Dear Mayor:

On Monday the United States Supreme Court refused to hear the State’s appeal of the prior federal court ruling 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 appeal in this case.

In 1999, in response to efforts spearheaded by Lambertville Mayor David DelVecchio, who chairs the League’s Heavy Truck Task Force, the New Jersey Department of Transportation enacted regulations that prohibited 102” wide trucks and double tractor-trailer combinations from using New Jersey’s secondary and rural roads unless they had an origin or destination in New Jersey.  The trucking industry challenged the regulations in federal court, arguing that they discriminated against out -of-state truckers and represented an unconstitutional interference with the free movement of goods across state lines.  The federal courts agreed and struck down the regulations.

As a result of Monday’s decision, the holdings of the Third Circuit court of Appeals and the Federal District Court of New Jersey striking down the regulations will stand.  Since the Third Circuit struck down the regulations, however, the NJ DOT has been working closely with the League’s Heavy Truck Task Force and other stakeholders to develop new restrictions that will continue to protect New Jersey’s residents without infringing on the Constitution. We are very disappointed n this ruling, but it was not unexpected.  The league Heavy Truck task Force is continuing to work with the DOT and other interested parties on the proposed regulations, which the DOT hopes to issue within the next 45 days for public comment.