II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1950 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve commercial motor vehicle 

safety and reduce commercial motor vehicle-related accidents and fatalities, to authorize the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 7, 2011 

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, and Mr. PRYOR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to improve commercial motor vehicle safety and reduce commercial motor 

vehicle-related accidents and fatalities, to authorize the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Commercial Motor Ve5 hicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definition. 

Sec. 4. References to title 49, United States Code. 

TITLE I—COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION 

Sec. 101. Registration of motor carriers. 

Sec. 102. Safety fitness of new operators. 

Sec. 103. Reincarnated carriers. 

Sec. 104. Financial responsibility requirements. 

Sec. 105. USDOT number registration requirement. 

Sec. 106. Registration fee system. 

Sec. 107. Registration update. 

Sec. 108. Increased penalties for operating without registration. 

Sec. 109. Revocation of registration for imminent hazard. 

Sec. 110. Revocation of registration and other penalties for failure to respond 

to subpoena. 

Sec. 111. Fleetwide out of service order for operating without required registration. 

Sec. 112. Motor carrier and officer patterns of safety violations. 

Sec. 113. Federal successor standard. 

TITLE II—COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY 

Sec. 201. Repeal of commercial jurisdiction exception for brokers of motor carriers of passengers. 

Sec. 202. Bus rentals and definition of employer. 

Sec. 203. Crashworthiness standards. 

Sec. 204. Canadian safety rating reciprocity. 

Sec. 205. State reporting of foreign commercial driver convictions. 

Sec. 206. Authority to disqualify foreign commercial drivers. 

Sec. 207. Revocation of foreign motor carrier operating authority for failure to 

pay civil penalties. 

TITLE III—DRIVER SAFETY 

Sec. 301. Electronic on-board recording devices. 

Sec. 302. Safety fitness. 

Sec. 303. Driver medical qualifications. 

Sec. 304. Commercial driver’s license notification system. 

Sec. 305. Commercial motor vehicle operator training. 

Sec. 306. Commercial driver’s license program. 

Sec. 307. Commercial driver’s license requirements. 

Sec. 308. Commercial motor vehicle driver information systems. 

Sec. 309. Disqualifications based on non-commercial motor vehicle operations. 

Sec. 310. Federal driver disqualifications. 

Sec. 311. Employer responsibilities. 

TITLE IV—SAFE ROADS ACT OF 2011 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. National clearinghouse for controlled substance and alcohol test results of commercial motor vehicle operators. 

Sec. 403. Drug and alcohol violation sanctions. 

Sec. 404. Authorization of appropriations. 


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TITLE V—ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 501. Inspection demand and display of credentials. 

Sec. 502. Out of service penalty for denial of access to records. 

Sec. 503. Penalties for violation of operation out of service orders. 

Sec. 504. Minimum prohibition on operation for unfit carriers. 

Sec. 505. Minimum out of service penalties. 

Sec. 506. Impoundment and immobilization of commercial motor vehicles for 

imminent hazard. 

Sec. 507. Increased penalties for evasion of regulations. 

Sec. 508. Failure to pay civil penalty as a disqualifying offense. 

Sec. 509. Violations relating to commercial motor vehicle safety regulation and 

operators. 

Sec. 510. Emergency disqualification for imminent hazard. 

Sec. 511. Intrastate operations of interstate motor carriers. 

Sec. 512. Enforcement of safety laws and regulations. 

Sec. 513. Disclosure to State and local law enforcement agencies. 

TITLE VI—COMPLIANCE, SAFETY, ACCOUNTABILITY 

Sec. 601. Compliance, safety, accountability. 

Sec. 602. Performance and registration information systems management program. 

Sec. 603. Commercial motor vehicle defined. 

Sec. 604. Driver safety fitness ratings. 

Sec. 605. Uniform electronic clearance for commercial motor vehicle inspections. 

Sec. 606. Authorization of appropriations. 

Sec. 607. High risk carrier reviews. 

Sec. 608. Data and technology grants. 

Sec. 609. Driver safety grants. 

Sec. 610. Commercial vehicle information systems and networks. 

TITLE VII—MOTORCOACH ENHANCED SAFETY ACT OF 2011 

Sec. 701. Short title. 

Sec. 702. Definitions. 

Sec. 703. Regulations for improved occupant protection, passenger evacuation, 

and crash avoidance. 

Sec. 704. Standards for improved fire safety. 

Sec. 705. Occupant protection, collision avoidance, fire causation, and fire extinguisher research and testing. 

Sec. 706. Motorcoach registration. 

Sec. 707. Improved oversight of motorcoach service providers. 

Sec. 708. Report on feasibility, benefits, and costs of establishing a system of 

certification of training programs. 

Sec. 709. Report on driver’s license requirements for 9- to 15-passenger vans. 

Sec. 710. Event data recorders. 

Sec. 711. Safety inspection program for commercial motor vehicles of passengers. 

Sec. 712. Distracted driving. 

Sec. 713. Regulations. 

TITLE VIII—SAFE HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

PRESERVATION 

Sec. 801. Comprehensive truck size and weight limits study. 


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Sec. 802. Compilation of existing State truck size and weight limit laws. 

TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 901. Detention time study. 

Sec. 902. Prohibition of coercion. 

Sec. 903. Motor carrier safety advisory committee. 

Sec. 904. Waivers, exemptions, and pilot programs. 

Sec. 905. Transportation of horses. 

