Express Permits LLC

New Fed Regs. CDL Downgrades Nov 18, 2024

Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse An online database that gives employers and government agencies real-time access to information about CDL driver drug and alcohol program violations.

Counties posting weight limits as of Jan 29 4pm....

Ashland - noon 29th
Douglas - noon 29th
Bayfield - 830 am 29th

Price - nothing posted on their website yet - if you need permits to get to Biewers please contact our office, we need plate #'s and color of truck.

Delta County MI - 7am 31st.

MI - the blue counties are going on soon this week for county & local roads, not state roads yet.

MI raw forest permit holders - this is how the wording is listed when the state weight limits go on

"Permit valid during spring weight restrictions only if hauling a tridem configuration at permitted axle weights on the routes specified in the permit. " pg 2 of permit.....

translated - no truck/pup configurations allowed during posted weights -

New rules for your LLC for 2024!

There is a new requirement starting 1-1-24 for LLC owners. The LLC owner's information needs to be reported to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network website (FinCEN). Why is this necessary? Its part of the Corporate Transparency Act - which has to do with money laundering, and is to "protect national interests and better enable the government's efforts to counter those illegal acts".

This is a one time report unless you have an address change or other significant change to your LLC.

This has to been done for your LLC by 1-1-25.

Our office can take care of this reporting for you. I should have the information needed to do this in my records, but if not, we can get the missing information from you.

Please watch for an email/mailing from our office about this. We will start going thru our customer list this month and be in contact with everyone to ensure its done in 2024. There are fines/penalties listed if its not done by 1-1-25.

As a double check, when we contact you about filing your LLC annual report, we will ask you if you have done this, and if we haven't done to that point, we can take care of both at the same time.

There is no cost to file this with the (FinCen) site. There will be a fee for us to take care of it on your behalf tho. If you attempt to do it on your own, please make sure you are on the correct website.

Any question, please contact our office. 715-965-3054. Thank you.

BEWARE - All the fraud/scams out there.

Due to the high level of fraud, the "feds" (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) are implementing more checks and balances.

I just want to re-iterate that the feds will NEVER call/text/email you. They will NEVER ask for a credit card either. They will never identify themselves as the DOT either.

One of the new checks and balances is that IF requested we need to submit your drivers license to them if we do any sort of changes. Its not an automatic and the feds are not keeping them 'on file'.

I see one of the new scams is an email requesting you to send your drivers license via a link to a website. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not ever do that.

If you ever receive communications that you are unsure of, please contact my office and we can help decipher if its spam or not.

this is an example of one of the spam messages I rec'd in my email this am.

Hello Everyone ;-)

A couple housekeeping items that I want to go over.

1- If you are a current customer, we will contact you for your MCS-150 update when its due. There is always so much spam in the form of text messages, phone calls, and emails that I understand its hard to determine if its legit or not. The only legit communication will come from Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in the postal mail.

The only call you would ever get from the feds would be for an audit.

The FMCSA will NEVER ask for a credit card either.

The spam that comes in the postal mail will have in the fine print at the bottom of the letter "this outfit is 'NOT AFFILIATED' with FMCSA or DOT.

2 - UCR - this is a fee to go out of state only. If you don't leave the state, its a 90% chance you don't need to pay it. The rules technically state that if your load is crossing the state lines eventually, its supposed to be paid. However you might not know where your load is going once you deliver it.

For current IFTA customers we will renew UCR when we do your Q3 IFTA in October. We will also renew your IFTA.

As always, please contact Beth if you have any questions. 715-965-3054

MI IFTA RECIPROCITY FOR RAW FOREST HAULERS - finally announced!

please see note from the state below- this 30 mile zone is only available for raw forest product haulers.

The translation - as of Nov 15th you don't have to keep track of your fuel & miles anymore going forward. HOWEVER, we still need to file your Q4 return for the Oct 1-Nov 15th miles/gal you drove/purchased.

Of course, if you have that information already done, you can send it over to us and we will file it right away when the site opens 1-1-23.

