AG Brnovich Urges Feds To Exempt Livestock Hobbyists From Electronic Tracking Requirement

PHOENIX - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced today he filed a formal comment with the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) asking for an exemption to the federal Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate that would otherwise cover citizens who use their personal vehicles for transporting livestock to 4-H, rodeos, and other sporting events.

The ELD mandate requires the installation of hardware in vehicles that automatically tracks driving activity, including location. The mandate is primarily intended to further regulate the driving conduct of the commercial trucking industry, however, citizens who transport their animals to 4-H events, rodeos, and other sporting events using their personal vehicles are currently subject to the requirement. As applied to these citizens, the mandate is costly, burdensome, and poses privacy concerns.

“Taking part in rodeos, 4-H programs, and other competitive aspects of our western lifestyle should not subject a citizen to endless government regulation or force them to purchase expensive monitoring devices,” said Attorney General Brnovich. “The federal government has an opportunity to exempt citizens and hobbyists who use livestock haulers to compete in traditional sporting competitions and showcase events from this burdensome requirement. I urge our federal partners to do right by the everyday citizens of Arizona, and the rest of our country who will otherwise be subjected to unnecessary and expensive government monitoring.”

Attorney General Brnovich emphasized the importance of protecting citizens’ privacy interests and ensuring that regulations are sufficiently narrow in scope to prevent unnecessary burdens. The FMCSA comment filed by Brnovich follows those themes and addresses the concerns of citizens with livestock-focused hobbies who, absent an exemption, would be wrongly treated by the same standards as professional truckers.

For a copy of the comment.