New regs for Friday: Trucks, housing

Friday’s edition of the Federal Register contains new rules for affordable housing and truck drivers.

Here’s what is happening:

Housing: The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is proposing a new way of measuring “fair market rents.”

The fair market rents establish rent ceilings for affordable housing complexes, among other things.

The public has 30 days to comment on the proposed changes.

Trucks: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is allowing 20 truck drivers who suffer from seizures but are taking medication to get behind the wheel.

The FMCSA said Thursday it is exempting these drivers from rules that would otherwise prohibit them from driving commercial motor vehicles between states.

The agency has determined these drivers do not present any additional danger to other drivers on the road.

The exemptions are already in effect.

The FMCSA will also allow more than 140 truck drivers who suffer from poor vision in one eye to hit the road.

In two separate rulemakings, the FMCSA renewed the exemptions for 66 truck drivers and 75 truck drivers. Without these exemptions, federal law would prohibit them from operating a commercial motor vehicle between states.

These truck drivers may be considered legally blind in one eye, but can see well enough in the other eye that they can safely operate a commercial motor vehicle, the agency said.

The exemptions are already in effect.

Meanwhile, the FMCSA is considering exempting another 10 truck drivers from the same vision requirement.

The public has 30 days to comment.