What hasn't changed? You still need to be an interstate carrier to cross state lines, and you still must pay UCR, or they will give you a ticket for not having it paid.

any questions please let me know

UCR 2023 - fees can start being collected as of Oct 1, 2022. If we do your IFTA filing, we will be renewing the UCR when we file Q3 IFTA.

Lots of spam out there right now about UCR and that its due. Its just an attempt to get money from you and charge you crazy fees! The due date for UCR for 2023 is Jan 1, 2023.

Any questions please contact Express Permits LLC.

What is UCR and what are the fees going to be for 2023? See info below..... I charge $25 to file it in addition to the official fee below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FMCSA DECREASES UCR FEES FOR 2023
(article from TOPMARK FUNDING Business, Commercial Trucking, FMCSA, Regulations )

In a period of excessive inflation, this news is sure to bring a smile to any fleet owner’s face.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced via the Federal Register that it would reduce the United Carrier Registration fees by an average of 31% for 2023 and beyond.

DETAILS
The price cuts are as follows:

0-2 vehicles: $59 to $41 (-30.5%).
3-5: $176 to $121 (-31.25%).
6-20: $351 to $242 (-31.1%).
21-100: $1,224 to $844 (-31%).
101-1,000: $5,835 to $4,024 (-31%).

The move is a direct result of the UCR program collecting too much money in registration fees years prior. Not only is the amount being reduced to fit within established guidelines, the FMCSA is applying the surplus to reduce the amount spent for the next few years, until the well dries up.

While everybody enjoys paying less in taxes and fees, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) says that the change is not enough relief for the hardworking drivers of the United States workforce.

“FMCSA’s response continues to show that the Unified Carrier Registration program serves only as a bureaucratic slush fund,” said Jay Grimes, OOIDA’s director of federal affairs. “Although the notice marginally reduces the fees initially proposed in January, an appropriately administered UCR plan would have established lower UCR fees upon small-business truckers for the past several years. OOIDA maintains that the UCR should be eliminated based on its inequitable fee structure and lack of transparency in administering funds, not to mention the excessive, indulgent spending practices.”

CONCLUSION
There is currently no stated duration for how long the fee cuts are going to last, but presumably based on everything we know, it will be longer than two years and the increase will be smaller than the decrease we see here, returning to the maximum allowable amount the UCR is allowed to collect under regulations. Considering that this reduction is taking place during a time where fuel, trucks, and trailer prices are still abnormally high, we will gladly take it!

Always great working with these guys!

Spring Thaw and Class II road restrictions for Zones 3, 4 and 5 end Monday, April 25, 2022 at 12:01 a.m. The restrictions remain in place for northern Wisconsin Zones 1 and 2 until meltwater drains sufficiently.

Class II roads include about 1,400 miles of state highways susceptible to damage from heavy trucks during the spring thaw period as frost leaves the ground. More: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/about-wisdot/newsroom/news-rel/42122thaw.aspx

MI IFTA Update -

some misinformation is going around and I want to address it.

MI is working on a reciprocity agreement with WI for IFTA. It has passed the MI legislature,

HOWEVER

there has NOT been an effective date announced and a plan to discontinue filing IFTA.

You must continue to file your IFTA until Madison has an effective date/announcement.

I know that GLTPA magazine has published the updates, but that doesn't mean you can stop until Madison has addressed the change. As of 2 weeks ago, Madison hadn't even heard about this rule change.

any questions please let me know.

MI raw forest updates - during spring thaw - the MI 98,000 permit is NOT valid for truck/pup configurations. However the 98,000 permit IS valid for the tractor/trailer closed tri setups.

The trucks/pups can still go to MI - however it has to be legal axle weights - which for a truck/pup with the tag axle less than 9 ft ahead of the drives, the legal weight is 93,000.

MI state roads/US highways will have this weight - if you are on secondary roads/local, its highly likely that those roads will have reduced weights.

Wakefield is not included in the 98,000 raw forest permit, so to go there you have to be legal axle weights without the permit - there are various different setups, if you want to know your legal weight please contact me.

Lincoln County Announces Spring Weight Limits in Effect Tuesday

Update:The town of Bradley announced that their weight limits will also go into effect on Tuesday, March 15 at noon.
___

With an extended stretch of mild conditions next week, local road crews are beginning to announce the spring weight limits will be put in place in the coming days.

