I knew what Iowa required, but I was shocked to learn what was being required nationwide. Regulations are drafted with apparently little thought as to what the requirements will do for an already paperburdened industry.

State agencies, for the most part, are staffed with people who have had no business experience in the trucking industry and no empathy for the people they regulate. Time and time again I hear the trucker remark about the State agencies controlling his destiny-"Nobody knows and nobody cares."

The Interstate Commerce Commission has said, in effect, that it is not concerned with the carrier hauling exempt commodities. The Federal Government does not require the trucker hauling unprocessed agricultural products to file for authority. Of course, the Federal Government is still concerned with safety regulations, logs, and the 101 things the DOT and the ICC ride herd on.

The Federal Government might not care about exempt commodities that they are being transported interstate, but that does not hold true for the individual States.

Let us assume that we represent a resident of Nebraska or a resident of Missouri, a man who owns two tractor-trailer combinations and who wants to operate legally in every State hauling grain, produce, and then trip leasing in order to haul regulated commodities.

Just in order to get his authority to transport exempt commodities, he must file for authority in 34 States, and he completes 107 forms. This is a packet of forms that he has to complete in order to get started to get his authority to haul exempt commodities. He pays filling fees ranging from $10 to $50 and stamp fees ranging from 45 cents to $25. After the State receives the completed application and collected the fees, then the insurance company must file proof of insurance on the stipulated form. And then you have the problem of having an insurance company the State will honor.

Kansas, for example, does not honor Farm Bureau Insurance or Lloyds of London Insurance. Finally, the Nebraska carrier and the Missouri carrier gets his stamps which he affixes to the back of his D-1 card, commonly known in the industry as a bingo card.

Now, all this rigmarole has the blessing of the Federal Government by virtue of Public Law 89-170. But there is little, if any, policing of NARUC, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, to make certain that the principles and the purposes and spirit of Public Law are being followed. Each year our friends must purchase new stamps to put on his bingo card which, incidentally, he can purchase only from NARUC for 30 cents. If during the year he purchases additional equipment, he must apply for more stamps. If he dares to operate that new rig before he gets the stamps, here in Iowa it's an automatic $100 fine plus court costs.

Well, he now has all his stamps, but he still isn't in business. Most of the States will require that he get a fuel permit since his equipment uses diesel fuel. Most of the states won't trust him to file his reports, so he must post bonds.

These bonds are a costly item of operating expense. If he can afford it and has the money all together at one time, he can get a 3-year bond for $50. That is $50 per bond.

But if he doesn't, he must get an annual bond and pay $20 per bond. Just to apply for his fuel permits requires the completion of 47 pieces of paper. These are all the forms he has to complete in order to get his fuel permits plus all his bonds.

Then when he gets his fuel permits, he receives reams of instructions on how he is going to have to file his monthly or his quarterly or in a few instances, an annual fuel report. Stiff penalties are imposed for late filings.

Idaho, for example, assesses a $100 penalty if the man is late in filing his fuel report. You know, everyone but the State administrators know that the mails are uncertain, but no State administrator will ever accept the trucker's story that he didn't receive his report in time to file it. The penalty is assessed. There is no chance for explanation. So our friend now has his authority and he has his fuel permits. He has completed a bundle of papers. He still isn't in business because he is a resident in a State that's a member of the international registration plan and also a member of the Uniform Proration and Reciprocity Agreement.

"So this means that he must be paying part of his registration fees to his home State of Nebraska or Missouri, as the case might be. Then in addition, he must pay proration registration fees to all the other States who are parties to a proration agreement with his home State.

In this instance, there will be 25 other jurisdictions involved. This requires the completion of 44 additional forms, some of them with information on both sides. So this carrier all totaled has completed 198 forms just to get legal.

He hasn't even turned the wheel yet. One hundred ninety-eight forms just to get started. Then at the end of the year in such States as Kansas, they send out what they call a rendition. It's a high sounding word for a report that you're going to complete and then be assessed an additional property tax.

Arkansas has a comparable form. Texas has one where you not only furnish your complete financial statement again, but you must furnish a breakdown of all the miles you travel in Texas during the taxable year showing the miles traveled in each county in Texas. I wonder how many truckers carry a Texas map along with them and know the town in which they are traveling.

I think we could even find some people in the United States who are not even sure of what county they live in let alone know what counties they are driving in.

No, I don't think there is any other industry that has as many stumbling blocks put in its way, no industry that is more regulated than the trucking industry.

You know, they say that everything has a point of no return. And someday, someplace, we are going to have just that thing that is going to be the straw that broke the camel's back. We are going to have a fine industry not only of the independents but of the regulated carriers. We are going down the drain because you can only take so muchevery administrator who adds just one more report, just one more dollar thinking this won't matter.

South Dakota next year has doubled its fees on its stamps from $2 to $4. That's not much, but what if every State does that. They have increased their title fee from $1 to $2.

