### §31149. Medical program

(a) Medical Review Board.—

(1) Establishment and function.—The Secretary of Transportation shall establish a Medical Review Board to provide the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration with medical advice and recommendations on medical standards and guidelines for the physical qualifications of operators of commercial motor vehicles, medical examiner education, and medical research.

(2) Composition.—The Medical Review Board shall be appointed by the Secretary and shall consist of 5 members selected from medical institutions and private practice. The membership shall reflect expertise in a variety of medical specialties relevant to the driver fitness requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

(b) Chief Medical Examiner.—The Secretary shall appoint a chief medical examiner who shall be an employee of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and who shall hold a position under section 3104 of title 5, United States Code, relating to employment of specially qualified scientific and professional personnel, and shall be paid under section 5376 of title 5, United States Code, relating to pay for certain senior-level positions.

(c) Medical Standards and Requirements.—

(1) In general.—The Secretary, with the advice of the Medical Review Board and the chief medical examiner, shall—

(A) establish, review, and revise—

(i) medical standards for operators of commercial motor vehicles that will ensure that the physical condition of operators of commercial motor vehicles is adequate to enable them to operate the vehicles safely; and

(ii) requirements for periodic physical examinations of such operators performed by medical examiners who have, at a minimum, self-certified that they have completed training in physical and medical examination standards and are listed on a national registry maintained by the Department of Transportation;

(B) require each such operator to have a current valid medical certificate;

(C) conduct periodic reviews of a select number of medical examiners on the national registry to ensure that proper examinations of such operators are being conducted;

(D) not later than 1 year after enactment of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2012, develop requirements for a medical examiner to be listed in the national registry under this section, including—

(i) the completion of specific courses and materials;

(ii) certification, including, at a minimum, self-certification, if the Secretary determines that self-certification is necessary for sufficient participation in the national registry, to verify that a medical examiner completed specific training, including refresher courses, that the Secretary determines necessary to be listed in the national registry;

(iii) an examination that requires a passing grade; and

(iv) demonstration of a medical examiner's willingness to meet the reporting requirements established by the Secretary;

(E) require medical examiners to transmit electronically, on a monthly basis, the name of the applicant, a numerical identifier, and additional information contained on the medical examiner's certificate for any completed medical examination report required under section 391.43 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, to the chief medical examiner;

(F) periodically review a representative sample of the medical examination reports associated with the name and numerical identifiers of applicants transmitted under subparagraph (E) for errors, omissions, or other indications of improper certification; and

(G) annually review the implementation of commercial driver's license requirements by not fewer than 10 States to assess the accuracy, validity, and timeliness of—

(i) the submission of physical examination reports and medical certificates to State licensing agencies; and

(ii) the processing of the submissions by State licensing agencies.

(2) Monitoring performance.—The Secretary shall investigate patterns of errors or improper certification by a medical examiner. If the Secretary finds that a medical examiner has issued a medical certificate to an operator of a commercial motor vehicle who fails to meet the applicable standards at the time of the examination or that a medical examiner has falsely claimed to have completed training in physical and medical examination standards as required by this section, the Secretary may remove such medical examiner from the registry and may void the medical certificate of the applicant or holder.

(d) National Registry of Medical Examiners.—The Secretary, acting through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration—

(1) shall establish and maintain a current national registry of medical examiners who are qualified to perform examinations and issue medical certificates;

(2) shall remove from the registry the name of any medical examiner that fails to meet or maintain the qualifications established by the Secretary for being listed in the registry or otherwise does not meet the requirements of this section or regulation issued under this section;

(3) shall accept as valid only medical certificates issued by persons on the national registry of medical examiners; and

(4) may make participation of medical examiners in the national registry voluntary if such a change will enhance the safety of operators of commercial motor vehicles.

(e) Regulations.—The Secretary shall issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section.

(Added Pub. L. 109–59, title IV, §4116(a), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1726; amended Pub. L. 112–141, div. C, title II, §32302(b), (c)(1), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 789.)

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### References in Text

The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2012, referred to in subsec. (c)(1)(D), is Pub. L. 112–141, div. C, title II, July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 776. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 2012 Amendment note set out under section 30101 of this title and Tables.

#### Amendments

2012—Subsec. (c)(1)(D). Pub. L. 112–141, §32302(b), amended subpar. (D) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (D) read as follows: "develop, as appropriate, specific courses and materials for medical examiners listed in the national registry established under this section, and require those medical examiners to, at a minimum, self-certify that they have completed specific training, including refresher courses, to be listed in the registry;".

Subsec. (c)(1)(E). Pub. L. 112–141, §32302(c)(1)(A), amended subpar. (E) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (E) read as follows: "require medical examiners to transmit the name of the applicant and numerical identifier, as determined by the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, for any completed medical examination report required under section 391.43 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, electronically to the chief medical examiner on monthly basis; and".

Subsec. (c)(1)(G). Pub. L. 112–141, §32302(c)(1)(B), (C), added subpar. (G).