TITLE X—HOUSEHOLD GOODS TRANSPORTATION 

Sec. 1001. Additional registration requirements for household goods motor carriers. 

Sec. 1002. Failure to give up possession of household goods. 

Sec. 1003. Settlement authority. 

Sec. 1004. Household goods transportation assistance program. 

Sec. 1005. Household goods consumer education program. 

TITLE XI—TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 1101. Update of obsolete text. 

Sec. 1102. Correction of interstate commerce commission references. 

Sec. 1103. Technical and conforming amendments. 

1 SEC. 3. DEFINITION. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec3 retary of Transportation. 

4 SEC. 4. REFERENCES TO TITLE 49, UNITED STATES CODE. 

5 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

6 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

7 of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other 

8 provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to 

9 a section or other provision of title 49, United States 

10 Code. 

11 TITLE I—COMMERCIAL MOTOR 

12 VEHICLE REGISTRATION 

13 SEC. 101. REGISTRATION OF MOTOR CARRIERS. 

14 (a) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

15 13902(a)(1) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro2 vided in this section, the Secretary of Transportation 

3 may not register a person to provide transportation 

4 subject to jurisdiction under subchapter I of chapter 

5 135 as a motor carrier unless the Secretary deter6 mines that the person— 

7 ‘‘(A) is willing and able to comply with— 

8 ‘‘(i) this part and the applicable regu9 lations of the Secretary and the Board; 

10 ‘‘(ii) any safety regulations imposed 

11 by the Secretary; 

12 ‘‘(iii) the duties of employers and em13 ployees established by the Secretary under 

14 section 31135; 

15 ‘‘(iv) the safety fitness requirements 

16 established by the Secretary under section 

17 31144; 

18 ‘‘(v) the accessibility requirements es19 tablished by the Secretary under subpart 

20 H of part 37 of title 49, Code of Federal 

21 Regulations (or successor regulations), for 

22 transportation provided by an over-the23 road bus; and 

24 ‘‘(vi) the minimum financial responsi25 bility requirements established by the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:22 Dec 09, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1950.IS S1950

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1 retary under sections 13906, 31138, and 

2 31139; 

3 ‘‘(B) has submitted a comprehensive man4 agement plan documenting that the person has 

5 management systems in place to ensure compli6 ance with safety regulations imposed by the 

7 Secretary; 

8 ‘‘(C) has disclosed any relationship involv9 ing common ownership, common management, 

10 common control, or common familial relation11 ship between that person and any other motor 

12 carrier, freight forwarder, or broker, or any 

13 other applicant for motor carrier, freight for14 warder, or broker registration, or a successor 

15 (as that term is defined under section 31153), 

16 if the relationship occurred in the 5-year period 

17 preceding the date of the filing of the applica18 tion for registration; and 

19 ‘‘(D) after the Secretary establishes a writ20 ten proficiency examination pursuant to section 

21 101(b) of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety 

22 Enhancement Act of 2011, has passed the writ23 ten proficiency examination.’’. 

24 (b) WRITTEN PROFICIENCY EXAMINATION.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 18 

2 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

3 Secretary shall establish a written proficiency exam4 ination for applicant motor carriers pursuant to sec5 tion 13902(a)(1)(D). The written proficiency exam6 ination shall test a person’s knowledge of applicable 

7 safety regulations, standards, and orders of the Fed8 eral government and State government. 

9 (2) ADDITIONAL FEE.—The Secretary may as10 sess a fee to cover the expenses incurred by the De11 partment of Transportation in— 

12 (A) developing and administering the writ13 ten proficiency examination; and 

14 (B) reviewing the comprehensive manage15 ment plan required under section 

16 13902(a)(1)(B) of title 49, United States Code. 

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 210(b) of 

18 the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (49 

19 U.S.C. 31144 note) is amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘, commercial regulations, and 

21 provisions of subpart H of part 37 of title 49, Code 

22 of Federal Regulations, or successor regulations’’ 

23 after ‘‘applicable safety regulations’’; and 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘consider the establishment of’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘establish’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. SAFETY FITNESS OF NEW OPERATORS. 

2 (a) SAFETY REVIEWS OF NEW OPERATORS.—Section 

3 31144(g)(1) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(1) SAFETY REVIEW.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

6 require, by regulation, each owner and each op7 erator granted new registration under section 

8 13902 or 31134 to undergo a safety review not 

9 later than 12 months after the owner or oper10 ator, as the case may be, begins operations 

11 under such registration. 

12 ‘‘(B) PROVIDERS OF MOTORCOACH SERV13 ICES.—The Secretary may register a person to 

14 provide motorcoach services under section 

15 13902 or 31134 after the person undergoes a 

16 pre-authorization safety audit, including 

17 verification, in a manner sufficient to dem18 onstrate the ability to comply with Federal 

19 rules and regulations, as described in section 

20 13902. The Secretary shall continue to monitor 

21 the safety performance of each owner and each 

22 operator subject to this section for 12 months 

23 after the owner or operator is granted registra24 tion under section 13902 or 31134. The reg25 istration of each owner and each operator sub26 ject to this section shall become permanent 


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1 after the motorcoach service provider is granted 

2 registration following a pre-authorization safety 

3 audit and the expiration of the 12 month moni4 toring period. 

