Legislative Update: TRAA Meets with the Federal Trade Commission

TRAA May 24, 2024 press release:

TRAA has been working tirelessly on a multifaceted advocacy effort since FMCSA Administrator Lawless submitted her comment on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) proposed “Junk Fees” Rule in February suggesting that “predatory towing practices” be added to the final rule. Last Friday, we provided an update on our efforts to engage the Department of Transportation (DOT) and FMCSA on the subject, including the soon-to-be-announced Tow Services Transparency Task Force.

It remains TRAA’s position that Congress already gave statutory authority to DOT and the states to regulate towing, not the FTC. We continue to deliver this message to various audiences involved in the FTC’s rulemaking, as well as the FTC itself.

To that end, we are also pleased to inform our members that yesterday, Bill Johnson, TRAA President, and Cynthia Martineau, TRAA Executive Director, with members of our lobbying team and legal counsel, held the first of multiple meetings directly with the FTC. During the meeting, TRAA reiterated the policy concerns noted in our February letter to Administrator Lawless and the legal concerns outlined in the memo by outside counsel.

We have also been continually engaging a bipartisan group of Members of Congress on the issue. Towing is a bipartisan issue, and with a Democratic Administration drafting the rule, the optimal way to ensure the best possible outcome for the industry is engaging Members of both parties.

TRAA has long been the industry’s voice in Washington, and we will continue to engage the legislative and executive branches of government on this issue, and other issues that impact the industry.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

David J. Garriepy

Vice President, Government Affairs

Tremont Strategies Group (TSG)