226.009. Out-of-service orders against motor carriers, actions of commission, notice, responsibilities of motor carriers--admissibility of orders--hearing and review of order, venue, procedure--review - Missouri Statutes

Out-of-service orders against motor carriers, actions of commission,notice, responsibilities of motor carriers--admissibility oforders--hearing and review of order, venue, procedure--review anddisclosure of information--update ofrecords--enforcement--liability.

226.009. 1. Whenever the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,the United States Department of Transportation, or the state highways andtransportation commission issues an out-of-service order against a motorcarrier, as those terms are defined in Section 390.5 of Title 49, Code ofFederal Regulations, as those regulations have been and periodically may beamended, the commission may immediately, without hearing, order thesuspension, revocation, cancellation, confiscation, or any of these, of everylicense, registration, certificate, permit, and other credential issued to themotor carrier by the commission's authority under section 226.008 and everymotor vehicle license plate issued under any provision of chapter 301, RSMo,which authorizes the operation of motor vehicles in intrastate or interstatecommerce by that motor carrier. This section is applicable to out-of-serviceorders placing a motor carrier's entire operation out of service, but does notapply to any out-of-service order placing an individual driver or individualvehicle out of service.

(1) The commission immediately shall serve notice of its order upon theaffected motor carrier, and upon the director of revenue, in the mannerauthorized by section 622.410, RSMo, or any other manner authorized by law forthe service of notice of the commission's orders. The notice or order shallstate a specific effective date for the commission's action or, in thecommission's discretion, that its action shall become effective immediatelyupon the service of the notice or order upon the motor carrier. The ordershall remain in force until ordered otherwise by the commission or by a courthaving proper jurisdiction.

(2) Whenever an order of the commission issued under subsection 1 ofthis section is in force, a motor carrier who is prohibited by the order fromoperating commercial motor vehicles shall not operate any commercial motorvehicles and shall not allow any employee, agent, lessor, or other personacting under the motor carrier's authority or control to operate anycommercial motor vehicles in intrastate or interstate commerce within thisstate. Upon receiving notice of the commission's order, the motor carrierimmediately shall surrender all license plates, motor carrier licenses,registrations, permits, and other credentials as directed by the commission'sorder. While the out-of-service order is in force, the commission anddepartment of revenue may dismiss or deny every application for the issuanceof any of these credentials issued by that respective agency to that motorcarrier.

(3) After the commission has issued an order under this section, theout-of-service motor carrier shall not be eligible to apply for the issuanceor reinstatement of and the commission or department of revenue shall notissue or reinstate any license plate, motor carrier license, registration,permit, certificate, or other credential issued by that respective agencydescribed in the commission's order, until the out-of-service order and anycommission orders issued under this subsection have been rescinded by theagency that issued these orders, or the orders have been set aside by a courthaving proper jurisdiction.

2. In any commission or court proceeding, a copy of any federal or stateorder described in subsection 1 of this section shall be admissible and shallconstitute prima facie evidence that the motor carrier violated Title 49, Codeof Federal Regulations, or that the motor carrier's operation of commercialmotor vehicles poses an imminent hazard to safety, or both, as stated in thatorder.

3. Any person who is aggrieved by an order of the highways andtransportation commission issued under this section, or by any out-of-serviceorder issued by commission enforcement personnel under section 390.201, RSMo,or subsection 3 of section 307.400, RSMo, may apply to the circuit court for ahearing and review of the order. Venue of such judicial review shall liewithin the county of the first classification with more than seventy-onethousand three hundred but fewer than seventy-one thousand four hundredinhabitants, or in the county where the out-of-service order was issued to themotor carrier. The right to a hearing and judicial review of the commission'sorders under this section shall be waived, unless an aggrieved person files apetition for review with the clerk of the circuit court in the proper venue,not later than thirty days following issuance of the order to be reviewed.Except as otherwise provided in this section, sections 622.430 to 622.450,RSMo, shall govern the judicial review of orders issued by the commission orits personnel as described in this section. In addition to any otherinterested parties, the commission shall have the right to appear in allhearing and review proceedings under this section, and may, in its discretion,defend any order or notice issued and any action taken by any public agency orofficer acting in good faith under the provisions of this section. Thissection shall not be construed as conferring any jurisdiction to review,amend, vacate, or set aside any orders issued by a federal agency or federalofficer.

4. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the highwaysand transportation commission may receive and disclose any data, information,or evidence relating to any out-of-service motor carrier as provided in thissection. Except as otherwise provided in this section, this data may include,but is not limited to, the identity and location of any persons known orreasonably believed to have leased motor vehicles with or without driver tothe out-of-service motor carrier, any persons known or reasonably believed tobe operating commercial motor vehicles under the authority or control of theout-of-service motor carrier, and any motor vehicles owned, operated by, orleased to the out-of-service motor carrier or those persons, including thevehicle identification numbers. The commission, in its discretion, maydisclose this data to the following entities, which are hereby authorized toreceive such data from, and to disclose such data to, the commission:

(1) The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and other relevantofficials of the United States Department of Transportation;

(2) The department of revenue;

(3) The Missouri state highway patrol, and any other peace officersauthorized to exercise police powers within the state;

(4) Similarly authorized law enforcement agencies of any other state, ofthe United States government, or of any foreign government having legalauthority to promote or enforce motor carrier safety;

(5) Any liability insurer or surety that provides, or has an interest inproviding, automobile liability insurance coverage for the out-of-servicemotor carrier, or for any person who leases, or proposes to lease, motorvehicles to be operated by or under the authority or control of theout-of-service motor carrier; and

(6) Attorneys representing a person identified in this subsection;except that the commission may disclose to such attorneys only data relatingto their client, their client's employer or employee, or their client's lessoror lessee with reference to a motor vehicle.

5. Upon receiving notice of any order issued by the highways andtransportation commission under subsection 1 of this section, together withany additional information reasonably required by the director of revenue, thedirector of revenue may immediately, without hearing, update the director'srecords to reflect the suspension, revocation, or cancellation of all motorvehicle license plates, registrations, and other credentials issued to theout-of-service motor carrier by the director of revenue. The director ofrevenue shall immediately notify the motor carrier, and the commission, of allactions taken pursuant to the commission's order. The motor carrier shallhave the right to seek judicial review of the commission's order, includingthe suspension, revocation, or cancellation of motor vehicle license platesand registrations under the commission's order, as provided in subsection 3 ofthis section. The motor carrier shall not be entitled to any separate appealor review of the director of revenue's notice of suspension, revocation, orcancellation of motor vehicle licenses or registrations, or any other actionstaken by the director of revenue under the commission's order.

6. The commission may authorize any of its personnel to enforce anyprovision of this section, or any out-of-service orders described in thissection, in the same manner provided by law for other orders of the commissionauthorized under section 226.008. The Missouri state highway patrol and otherpeace officers within this state may enforce the requirements of this sectionand of any orders issued under this section. If so authorized by thecommission's order under this section, in addition to any other remediesprovided by law, personnel of the state department of transportation and thestate highway patrol may confiscate any license plates, motor carrierlicenses, registrations, certificates, permits, and other credentials issuedto the motor carrier by the commission, the director of revenue, thedepartment of revenue, or all of these.

7. Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary, the stateof Missouri, the highways and transportation commission, the state highwaypatrol, and any peace officers or other public officers acting in good faithunder the authority of this section shall not be held liable or required topay any refund of any fees, taxes, assessments, penalties, fines, forfeitures,or other payments that may be charged to, received, or collected from theout-of-service motor carrier, or from persons whose motor vehicles are leasedto or operated under the control of that motor carrier, in relation to anylicense plate, motor carrier license, registration, permit, certificate, orother credential that is suspended, revoked, canceled, or confiscated underany provisions of this section.

8. Any act or omission by a state agency that this section authorizes orrequires with reference to an out-of-service motor carrier, or with referenceto motor vehicles operated by an out-of-service motor carrier, is likewiseauthorized or required with reference to:

(1) Any person who operates motor vehicles under the actual control ofthat motor carrier, and any person who operates motor vehicles that are leasedto that motor carrier, with or without driver; and

(2) Any motor vehicles operated under the actual control of that motorcarrier, and any motor vehicles that are leased to that motor carrier, with orwithout driver.

(L. 2006 S.B. 1001, et al.)