5 ‘‘(C) PRE-AUTHORIZATION SAFETY

6 AUDIT.—The Secretary may require, by regula7 tion, that the pre-authorization safety audit 

8 under subparagraph (B) be completed on-site 

9 not later than 90 days after the submission of 

10 an application for operating authority.’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 subsection (a) shall take effect 1 year after the date of 

13 enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 103. REINCARNATED CARRIERS. 

15 (a) EFFECTIVE PERIODS OF REGISTRATION.— 

16 (1) SUSPENSIONS, AMENDMENTS, AND REVOCA17 TIONS.—Section 13905(d) is amended— 

18 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

19 paragraph (4); 

20 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert21 ing the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—On application of the 

23 registrant, the Secretary may amend or revoke a 

24 registration. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COMPLAINTS AND ACTIONS ON SEC2 RETARY’S OWN INITIATIVE.—On complaint or on the 

3 Secretary’s own initiative and after notice and an 

4 opportunity for a proceeding, the Secretary may— 

5 ‘‘(A) suspend, amend, or revoke any part 

6 of the registration of a motor carrier, broker, or 

7 freight forwarder for willful failure to comply 

8 with— 

9 ‘‘(i) this part; 

10 ‘‘(ii) an applicable regulation or order 

11 of the Secretary or the Board, including 

12 the accessibility requirements established 

13 by the Secretary under subpart H of part 

14 37 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations 

15 (or successor regulations), for transpor16 tation provided by an over-the-road bus; or 

17 ‘‘(iii) a condition of its registration; 

18 ‘‘(B) withhold, suspend, amend, or revoke 

19 any part of the registration of a motor carrier, 

20 broker, or freight forwarder for failure— 

21 ‘‘(i) to pay a civil penalty imposed 

22 under chapter 5, 51, 149, or 311; 

23 ‘‘(ii) to arrange and abide by an ac24 ceptable payment plan for such civil pen25 alty, not later than 90 days after the date 


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1 specified by order of the Secretary for the 

2 payment of such penalty; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) for failure to obey a subpoena 

4 issued by the Secretary’’; 

5 ‘‘(C) withhold, suspend, amend, or revoke 

6 any part of a registration of a motor carrier, 

7 broker, or freight forwarder following a deter8 mination by the Secretary that the motor car9 rier, broker, or freight forwarder failed to dis10 close, in its application for registration, a mate11 rial fact relevant to its willingness and ability to 

12 comply with— 

13 ‘‘(i) this part; 

14 ‘‘(ii) an applicable regulation or order 

15 of the Secretary or the Board; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) a condition of its registration; or 

17 ‘‘(D) withhold, suspend, amend, or revoke 

18 any part of a registration of a motor carrier, 

19 broker, or freight forwarder if the Secretary 

20 finds that— 

21 ‘‘(i) the motor carrier, broker, or 

22 freight forwarder is or was related through 

23 common ownership, common management, 

24 common control, or common familial rela25 tionship to any other motor carrier, broker, 


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1 or freight forwarder, or any other appli2 cant for motor carrier, broker, or freight 

3 forwarder registration that the Secretary 

4 determines is or was unwilling or unable to 

5 comply with the relevant requirements list6 ed in section 13902, 13903, or 13904; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) the person is the successor, as 

8 defined in section 31153, to a person who 

9 is or was unwilling or unable to comply 

10 with the relevant requirements of section 

11 13902, 13903, or 13904. 

12 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Paragraph (2)(B) shall not 

13 apply to a person who is unable to pay a civil pen14 alty because the person is a debtor in a case under 

15 chapter 11 of title 11.’’; and 

16 (C) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by 

17 section 103(a)(1)(A) of this Act, by striking 

18 ‘‘paragraph (1)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

19 (2)(B)’’. 

20 (2) PROCEDURE.—Section 13905(e) is amended 

21 by inserting ‘‘or if the Secretary determines that the 

22 registrant failed to disclose a material fact in an ap23 plication for registration in accordance with sub24 section (d)(2)(C),’’ after ‘‘registrant,’’. 


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1 (b) INFORMATION SYSTEMS.—Section 31106(a)(3) is 

2 amended— 

3 (1) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

4 the end; 

5 (2) in subparagraph (G), by striking the period 

6 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(H) determine whether a person or em9 ployer is or was related, through common own10 ership, common management, common control, 

11 or common familial relationship, to any other 

12 person, employer, or any other applicant for 

13 registration under section 13902 or 31134.’’. 

14 SEC. 104. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. 

15 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 

17 (1) issue a report on the appropriateness of— 

18 (A) the current minimum financial respon19 sibility requirements under sections 31138 and 

20 31139 of title 49, United States Code; and 

21 (B) the current bond and insurance re22 quirements under section 13904(d) of title 49, 

23 United States Code; and 

24 (2) submit the report under paragraph (1) to 

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1 portation of the Senate and the Committee on 

2 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

3 Representatives. 

4 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 6 months after 

5 the publication of the report under subsection (a), the Sec6 retary shall initiate a rulemaking to increase the minimum 

7 financial responsibility requirements under sections 

8 31138, and 31139 of title 49, United States Code and 

9 to revise the bond and insurance requirements under sec10 tion 13904(d) of title 49, United States Code. As part of 

11 the rulemaking, the Secretary shall consider— 

12 (1) the findings of the report under subsection 

13 (a); 

14 (2) the appropriateness of the amount of the fi15 nancial responsibility to pay for each final judgment 

16 against a motor carrier for bodily injury to, or death 

17 of, each individual resulting from negligent oper18 ation, maintenance, or use of the motor vehicle, or 

19 for loss or damage to property, or both; and 

20 (3) other matters the Secretary determines ap21 propriate. 