While some municipalities may offer an emergency exemption, residents are encouraged to take care of any overweight loads before these restrictions go into place.

The seasonal weight limits are temporary restrictions, generally put on local roads by townships and counties as the frost leaves the ground. This helps maintain the road integrity.

Yesterday we heard from the Lincoln County Highway Department. The County limits will go into effect starting Tuesday at noon. There are a number of exemptions, which we'll include in the online version of the story.

Tuesday, March 15, 2022 at 12 noon. Roads may be posted sooner if conditions warrant.

(NO POSTINGS)
A – FROM THE NORTH CITY LIMITS OF TOMAHAWK TO USH 8
A – FROM USH 51 WEST
E – STH 86 TO CTH O
G – WEST OF STH 17
H – FROM CTH K TO COPPER LAKE ROAD
K – ALL
L – ALL
N – FROM CTH L – TO RAILROAD TRACKS
Q – ALL
R – ALL
S – FROM USH 51 NORTH TO STH 86
U – ALL
Y – US 8 TO RAILROAD TRACKS
W – ALL

(8 TON MAXIMUM) (6 TONS/AXLE)
E – CTH E FROM THE INTERSECTIONS OF BURMA ROAD THROUGH THE GRAVEL PORTION

(18 TON MAXIMUM) (6 TONS/AXLE)

A – USH 51 TO STH 17
B – STH 17 TO CTH D
C – ALL
CC – TANNERY ROAD TO USH 8
CCC – ALL
D – USH 51 EAST TO STH 17
E – M & E INTERSECTION TO STH 64
E – CTH O TO CTH E & 107 BRIDGE INTERSECTION
FF – ALL
G – EAST OF STH 17
H – COPPER LAKE ROAD TO CTH A
J – ALL
MM – ALL
M – ALL
N – RAILROAD TRACKS TO COUNTY LINE
O – ALL
P – ALL
JJ – TAYLOR STREET NORTH TO CTH J
S – USH 51 EAST TO CTH H
T – ALL
V – ALL
WW – ALL
X – FROM THE SOUTH COUNTY LINE TO STH 17
Y – RAILROAD TRACKS TO COUNTY LINE
YY - ALL
Z – ALL

Seasonal weight restrictions will be extended to all state roads (I, M and US routes) not built to all-season standards in the Lower Peninsula effective 7 a.m. Monday, March 14.

More details: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDOT/bulletins/30e3fb6

Taylor & Price county weight limits

Spring is coming......

Effective 6 a.m. Friday, March 4, seasonal weight restrictions will be imposed and enforced on all state trunkline highways from the Michigan/Indiana and Michigan/Ohio state lines north to and including M-46 in Muskegon County at the US-31 interchange in Muskegon, east to US-131, north to M-46, then continuing east on M-46 to Port Sanilac, ending at the M-25 intersection. State routes typically carry M, I, or US designations.

All state trunklines in this area will have weight restrictions imposed and enforced. State routes typically carry M, I, or US designations.

More info: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MIDOT/bulletins/30c23a3

Good News for the wood haulers to MI!

Heavy Vehicle Use Tax Alert !!

if you renew your WI license plates for 1-1-22, please know that you need to send in the copy of the 2290/HVUT with the renewal.

If you didn't file the 2290 when it was due in August - you are running out of time to get it filed.

The IRS shuts down their system around Christmas and it doesn't come back online till mid January - I don't know which day it will go inactive, so getting it done the sooner the better.

Any questions, please let me know! 715-965-3054

Travel alert! Iowa oversize

2022 Drug Consortium Info

Its come to my attention that Mayo is discontinuing their consortium for 2022. If you were part of that consortium and need a new one, did you know Express Permits LLC offers that service?

We also help with the clearinghouse setup in the event you aren't setup or need help running your annual queries!

