News

Arlington, VA — Today, American Trucking Associations applauded the introduction of the DRIVE Safe Act in both the U.S. House and Senate by a group of bipartisan legislators. The legislation addresses the economy’s growing shortage of professional truck drivers by expanding job opportunities for younger members of the trucking workforce, while also strengthening safety training […]

After decades of helping Maine students achieve their educational and training goals, the MMTA is pleased to announce exciting changes to the John W. Austin Memorial Scholarship Fund starting with this year’s applicants. In the past, scholarships have generally been for $1,000 for graduating high school seniors seeking higher education, including technical training, in areas […]

FMCSA announced that they have extended the Emergency Declaration that was set to expire on February 28th. This extension includes the same regulatory relief for motor carriers and drivers providing direct assistance in support of relief efforts related to COVID-19, as included in the December 1st declaration. This expanded declaration is limited to the transportation […]

Today, the Taxation Committee discussed the Governor’s recent proposal regarding tax conformity for companies receiving PPP loans.  In a nutshell, Governor Mills is proposing full tax conformity for businesses that received under $1,000,000 in PPP loans. Additionally, those businesses that received over $1,000,000 would get full conformity on the first $1,000,000 and then the remaining […]

As the prospects of an increase in the availability of the COVID vaccine improve, we know that MMTA members are preparing for the eventuality that trucking’s workforce will be eligible to receive the vaccine. In response, we hosted a webinar to answer a lot of the questions our member have had such as: Can employers […]

Maine Motor Transport Association has received numerous calls from members regarding the new Earned Paid Leave (EPL) law that became effective on January 1, 2021 specific to their trucking operations. It is important to note that the new law does not impact employers with 10 or fewer employees or those with a collective bargaining agreement […]

FMCSA has issued an extension of the waiver for CDL’s and CLP’s that became effective 1/1/2021 and is set to expire on 2/28/2021. This waiver is outlined in the blue text below. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), however, did not renew the exemption for waiver of the Security Threat Assessment (STA) which is required in […]

Augusta, ME — The Board of Directors of the Maine Jobs Council is pleased to announce that Ben Lucas will serve as the first Executive Director for the newly created membership-based association. Mr. Lucas assumed his new duties on December 21st. “The Maine Jobs Council is extremely pleased to announce the hiring of its first […]

FROM ATA Dear ATA Member: Moments ago, FMCSA posted on their website another extension of the CDL/CLP/Medical Certificates waiver that was set to expire on December 31st. FMCSA has cited that the extension was needed due to the potential backlogs that exist at some State Driver’s License Agencies (SDLA) across the country. In addition, the […]