22 (c) DEADLINE.—Not later than 1 year after the start 

23 of the rulemaking under subsection (b), the Secretary 

24 shall— 

25 (1) issue a final rule; or 


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1 (2) if the Secretary determines that a rule2 making is not required following the Secretary’s 

3 analysis, submit a report stating the reason for not 

4 increasing the minimum financial responsibility re5 quirements to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

6 and Transportation of the Senate and the Com7 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the 

8 House of Representatives. 

9 (d) BIENNIAL REVIEWS.—Not less than once every 

10 2 years, the Secretary shall review the requirements pre11 scribed under subsection (b) and revise the requirements, 

12 as appropriate. 

13 SEC. 105. USDOT NUMBER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT. 

14 (a) Chapter 311 is amended by inserting after section 

15 31133 the following: 

16 ‘‘§ 31134. Requirement for registration and USDOT 

17 number 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon application, and subject to 

19 subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary shall register an em20 ployer or person subject to the safety jurisdiction of this 

21 subchapter. An employer or person may operate a com22 mercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce only if the 

23 employer or person is registered by the Secretary under 

24 this section and receives a USDOT number. Nothing in 

25 this section shall preclude registration by the Secretary 


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1 of an employer or person not engaged in interstate com2 merce. An employer or person subject to jurisdiction under 

3 subchapter I of chapter 135 of this title shall apply for 

4 commercial registration under section 13902 of this title. 

5 ‘‘(b) WITHHOLDING REGISTRATION.—The Secretary 

6 may withhold registration under subsection (a), after no7 tice and an opportunity for a proceeding, if the Secretary 

8 determines that— 

9 ‘‘(1) the employer or person seeking registra10 tion is unwilling or unable to comply with the re11 quirements of this subchapter and the regulations 

12 prescribed thereunder and chapter 51 and the regu13 lations prescribed thereunder; 

14 ‘‘(2) the employer or person is or was related 

15 through common ownership, common management, 

16 common control, or common familial relationship to 

17 any other person or applicant for registration sub18 ject to this subchapter who is or was unfit, unwill19 ing, or unable to comply with the requirements listed 

20 in subsection (b)(1); or 

21 ‘‘(3) the person is the successor, as defined in 

22 section 31153, to a person who is or was unfit, un23 willing, or unable to comply with the requirements 

24 listed in subsection (b)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(c) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF REGISTRA2 TION.—The Secretary shall revoke the registration of an 

3 employer or person under subsection (a) after notice and 

4 an opportunity for a proceeding, or suspend the registra5 tion after giving notice of the suspension to the employer 

6 or person, if the Secretary determines that— 

7 ‘‘(1) the employer’s or person’s authority to op8 erate pursuant to chapter 139 of this title would be 

9 subject to revocation or suspension under sections 

10 13905(d)(1) or 13905(f) of this title; 

11 ‘‘(2) the employer or person is or was related 

12 through common ownership, common management, 

13 common control, or common familial relationship to 

14 any other person or applicant for registration sub15 ject to this subchapter that the Secretary determines 

16 is or was unfit, unwilling, or unable to comply with 

17 the requirements listed in subsection (b)(1); 

18 ‘‘(3) the person is the successor, as defined in 

19 section 31153, to a person the Secretary determines 

20 is or was unfit, unwilling, or unable to comply with 

21 the requirements listed in subsection (b)(1); or 

22 ‘‘(4) the employer or person failed or refused to 

23 submit to the safety review required by section 

24 31144(g) of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(d) PERIODIC REGISTRATION UPDATE.—The Sec2 retary may require an employer to update a registration 

3 under this section periodically or not later than 30 days 

4 after a change in the employer’s address, other contact 

5 information, officers, process agent, or other essential in6 formation, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of 

8 chapter 311 is amended by inserting after the item relat9 ing to section 31133 the following: 

‘‘31134. Requirement for registration and USDOT number.’’. 

10 SEC. 106. REGISTRATION FEE SYSTEM. 

11 Section 13908(d)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘but 

12 shall not exceed $300’’. 

13 SEC. 107. REGISTRATION UPDATE. 

14 (a) PERIODIC MOTOR CARRIER UPDATE.—Section 

15 13902 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(h) UPDATE OF REGISTRATION.—The Secretary 

17 may require a registrant to update its registration under 

18 this section periodically or not later than 30 days after 

19 a change in the registrant’s address, other contact infor20 mation, officers, process agent, or other essential informa21 tion, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

22 (b) PERIODIC FREIGHT FORWARDER UPDATE.—Sec23 tion 13903 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(c) UPDATE OF REGISTRATION.—The Secretary 

25 may require a freight forwarder to update its registration 


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1 under this section periodically or not later than 30 days 

2 after a change in the freight forwarder’s address, other 

3 contact information, officers, process agent, or other es4 sential information, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

5 (c) PERIODIC BROKER UPDATE.—Section 13904 is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(e) UPDATE OF REGISTRATION.—The Secretary 

8 may require a broker to update its registration under this 

9 section periodically or not later than 30 days after a 

10 change in the broker’s address, other contact information, 

11 officers, process agent, or other essential information, as 

12 determined by the Secretary.’’. 