Contact Beth today! 715-965-3054

Thank you to all my great customers!!

interesting article regarding CBD & drug testing -

It’s a whole new era when it comes to Ma*****na and Cannabidiol (CBD)—particularly as these substances pertain to the trucking industry.
Since the Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse went live in January 2020, positive drug tests have accounted for 81% of total reported violations. And ma*****na has by far been the top drug detected, accounting for more than half of all drug tests filed in the Clearinghouse to date.
DOT Clearinghouse fines have doubled in 2021. Are you at risk?
More and more states continue to legalize Ma*****na and CBD for medicinal and recreational uses. However, these substances are not yet regulated by the FDA. So, despite what CBD producers, proponents, and labels may claim, use of CBDs could potentially lead to positive ma*****na drug tests.
Therefore, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) cautions employees who perform safety-sensitive functions—including CDL drivers—when using CBD products. Here’s what drivers need to know about their uses and dangers.
CBD and Ma*****na: The Basics
While the DOT requires testing for ma*****na, it does not yet require testing for CBD products (such as oils, tinctures, and drops).
This is due in large part to the federal government’s removal of h**p from the definition of ma*****na, and its declaration that h**p-derived products with a concentration of up to 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (TCH)—the psychoactive component of the ma*****na plant—are not controlled substances. Any products, including CBD, with a concentration higher than 0.3% remain classified as ma*****na, a Schedule 1 drug.
But as ma*****na and its derivative components continue to become legalized across the country and touted for their medical benefits—such as relieving anxiety, lessening depression, alleviating pain, migraines, and other ailments—a rash of products have emerged on the market.
The inherent issue with this: CBD product labels can be misleading, and may contain higher levels of THC than they claim, according to the DOT. The FDA does not certify THC levels in CBD products, so there is no federal oversight to ensure that labels are accurate and actually contain the amount of THC they claim.
The FDA has warned consumers to be aware when purchasing CBD products, adding that:
It is illegal to market CBD by adding it to food or labeling it as a dietary supplement. Several warning letters have been issued to companies because their products contained more CBD than indicated on product labels.
Per DOT Drug and Alcohol testing regulations, the use of Schedule 1 drugs, including ma*****na, are not authorized for any reason. Furthermore:

CBD use is not a legitimate medical explanation for laboratory-confirmed positive ma*****na results. Medical Review Officers will verify drug tests confirmed at appropriate cutoffs as positive, even if an employee claims to have only used CBDs.
How Drivers—and Carriers—Can Protect Themselves
Since the use of CBD products can lead to positive drug test results, DOT-regulated CDL drivers must be cautious when using them or considering whether to use them, the agency warns.
The ramifications for testing positive can be significant for both drivers and carriers. Drivers with drug and alcohol violations recorded in the Clearinghouse must be removed from safety-sensitive functions, including operating a commercial motor vehicle, until they complete the return-to-duty process.
As of September 1:
87,438 drivers had at least one violation. 69,937 CDL holders were in prohibited status. 52,691 had not yet started the return-to-duty process.
To protect your drivers, your fleet, and your business, is essential to be vigilant about your drivers’ ability to safely operate a commercial motor vehicle. Many drivers may not be aware of the risks of CBD, so be sure to educate yourself and them. Through the Clearinghouse, the DOT is cracking down on CBD use, and the implications of any positive drug tests can be costly.
Don’t be caught off guard. Foley’s DOT Compliant Drug and Alcohol Testing and Clearinghouse Services can help—because your chief concerns as a carrier are safety and compliance. Contact us today!
About the Author
Lindsey Bergeron is Editor of the Foley blog. Serving as transportation guru, she keeps an eye on the industry and its day-to-day evolution and developments, specifically writing about the various lifestyle, business and regulatory topics that are most relevant to motor carriers. Holding a degree in Journalism and Political Science from the University of Connecticut, she ran a successful content marketing firm before joining Foley at its Hartford hub. Her current expertise in transportation writing is built upon an extensive background in editing, feature writing and content development.

WI-MI

US-41 in Marinette, Wisconsin will be closed for railway maintenance from Hattie St to the Menomonie River on Monday, August 9th at 6:00 a.m. through Friday August 13th at 6:00 p.m.



Detour route to enter Michigan is: Hattie St – 26th St Bridge – 10th St (Michigan) US-41. The single trip permit carriers will need a local permit to travel the detour route.