New State Law In Massachusetts - Terminal Audits
Beginning in June 2006, Massachusetts State Police are authorized to perform Terminal Audits for Commercial Motor Vehicles. The regulation reads, in part: “The department of state police may enter, during regular business hours, the commercial premises owned or leased by a commercial carrier, wherein the records, required to be maintained under the regulations established under this section, are stored or maintained and inspect, in a reasonable manner, the records for the purpose of enforcing the regulations. If the records contain evidence of violations of the regulations, the inspecting officer shall produce and take possession of copies of the records, and in the event that the entity subject to inspection does not possess copying equipment, the inspecting officer shall arrange to have copied, in a reasonable time and manner, the records that contain evidence of the violations, and the costs for the copying shall be assessed against the owner of said records. The department of state police shall coordinate its activities under this section with the federal motor carrier safety administration to ensure compliance with all federal and state laws and regulations. Municipal police officers or municipal police departments shall not conduct terminal audits; routine commercial carrier inspections; or, without probable cause, a random inspection of a commercial carrier.” The full text of the regulation can be found at: http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/house/ht02/ht02113.htm.