#### **Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries**

#### Effective Date of 2012 Amendment

Amendment by section 32302(b) of Pub. L. 112–141 effective Oct. 1, 2012, see section 3(a) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as an Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment note under section 101 of Title 23, Highways.

Pub. L. 112–141, div. C, title II, §32302(c)(2)(B), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 789, as amended by Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title V, §5508(b)(3), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1554, provided that: "The amendments made by section 32302(c)(1) of this Act [amending this section] shall take effect on the date the oversight policies and procedures are established pursuant to subparagraph (A)."

[Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title V, §5508(b), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1554, provided that the amendment made by section 5508(b)(3) to section 32302(c)(2)(B) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out above, is effective as of July 6, 2012, and as if included in Pub. L. 112–141 as enacted.]

#### Effective Date

Pub. L. 109–59, title IV, §4116(f), Aug. 10, 2005, 119 Stat. 1728, as amended by Pub. L. 110–244, title III, §301(d), June 6, 2008, 122 Stat. 1616, provided that: "The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) [enacting this section and amending section 31136 of this title] shall take effect on the 365th day following the date of enactment of this Act [Aug. 10, 2005]."

[Amendment by Pub. L. 110–244 to section 4116(f) of Pub. L. 109–59, set out above, effective as of the date of enactment of Pub. L. 109–59 (Aug. 10, 2005) and to be treated as included in Pub. L. 109–59 as of that date, and provisions of Pub. L. 109–59, as in effect on the day before June 6, 2008, that are amended by Pub. L. 110–244 to be treated as not enacted, see section 121(b) of Pub. L. 110–244, set out as an Effective Date of 2008 note under section 101 of Title 23, Highways.]

#### Medical Certification of Veterans for Commercial Driver's Licenses

Pub. L. 114–94, div. A, title V, §5403, Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1548, as amended by Pub. L. 115–105, §2(a), (b), Jan. 8, 2018, 131 Stat. 2263, provided that:

"(a) In General.—In the case of a veteran operator approved by a qualified examiner, the qualified examiner of such operator may, subject to the requirements of subsection (b), perform a medical examination and provide a medical certificate for purposes of compliance with the requirements of section 31149 of title 49, United States Code.

"(b) Certification.—The certification described under subsection (a) shall include—

"(1) assurances that the examiner performing the medical examination meets the requirements of a qualified examiner under this section; and

"(2) certification that the physical condition of the operator is adequate to enable such operator to operate a commercial motor vehicle safely.

"(c) National Registry of Medical Examiners.—The Secretary [of Transportation], in consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, shall develop a process for qualified examiners to perform a medical examination and provide a medical certificate under subsection (a) and include such examiners on the national registry of medical examiners established under section 31149(d) of title 49, United States Code.

"(d) Definitions.—In this section, the following definitions apply:

"(1) Qualified examiner.—The term 'qualified examiner' means an individual who—

"(A) is employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs as an advanced practice nurse, doctor of chiropractic, doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, physician assistant, or other medical professional;

"(B) is licensed, certified, or registered in a State to perform physical examinations;

"(C) is familiar with the standards for, and physical requirements of, an operator required to be medically certified under section 31149 of title 49, United States Code; and

"(D) has never, with respect to such section, been found to have acted fraudulently, including by fraudulently awarding a medical certificate.

"(2) Veteran.—The term 'veteran' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 38, United States Code.

"(3) Veteran operator approved by a qualified examiner.—The term 'veteran operator approved by a qualified examiner' means an operator of a commercial motor vehicle who—

"(A) is a veteran who is enrolled in the health care system established under section 1705(a) of title 38, United States Code; and

"(B) is required to have a current valid medical certificate pursuant to section 31149 of title 49, United States Code.

"(e) Statutory Construction.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to change any statutory penalty associated with fraud or abuse."

[Pub. L. 115–105, §2(c), Jan. 8, 2018, 131 Stat. 2264, provided that: "The amendments made by this section [amending section 5403 of Pub. L. 114–94, set out above] shall be incorporated into any rulemaking proceeding related to section 5403 of the FAST Act (49 U.S.C. 31149 note; 129 Stat. 1548) that is being conducted as of the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 8, 2018]."]

#### Deadline for Establishment of National Registry of Medical Examiners

Pub. L. 112–141, div. C, title II, §32302(a), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 788, provided that: "Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [see section 3(a), (b) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment notes under section 101 of Title 23, Highways], the Secretary [of Transportation] shall establish a national registry of medical examiners in accordance with section 31149(d)(1) of title 49, United States Code."

#### Internal Oversight Policy

Pub. L. 112–141, div. C, title II, §32302(c)(2)(A), July 6, 2012, 126 Stat. 789, provided that: "Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act [see section 3(a), (b) of Pub. L. 112–141, set out as Effective and Termination Dates of 2012 Amendment notes under section 101 of Title 23, Highways], the Secretary [of Transportation] shall establish an oversight policy and procedure to carry out section 31149(c)(1)(G) of title 49, United States Code, as added by section 32302(c)(1) of this Act."