13 SEC. 108. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR OPERATING WITH14 OUT REGISTRATION. 

15 (a) PENALTIES.—Section 14901(a) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘$500’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘who is not registered under 

18 this part to provide transportation of passengers,’’; 

19 (3) by striking ‘‘with respect to providing trans20 portation of passengers,’’ and inserting ‘‘or section 

21 13902(c) of this title,’’; and 

22 (4) by striking ‘‘$2,000 for each violation and 

23 each additional day the violation continues’’ and in24 serting ‘‘$10,000 for each violation, or $25,000 for 


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1 each violation relating to providing transportation of 

2 passengers’’. 

3 (b) TRANSPORTATION OF HAZARDOUS WASTES.— 

4 Section 14901(b) is amended by striking ‘‘less than 

5 $20,000’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than $25,000’’. 

6 SEC. 109. REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION FOR IMMINENT 

7 HAZARD. 

8 Section 13905(f)(2) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(2) IMMINENT HAZARD TO PUBLIC HEALTH.— 

10 Notwithstanding subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 

11 5, the Secretary shall revoke the registration of a 

12 motor carrier if the Secretary finds that the carrier 

13 is or was conducting unsafe operations that are or 

14 were an imminent hazard to public health or prop15 erty.’’. 

16 SEC. 110. REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION AND OTHER 

17 PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO RESPOND TO 

18 SUBPOENA. 

19 Section 525 is amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘subpenas’’ in the section head21 ing and inserting ‘‘subpoenas’’; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘subpena’’ and inserting ‘‘sub23 poena’’; 

24 (3) by striking ‘‘$100’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000’’; 


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1 (4) by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘$10,000’’; and 

3 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘The Secretary may withhold, suspend, amend, or re5 voke any part of the registration of a person required to 

6 register under chapter 139 for failing to obey a subpoena 

7 or requirement of the Secretary under this chapter to ap8 pear and testify or produce records.’’. 

9 SEC. 111. FLEETWIDE OUT OF SERVICE ORDER FOR OPER10 ATING WITHOUT REQUIRED REGISTRATION. 

11 Section 13902(e)(1) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘motor vehicle’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘motor carrier’’ after ‘‘the Secretary determines that 

14 a’’; and 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘order the vehicle’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘order the motor carrier operations’’ after ‘‘the Sec17 retary may’’. 

18 SEC. 112. MOTOR CARRIER AND OFFICER PATTERNS OF 

19 SAFETY VIOLATIONS. 

20 Section 31135 is amended— 

21 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(b) NONCOMPLIANCE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) MOTOR CARRIERS.—Two or more motor 

25 carriers, employers, or persons shall not use common 


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1 ownership, common management, common control, 

2 or common familial relationship to enable any or all 

3 such motor carriers, employers, or persons to avoid 

4 compliance, or mask or otherwise conceal non-com5 pliance, or a history of non-compliance, with regula6 tions prescribed under this subchapter or an order 

7 of the Secretary issued under this subchapter. 

8 ‘‘(2) PATTERN.—If the Secretary finds that a 

9 motor carrier, employer, or person engaged in a pat10 tern or practice of avoiding compliance, or masking 

11 or otherwise concealing noncompliance, with regula12 tions prescribed under this subchapter, the Sec13 retary— 

14 ‘‘(A) may withhold, suspend, amend, or re15 voke any part of the motor carrier’s, employ16 er’s, or person’s registration in accordance with 

17 section 13905 or 31134; and 

18 ‘‘(B) shall take into account such non-com19 pliance for purposes of determining civil penalty 

20 amounts under section 521(b)(2)(D). 

21 ‘‘(3) OFFICERS.—If the Secretary finds, after 

22 notice and an opportunity for proceeding, that an of23 ficer of a motor carrier, employer, or owner or oper24 ator engaged in a pattern or practice of violating 

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1 sisted a motor carrier, employer, or owner or oper2 ator in avoiding compliance, or masking or otherwise 

3 concealing noncompliance, the Secretary may impose 

4 appropriate sanctions, subject to the limitations in 

5 paragraph (4), including— 

6 ‘‘(A) suspension or revocation of registra7 tion granted to the officer individually under 

8 section 13902 or 31134; 

9 ‘‘(B) temporary or permanent suspension 

10 or bar from association with any motor carrier, 

11 employer, or owner or operator registered under 

12 section 13902 or 31134; or 

13 ‘‘(C) any appropriate sanction approved by 

14 the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(4) LIMITATIONS.—The sanctions described in 

16 subparagraphs (A) through (C) of subsection (b)(3) 

17 shall apply to— 

18 ‘‘(A) intentional or knowing conduct, in19 cluding reckless conduct that violates applicable 

20 laws (including regulations); and 

21 ‘‘(B) repeated instances of negligent con22 duct that violates applicable laws (including 

23 regulations).’’; and 

24 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) AVOIDING COMPLIANCE.—For purposes of this 

2 section, ‘avoiding compliance’ or ‘masking or otherwise 

3 concealing noncompliance’ includes serving as an officer 

4 or otherwise exercising controlling influence over 2 or 

5 more motor carriers where— 

6 ‘‘(1) one of the carriers was placed out of serv7 ice, or received notice from the Secretary that it will 

8 be placed out of service, following— 

9 ‘‘(A) a determination of unfitness under 

10 section 31144(b); 

11 ‘‘(B) a suspension or revocation of reg12 istration under section 13902, 13905, or 

13 31144(g); 

14 ‘‘(C) issuance of an imminent hazard out 

15 of service order under section 521(b)(5) or sec16 tion 5121(d); or 

17 ‘‘(D) notice of failure to pay a civil penalty 

18 or abide by a penalty payment plan; and 

19 ‘‘(2) one or more of the carriers is the ‘suc20 cessor,’ as that term is defined in section 31153, to 

21 the carrier that is the subject of the action in para22 graph (1).’’. 