We have an industry that can't stand the continual doubling and redoubling of fees and reports. I have been a State administrator. I have been on both sides. I honestly feel that the truckers for the most part want to operate legally. They want to do what is right.

But I think that we are coming to the point where an administrator when they see a truck going down the road, all they are seeing are dollar signs. We have got to look upon the trucking industry as putting the wheels under our industry, and we shall recognize the worth of a really fine people who are out there trying to be business people. So it is my sincere hope now when they say nobody knows and nobody cares, that after these hearings, that the people here at least will go home with the feeling Congress knows and Congress cares. [Ms. Fitzgerald's prepared statement follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JOY B. FITZGERALD, NATIONAL SECRETARY,
INDEPENDENT TRUCKERS ASSOCIATION

I am Joy Fitzgerald, and my home address is Collins, Iowa. I am an attorney and for thirteen years served as Executive Secretary of the Iowa Reciprocity Board. I resigned in July, 1971 to start my own business as a license consultant. Our firm is identified as Joy B. Fitzgerald, Inc. located at Altoona, Iowa. I am also national secretary of the Independent Truckers Association and during this past year I was also secretary of the Iowa Division of the Independent Truckers Association. I am speaking today for thousands of men and women who ask nothing more than the opportunity to be independent businessmen. These people do not have the funds for making propaganda films or lobbying. All they can do is write letters to their Congressmen, relying upon the integrity of Congress to listen to all sides. While working for the State I became aware how badly these people-the non-regulated truckers-needed help to understand and comply with the ever growing maze of regulations being imposed by the State agencies. I knew what Iowa required, but I was shocked to learn what was being required nationwide.

Regulations are drafted with apparently little thought as to what the requirements will do for an already paper burdened industry. State agencies are staffed with people who have had no business experience in the trucking industry and no empathy for the people they regulate. Time and time again I hear the trucker remark about the state agencies controlling his destiny-"Nobody knows and nobody cares."

The Interstate Commerce Commission has said, in effect, that it is not concerned with the carrier hauling exempt commodities-Uncle Sam doesn't require the trucker hauling unprocessed agricultural products to file for authority. Of course Uncle Sam is still concerned with safety regulations, logs, and the one hundred and one things the Department of Transportation rides herd on. The federal government might not care when exempt commodities are being transported interstate, but this does not hold true for the individual States. Let us assume that we represent a resident of Nebraska-a man who owns two tractor-trailer combinations and who wants to operate legally in every state, hauling grain, produce-anything he can legally haul with trip leasing in order to haul regulated commodities. He must file for operating authority in thirtyfour states, completing one hundred and seven forms. He pays filing fees ranging from ten dollars to fifty dollars and stamp fees ranging from forty-five cents to twenty-five dollars.

After the state has received the properly completed forms and collected the fees for issuance of the stamps, authority is granted-provided the insurance company has filed proof of insurance on a stipulated form-and provided the insurance company is one the state will recognize. Kansas, for example, does not honor Farm Bureau insurance. Finally the Nebraska carrier gets his stamps which he affixes to the back of his D-1 card, referred to in the industry as a Bingo Card. This rigamarole has the blessing of the federal government by virtue of Public Law 89-170. But there is little, if any policing of NARUC, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners to make certain that the principles, purpose, and spirit of Public Law 89-170 are being explicitly followed.

Each year our Nebraska friends must purchase new stamps to put on his new bingo card which, incidentally, he can purchase only from NARUC. If during the year he purchases additional equipment, he must apply for more stamps and, of course, pay for them. He now has all his stamps, but he still isn't in business. Most of the states will require that he get a fuel permit since his equipment uses diesel fuel. Most of these states will not trust him to file his reports, so he must post bonds. These bonds are a costly item of operating expense. If he can afford it, he can get a three year bond for fifty dollars; that is, fifty dollars for each state requiring a bond. Some of the operators can afford only annual bonds, and these cost on the average of twenty dollars per bond. To apply for his fuel permits requires the completion of forty-seven pieces of paper. With his permits he receives reams of instructions on how, when, and where he must file his reports. Some are filed monthly-some are filed quarterly. Stiff penalties are imposed for late filings. Idaho, for example, assesses a one hundred dollar penalty. Everyone but state administrators know that the mails are uncertain, but no state administrator will ever accept the truckers story that he didn't receive his report forms until after the deadline for filing.

Our Nebraska friend now has is authority and fuel permits, but he still isn't legal. Nebraska is a member of the International Registration Plan, and it is also a member of the Uniform Proration and Reciprocity Agreement. Simply speaking this means that he must file applications for prorate registrations, paying each of the States involved a portion of the registration fee based on the percent of miles travelled during the base period. If this sounds confusing, you are right-it is confusing. Unless the trucker knows the weight limits, tolerances, and fee structure of each of the states, he can pay out money he legally wouldn't have to do but no one at the state level ever calls this to his attention. The IRP states with whom he will prorate registrations include his own home state of Nebraska plus Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Mississippi, and Wyoming. in audition ne will p.orate with Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Washington. To accomplish all this requires the completion of fourty-four forms-some of them with information on both sides of the form. 198 forms just to get legal.

