to be organized as multi-headed independent commissions with staggered terms for the commissioners. At the federal level, agencies patterned after the ICC included the Federal Trade Commission (1914), the Federal Communications Commission (1934), the Securities and Exchange Commission (1934), the National Labor Relations Board (1935), the Civil Aeronautics Board (1940), Postal Regulatory Commission (1970) and

612-620: The Interstate Commerce Act banned "personal discrimination" and required shipping rates to be "just and reasonable." President Cleveland appointed Thomas M. Cooley as the first chairman of the ICC. Cooley had been Dean of the University of Michigan Law School and Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court . The Commission had a troubled start because the law that created it failed to give it adequate enforcement powers. The Commission is, or can be made, of great use to

648-576: The Interstate Commerce Commission to prepare and adopt a plan for the consolidation of the railway properties of the United States into a limited number of systems. Between 1920 and 1923, William Z. Ripley , a professor of political economy at Harvard University, wrote up ICC's plan for the regional consolidation of the U.S. railways. His plan became known as the Ripley Plan . In 1929 the ICC published Ripley's Plan under

684-802: The Office of Motor Carriers (OMC) under the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The OMC inherited many of the "Economic" regulations enforced by the ICC in addition to the safety regulations imposed on motor carriers. In January 2000 the OMC became the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), within the U.S. Department of Transportation . Prior to its abolition, the ICC gave identification numbers to motor carriers for which it issued licenses. The identification numbers were generally in

720-491: The United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 . The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking ) to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers , including interstate bus lines and telephone companies. Congress expanded ICC authority to regulate other modes of commerce beginning in 1906. Throughout

756-540: The act, its jurisdiction was limited to companies that operated across state lines. Over time the courts would further narrow the agency's authority, and in 1903 Congress established the Department of Commerce and Labor and its Bureau of Corporations to study and report on wider industries and their monopolistic practices. By 1906, the Supreme Court had ruled in favor of a railroad company in fifteen out of

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792-613: The amount of money promised to them, and competition was therefore "bad." The act also created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), the first independent regulatory agency of the US government. As part of its mission, the ICC heard complaints against the railroads and issued cease and desist orders to combat unfair practices. While the ICC was empowered to investigate and prosecute railroads and other transportation companies that were alleged to have violated

828-439: The bicycle railroad. Based on his own testimony and that of a Massachusetts congressman, Boynton won release on May 28, 1920, overcoming testimony of the ICC's chief clerk that Boynton was virtually a daily visitor at ICC offices, seeking Commission adoption of his proposal to revolutionize the railroad industry. Congress passed various deregulation measures in the 1970s and early 1980s which diminished ICC authority, including

864-446: The form of "ICC MC-000000". When the ICC was dissolved, the function of licensing interstate motor carriers was transferred to FMCSA. All interstate motor carriers that transport freight moving across state lines have a USDOT number, such as "USDOT 000000." There are private carriers, e.g. Walmart that move their own freight requiring only a USDOT number, and carriers with authority that haul freight for hire that are still required to have

900-460: The passage of the Act, the railroad industry became the first industry subject to federal regulation by a regulatory body. It was later amended to regulate other modes of transportation and commerce. The act was passed in response to rising public concern with the growing power and wealth of corporations, particularly railroads, during the late nineteenth century. Railroads had become the principal form of transportation for both people and goods, and

936-442: The prices they charged and the practices they adopted greatly influenced individuals and businesses. In some cases, the railroads were perceived to have abused their power as a result of too little competition. Railroads also banded together to form pools and trusts that fixed rates at higher levels than they could otherwise command. Responding to a widespread public outcry, states passed numerous pieces of legislation. Through

972-575: The railroads. In March 1920, the ICC had Eben Moody Boynton, the inventor of the Boynton Bicycle Railroad , committed as a lunatic to an institution in Washington, D.C. Boynton's monorail electric light rail system, it was reported, had the potential to revolutionize transportation, superseding then-current train travel. ICC officials said that they had Boynton committed because he was "worrying them to death" in his promotion of

1008-522: The railroads. The enlarged process led to a major increase in ICC staff, and the valuations continued for almost 20 years. The valuation process turned out to be of limited use in helping the ICC set rates fairly. In 1934, Congress transferred the telecommunications authority to the new Federal Communications Commission . In 1935, Congress passed the Motor Carrier Act, which extended ICC authority to regulate interstate bus lines and trucking as common carriers. The Transportation Act of 1920 directed

1044-406: The railroads. It satisfies the popular clamor for a government supervision of the railroads, while at the same time that supervision is almost entirely nominal. Following the passage of the 1887 act, the ICC proceeded to set maximum shipping rates for railroads. However, in the late 1890s, several railroads challenged the agency's ratemaking authority in litigation , and the courts severely limited

1080-639: The sixteen cases over which it presided. Congress passed a minor amendment to the Act in 1903, the Elkins Act . Major amendments were enacted in 1906 and 1910. The Hepburn Act of 1906 authorized the ICC to set maximum railroad rates, and extended the agency's authority to cover bridges, terminals, ferries, sleeping cars, express companies and oil pipelines. The Mann-Elkins Act of 1910 strengthened ICC authority over railroad rates and expanded its jurisdiction to include regulation of telephone, telegraph, and cable companies. The Valuation Act of 1913 required

1116-593: The title Complete Plan of Consolidation . Numerous hearings were held by ICC regarding the plan under the topic "In the Matter of Consolidation of the Railways of the United States into a Limited Number of Systems". The proposed 21 regional railroads were as follows: There were 100 terminal railroads that were also proposed. Below is a sample: Many small railroads failed during the Great Depression of

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1152-482: The title Motor Carrier Act . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Motor_Carrier_Act&oldid=572075889 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Motor Carrier Act of 1935 With

1188-410: The trucking industry. The Motor Carrier Act of 1980 deregulated the trucking industry. Congress abolished the ICC in 1995 ( see Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act ) and many of its remaining functions were transferred to a new agency, the Surface Transportation Board . Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission ( ICC ) was a regulatory agency in

1224-528: The value of railroad securities, a factor in causing the panic of 1907 . Some economists and historians, such as Milton Friedman assert that existing railroad interests took advantage of ICC regulations to strengthen their control of the industry and prevent competition, constituting regulatory capture . Economist David D. Friedman argues that the ICC always served the railroads as a cartelizing agent and used its authority over other forms of transportation to prevent them, where possible, from undercutting

1260-549: Was established by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, which was signed into law by President Grover Cleveland . The creation of the commission was the result of widespread and longstanding anti-railroad agitation. Western farmers, specifically those of the Grange Movement , were the dominant force behind the unrest, but Westerners generally — especially those in rural areas — believed that the railroads possessed economic power that they systematically abused. A central issue

1296-439: Was rate discrimination between similarly situated customers and communities. Other potent issues included alleged attempts by railroads to obtain influence over city and state governments and the widespread practice of granting free transportation in the form of yearly passes to opinion leaders (elected officials, newspaper editors, ministers, and so on) so as to dampen any opposition to railroad practices. Various sections of

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