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1 SEC. 113. FEDERAL SUCCESSOR STANDARD. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 311 is amended by add3 ing after section 31152, as added by section 508 of this 

4 Act, the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 31153. Federal successor standard 

6 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL SUCCESSOR STANDARD.—Notwith7 standing any other provision of Federal or State law, the 

8 Secretary may take an action authorized under chapters 

9 5, 51, 131 through 149, subchapter III of chapter 311 

10 (except sections 31138 and 31139), or sections 31302, 

11 31303, 31304, 31305(b), 31310(g)(1)(A), or 31502 of 

12 this title, or a regulation issued under any of those provi13 sions, against a successor of a motor carrier (as defined 

14 in section 13102), a successor of an employer (as defined 

15 in section 31132), or a successor of an owner or operator 

16 (as that term is used in subchapter III of chapter 311), 

17 to the same extent and on the same basis as the Secretary 

18 may take the action against the motor carrier, employer, 

19 or owner or operator. 

20 ‘‘(b) SUCCESSOR DEFINED.—For purposes of this 

21 section, the term ‘successor’ means a motor carrier, em22 ployer, or owner or operator that the Secretary deter23 mines, after notice and an opportunity for a proceeding, 

24 has 1 or more features that correspond closely with the 

25 features of another existing or former motor carrier, em26 ployer, or owner or operator, such as— 


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1 ‘‘(1) consideration paid for assets purchased or 

2 transferred; 

3 ‘‘(2) dates of corporate creation and dissolution 

4 or termination of operations; 

5 ‘‘(3) commonality of ownership; 

6 ‘‘(4) commonality of officers and management 

7 personnel and their functions; 

8 ‘‘(5) commonality of drivers and other employ9 ees; 

10 ‘‘(6) identity of physical or mailing addresses, 

11 telephone, fax numbers, or e-mail addresses; 

12 ‘‘(7) identity of motor vehicle equipment; 

13 ‘‘(8) continuity of liability insurance policies; 

14 ‘‘(9) commonality of coverage under liability in15 surance policies; 

16 ‘‘(10) continuation of carrier facilities and other 

17 physical assets; 

18 ‘‘(11) continuity of the nature and scope of op19 erations, including customers; 

20 ‘‘(12) commonality of the nature and scope of 

21 operations, including customers; 

22 ‘‘(13) advertising, corporate name, or other acts 

23 through which the motor carrier, employer, or owner 

24 or operator holds itself out to the public; 


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1 ‘‘(14) history of safety violations and pending 

2 orders or enforcement actions of the Secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(15) additional factors that the Secretary con4 siders appropriate. 

5 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Notwithstanding any other 

6 provision of law, this section shall apply to any action com7 menced on or after the date of enactment of the Commer8 cial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011 with9 out regard to whether the violation that is the subject of 

10 the action, or the conduct that caused the violation, oc11 curred before the date of enactment. 

12 ‘‘(d) RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED.—Nothing in this sec13 tion shall affect the rights, functions, or responsibilities 

14 under law of any other Department, Agency, or instru15 mentality of the United States, the laws of any State, or 

16 any rights between a private party and a motor carrier, 

17 employer, or owner or operator.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of 

19 chapter 311 is amended by inserting after the item related 

20 to section 31152, as added by section 508 of this Act, the 

21 following: 

‘‘31153. Federal successor standard.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—COMMERCIAL MOTOR 

2 VEHICLE SAFETY 

3 SEC. 201. REPEAL OF COMMERCIAL JURISDICTION EXCEP4 TION FOR BROKERS OF MOTOR CARRIERS OF 

5 PASSENGERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 13506(a) is amended— 

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

8 (13); 

9 (2) by striking paragraph (14); and 

10 (3) by redesignating paragraph (15) as para11 graph (14). 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 13904(a) 

13 is amended by striking ‘‘of property’’ in the first sentence. 

14 SEC. 202. BUS RENTALS AND DEFINITION OF EMPLOYER. 

15 Paragraph (3) of section 31132 is amended to read 

16 as follows: 

17 ‘‘(3) ‘employer’— 

18 ‘‘(A) means a person engaged in a business 

19 affecting interstate commerce that— 

20 ‘‘(i) owns or leases a commercial 

21 motor vehicle in connection with that busi22 ness, or assigns an employee to operate the 

23 commercial motor vehicle; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) offers for rent or lease a motor 

25 vehicle designed or used to transport more 


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1 than 8 passengers, including the driver, 

2 and from the same location or as part of 

3 the same business provides names or con4 tact information of drivers, or holds itself 

5 out to the public as a charter bus com6 pany; but 

7 ‘‘(B) does not include the Government, a 

8 State, or a political subdivision of a State.’’. 

9 SEC. 203. CRASHWORTHINESS STANDARDS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall con12 duct a comprehensive analysis on the need for crash13 worthiness standards on property-carrying commercial 

14 motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross 

15 vehicle weight of at least 26,001 pounds involved in inter16 state commerce, including an evaluation of the need for 

17 roof strength, pillar strength, air bags, and frontal and 

18 back wall standards. 