As Gomer Pyle says "Surprise, Surprise. At the end of the year you get what Kansas Corporation Commission calls a "rendition". This is a report used by the Kansas Department of Revenue as the basis for assessment and taxation of overthe-road motor vehicles and rolling equipment owned, operated, leased or used by the holder of authority. Failure to file by the deadline date results in a fifty per cent penalty. The carrier must provide detailed information on the equipment used in Kansas during the tax year. All tractors of the same make must be listed together; and within each make, all tractors of the same model number must be listed together. Within each model number, all tractors of the same year must be listed together. If you wrecked a tractor on or before January 1, 1976, didn't repair it by January 1st, 1976 and you still owned or leased it as of that date, you were required to attach a notarized affidavit stating the make, model, year, serial number, the date of the wreck, and appraiser's estimate of the retail market value of the tractor as of January 1, 1976. The appraiser's name, address, and telephone number must be furnished. The carrier must furnish the following information for each trailer used in Kansas during the tax year: type, length, number of rear axles, year, make, serial number, bed or body material, month and year acquired, purchase price, and estimated 100% retail market value. If a grain trailer, is it hopper or floor? If a livestock trailer, list total number of levels including floor. If a reefer, is it diesel, gas or other? If freight-is it dry, open top, furniture, electronic, insulated, or reefer. If flat-is it platform, float, drop frame, low boy, etc. If a tank, is it general purpose, acid, insulated, milk, pressure, or dry bulk. It makes one wonder why anyone would want to travel in the Sunflower State.

Kansas isn't alone in these annual report requirements. Texas and Arkansas have comparable requirements; however, Texas also requires the carrier to furnish a mileage breakdown by county. How many truckers know the names of the counties in which he travels in Texas? I know some people who don't even know the name of the county in which they reside. Perhaps you are wondering why these states require such lengthy reports. Is it because they are concerned with the safety of the equipment used on their highways. No. The assessors review the reports to determine whether the truckers now owe property taxes. No other industry has so many stumbling blocks put in its way. Everything has its

point of no return, and some place, some time there must be an end to these burdens on interstate commerce.

Perhaps to the individual legislator or administrator, an additional dollar doesn't mean much-that additional report won't take much time to complete. However, when state agencies in several states add on a dollar or two and add another report or two, this can become a burden to the trucker who is finding his operational costs climbing daily. The trucking industry can be the whipping boy only so long before going under.

As a former state administrator I try to view these problems objectively. I realize that the states too have their side of the story; however, I also know that too many administrators look upon trucks as a means of collecting revenue. It is my sincere hope that through these hearings the truckers will become aware that Congress knows and Congress cares.

Ms. FITZGERALD. Now, we have several here today I'd like to have you meet and would like to visit with you. Don Freymiller from Shullsburg, Wis.

Mr. HUNGATE. Glad to have you, Don. Also without object your written statement will be made part of the record. Do you have a written statement, Mr. Freymiller?

Mr. FREYMILLER. Yes. I mailed it.

Mr. HUNGATE. Without objection it will be made part of the record. There are 6 minutes remaining in the panel. You may proceed as you see fit, sir.

Mr. FREYMILLER. My name is Don Freymiller. My address is Shullsburg, Wis. I own Freymiller Trucking, Inc., and have been in this business for these past 6 years. Presently, I am running 33 tractor-trailer refrigerated units. Six of these I have under permanent lease to a regulated carrier, and I am running the 27 on my own.

Our primary haul consists of transporting meat, a regulated commodity, from Midwest packing companies to the west coast and returning loaded with produce, an exempt commodity, from the west coast to Midwestern distributors. Therefore, we are a "for-hire carrier of exempt commodities" who trip lease to regulated carriers.

I personally have explored the possibility of obtaining authority to haul regulated commodities on my own. What I discovered was a very large, very solid brick wall carefully disguised and decorated by a governmental, bureaucratic supported monopoly which hides under the pretext of consumer protection. What such a pretext as this actually results in is not a valuable guarantee of quality and service, of which we would all strongly approve, but rather an unnecessary additional increase in the cost of the product.

Before I continue on the subject of money matters, let me explain that I was advised that I would be opposed from every side by other carriers who could supply the same efficient service, which is another point.

Regulated carriers are granted authority to guarantee an efficient, reliable service to their customers. In the case of the regulated carrier that I am leased to, this particular carrier could not move one single canned ham much less 40,000 pounds of that same product without me or other independent truckers, unregulated carriers, like me because they do not own a truck or a trailer. This regulated carrier does not have the means or the equipment to provide service to the shippers we are serving.

You see, I am the man who will go broke in the event one of my trucks has an accident and loses the load; in the event a refrigerated