Dear Mayor:

As we discussed in our letter to you of February 22, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled against the State of New Jersey in its appeal of the prior District Court decision in the case of American Trucking Association, et al. v. Whitman, et al. The League had intervened as amicus curiae, or Friend of the Court, to support the state's appeal in this case.

The State has moved to appeal this devastating ruling, and we have also called upon New Jersey's Congressional delegation to ask the federal government for the grant of power to the states to impose the necessary regulations on local roads. We are also looking seriously at legislation introduced by Senator Shirley Turner that seeks to limit the use of local roads by large trucks in a constitutionally non-discriminatory manner

In the interim, the New Jersey Department of Transportation has filed emergency regulations putting back in place the "pre-1999" truck routing rules in response to the court decision. These rules were filed on Friday, the 24th, and will appear in the March 20th NJ Register. A copy of the rules is available at the Department's website at http://nj.gov/transportation/. The public will have until April 19th to comment.

The League has been invited through its Heavy Truck Task Force to participate in discussion on these rules. To assist us, we encourage you to send copies of your comments to the Department, with copies to the League. We will keep you informed of any further developments on this important issue.

Should you have any questions or concerns about this communication, please contact Deborah M. Kole, Staff Attorney, at the League, ex. 37, or at dkole@njslom.com.