19 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after com20 pleting the comprehensive analysis under subsection (a), 

21 the Secretary shall report the results of the analysis and 

22 any recommendations to the Committee on Commerce, 

23 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com24 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

25 of Representatives. 


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1 SEC. 204. CANADIAN SAFETY RATING RECIPROCITY. 

2 Section 31144 is amended by adding at the end the 

3 following: 

4 ‘‘(h) RECOGNITION OF CANADIAN MOTOR CARRIER

5 SAFETY FITNESS DETERMINATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) If an authorized agency of the Canadian 

7 federal government or a Canadian Territorial or 

8 Provincial government determines, by applying the 

9 procedure and standards prescribed by the Secretary 

10 under subsection (b) or pursuant to an agreement 

11 under paragraph (2), that a Canadian employer is 

12 unfit and prohibits the employer from operating a 

13 commercial motor vehicle in Canada or any Cana14 dian Province, the Secretary may prohibit the em15 ployer from operating such vehicle in interstate and 

16 foreign commerce until the authorized Canadian 

17 agency determines that the employer is fit. 

18 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may consult and participate 

19 in negotiations with authorized officials of the Cana20 dian federal government or a Canadian Territorial 

21 or Provincial government, as necessary, to provide 

22 reciprocal recognition of each country’s motor car23 rier safety fitness determinations. An agreement 

24 shall provide, to the maximum extent practicable, 

25 that each country will follow the procedure and 

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1 section (b) in making motor carrier safety fitness de2 terminations.’’. 

3 SEC. 205. STATE REPORTING OF FOREIGN COMMERCIAL 

4 DRIVER CONVICTIONS. 

5 (a) DEFINITION OF FOREIGN COMMERCIAL DRIV6 ER.—Section 31301 is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (10) through 

8 (14) as paragraphs (11) through (15), respectively; 

9 and 

10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(10) ‘foreign commercial driver’ means an in13 dividual licensed to operate a commercial motor ve14 hicle by an authority outside the United States, or 

15 a citizen of a foreign country who operates a com16 mercial motor vehicle in the United States.’’. 

17 (b) STATE REPORTING OF CONVICTIONS.—Section 

18 31311(a) is amended by adding after paragraph (21) the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(22) The State shall report a conviction of a 

21 foreign commercial driver by that State to the Fed22 eral Convictions and Withdrawal Database, or an23 other information system designated by the Sec24 retary to record the convictions. A report shall in25 clude— 


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1 ‘‘(A) for a driver holding a foreign com2 mercial driver’s license— 

3 ‘‘(i) each conviction relating to the op4 eration of a commercial motor vehicle; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) a non-commercial motor vehicle; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) for an unlicensed driver or a driver 

8 holding a foreign non-commercial driver’s li9 cense, each conviction for operating a commer10 cial motor vehicle.’’. 

11 SEC. 206. AUTHORITY TO DISQUALIFY FOREIGN COMMER12 CIAL DRIVERS. 

13 Section 31310 is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(k) FOREIGN COMMERCIAL DRIVERS.—A foreign 

16 commercial driver shall be subject to disqualification 

17 under this section.’’. 

18 SEC. 207. REVOCATION OF FOREIGN MOTOR CARRIER OP19 ERATING AUTHORITY FOR FAILURE TO PAY 

20 CIVIL PENALTIES. 

21 Section 13905(d)(1) is amended by inserting ‘‘foreign 

22 motor carrier, foreign motor private carrier,’’ after ‘‘reg23 istration of a motor carrier,’’ each place it appears. 


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1 TITLE III—DRIVER SAFETY 

2 SEC. 301. ELECTRONIC ON-BOARD RECORDING DEVICES. 

3 (a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Section 31137 is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘§ 31137. Electronic on-board recording devices and 

8 brake maintenance regulations’’; 

9 (2) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub10 section (e); and 

11 (3) by amending (a) to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(a) ELECTRONIC ON-BOARD RECORDING DE13 VICES.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

14 of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act 

15 of 2011, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe 

16 regulations— 

17 ‘‘(1) requiring a commercial motor vehicle in18 volved in interstate commerce and operated by a 

19 driver subject to the hours of service and the record 

20 of duty status requirements under part 395 of title 

21 49, Code of Federal Regulations, be equipped with 

22 an electronic on-board recording device to improve 

23 compliance by an operator of a vehicle with hours of 

24 service regulations prescribed by the Secretary; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) ensuring that an electronic on-board re2 cording device is not used to harass a vehicle oper3 ator. 

