The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has taken the unusual step of inviting two states to seek relief
from adverse regulatory actions that FMCSA itself had executed. During the Trump administration, FMCSA
declared that meal and rest break (MRB) regulations in California and Washington were preempted by federal
law to the extent that they applied to interstate commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. In an August 14
Federal Register notice, the agency announced that it would entertain petitions from California and
Washington for waivers from those decisions. FMCSA gave the states until November 13 to file petitions.
