WASHINGTON -- The Single State Registration System, which supposedly died and was buried early this year, may be resurrected by Congress this month.

And that may not be good news for bus operators.

Some bus and truck industry lobbyists say that reviving the Single State Registration System at the same time work is being completed on its successor, the Unified Carrier Registration System, could result in operators having to pay two registration fees this year.

However, executives in the trucking industry are vowing not to let that happen, saying they will take legal action to block any attempt at double taxation, or to stop Single State Registration fees from being collected.

The surprise re-appearance of the Single State Registration Program occurred when a provision was apparently inserted by members of a combined House-Senate conference committee working on a bill to implement recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

Almost everyone who has seen the bill language has a slightly different interpretation of what it calls for and whether it would allow states to hit bus and truck operators with two registration fees this year.

Here is one take on the language:

The Single State Registration System is brought back, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007, and ending on Jan. 1, 2008, or the effective date of the issuance of the final Unified Carrier Registration System regulations, whichever happens first.

At the same time, the provision sets a deadline of Oct. 1, 2007, for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to issue the final Unified Carrier Registration System regulations that include a new registration fee structure.

But, if that deadline is not met, the Single State Registration System remains in effect until the regulations are issued, but not beyond Jan. 1, 2008.

The regulation putting the Unified Carrier Registration System in place is currently pending at the FMCSA but reportedly must still be cleared by the Office of the Secretary of Transportation and the Office of Management and Budget.

Congressional adoption of the 9/11 Commission bill, with the Single State Registration System provision, would mean that states would be able to recover the revenue they have lost because they havent been able to collect Single State Registration fees this year.

Several states have been screaming for the money, and some reportedly have had to suspend safety enforcement programs for lack of funds. The Single State Registration System produces a total of $100 million annually for the 37 participating states.

The new Unified Carrier Registration program is planned to bring in the same amount so the states will be made whole when the Single State Registration System revenues stop.

Bob Pitcher, vice president for state laws at the American Trucking Associations and vice chairman of the Unified Carrier Registration System, told a leading trucking publication that the provision language "seems to cut off SSRS, either at the first of next year or if DOT comes out with the rule, whichever happens first."

Under that scenario, he said "it is not impossible" for a state to choose to try to collect both sets of fees.

"It is also certainly possible," aid Pitcher, "that a number of states may decide one or the other, and we hope most of them do UCR (Unified Carrier Registration System)."