4 ‘‘(b) ELECTRONIC ON-BOARD RECORDING DEVICE

5 REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The regulations prescribed 

7 under subsection (a) shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) require an electronic on-board record9 ing device— 

10 ‘‘(i) to accurately record commercial 

11 driver hours of service; 

12 ‘‘(ii) to record the location of a com13 mercial motor vehicle; 

14 ‘‘(iii) to be tamper resistant; and 

15 ‘‘(iv) to be integrally synchronized 

16 with an engine’s control module; 

17 ‘‘(B) allow law enforcement to access the 

18 data contained in the device during a roadside 

19 inspection; and 

20 ‘‘(C) apply to a commercial motor vehicle 

21 beginning on the date that is 2 years after the 

22 date that the regulations are published as a 

23 final rule. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE AND DESIGN STAND2 ARDS.—The regulations prescribed under subsection 

3 (a) shall establish performance standards— 

4 ‘‘(A) defining a standardized user interface 

5 to aid vehicle operator compliance and law en6 forcement review; 

7 ‘‘(B) establishing a secure process for 

8 standardized— 

9 ‘‘(i) and unique vehicle operator iden10 tification; 

11 ‘‘(ii) data access; 

12 ‘‘(iii) data transfer for vehicle opera13 tors between motor vehicles; 

14 ‘‘(iv) data storage for a motor carrier; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(v) data transfer and transportability 

17 for law enforcement officials; 

18 ‘‘(C) establishing a standard security level 

19 for an electronic on-board recording device and 

20 related components to be tamper resistant by 

21 using a methodology endorsed by a nationally 

22 recognized standards organization; and 

23 ‘‘(D) identifying each driver subject to the 

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1 quirements under part 395 of title 49, Code of 

2 Federal Regulations. 

3 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION CRITERIA.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The regulations prescribed 

5 by the Secretary under this section shall establish 

6 the criteria and a process for the certification of an 

7 electronic on-board recording device to ensure that 

8 the device meets the performance requirements 

9 under this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF NONCERTIFICATION.—An elec11 tronic on-board recording device that is not certified 

12 in accordance with the certification process referred 

13 to in paragraph (1) shall not be acceptable evidence 

14 of hours of service and record of duty status require15 ments under part 395 of title 49, Code of Federal 

16 Regulations. 

17 ‘‘(d) ELECTRONIC ON-BOARD RECORDING DEVICE

18 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘electronic on-board 

19 recording device’ means an electronic device that— 

20 ‘‘(1) is capable of recording a driver’s hours of 

21 service and duty status accurately and automatically; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(2) meets the requirements established by the 

24 Secretary through regulation.’’. 


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1 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 30165(a)(1) is 

2 amended by striking ‘‘or 30141 through 30147’’ and in3 serting ‘‘30141 through 30147, or 31137’’. 

4 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

5 chapter 311 is amended by striking the item relating to 

6 section 31137 and inserting the following: 

‘‘31137. Electronic on-board recording devices and brake maintenance regulations.’’. 

7 SEC. 302. SAFETY FITNESS. 

8 (a) SAFETY FITNESS RATING METHODOLOGY.—The 

9 Secretary shall— 

10 (1) incorporate into its Compliance, Safety, Ac11 countability program a safety fitness rating method12 ology that assigns sufficient weight to adverse vehi13 cle and driver performance based-data that elevate 

14 crash risks to warrant an unsatisfactory rating for 

15 a carrier; and 

16 (2) ensure that the data to support such assess17 ments is accurate. 

18 (b) INTERIM MEASURES.—Not later than March 31, 

19 2011, the Secretary shall take interim measures to imple20 ment a similar safety fitness rating methodology in its cur21 rent safety rating system if the Compliance, Safety, Ac22 countability program is not fully implemented. 


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1 SEC. 303. DRIVER MEDICAL QUALIFICATIONS. 

2 (a) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL

3 REGISTRY OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS.—Not later than 1 

4 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

5 shall establish a national registry of medical examiners in 

6 accordance with section 31149(d)(1) of title 49, United 

7 States Code. 

8 (b) EXAMINATION REQUIREMENT FOR NATIONAL

9 REGISTRY OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS.—Section 

10 31149(c)(1)(D) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(D) not later than 1 year after enactment 

12 of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety En13 hancement Act of 2011, develop requirements 

14 for a medical examiner to be listed in the na15 tional registry under this section, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) the completion of specific courses 

17 and materials; 

18 ‘‘(ii) certification, including self-cer19 tification, if the Secretary determines that 

20 self-certification is necessary for sufficient 

21 participation in the national registry, to 

22 verify that a medical examiner completed 

23 specific training, including refresher 

24 courses, that the Secretary determines nec25 essary to be listed in the national registry; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) an examination that requires a 

2 passing grade; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) demonstration of a medical ex4 aminer’s willingness to meet the reporting 

5 requirements established by the Sec6 retary.’’. 

7 (c) ADDITIONAL OVERSIGHT OF LICENSING AU8 THORITIES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 31149(c)(1) is 

10 amended— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

12 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

13 (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking the 

14 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(G) annually review the implementation 

17 of commercial driver’s license requirements by 

18 not fewer than 10 States to assess the accu19 racy, validity, and timeliness of— 

20 ‘‘(i) the submission of physical exam21 ination reports and medical certificates to 

22 State licensing agencies; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the processing of the submissions 

24 by State licensing agencies.’’. 

25 (2) INTERNAL OVERSIGHT POLICY.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary shall establish an oversight policy and 

4 procedure to carry out section 31149(c)(1)(G) 

5 of title 49, United States Code, as added by 

6 section 303(c)(1) of this Act. 

7 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments 

8 made by section 303(c)(1) of this Act shall take 

9 effect on the date the oversight policies and 

10 procedures are established pursuant to subpara11 graph (A). 

12 (d) ELECTRONIC FILING OF MEDICAL EXAMINATION

13 CERTIFICATES.—Section 31311(a), as amended by sec14 tions 205(b) and 306(b) of this Act, is amended by adding 

15 at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(24) Not later than 1 year after the date of 

17 enactment of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety 

18 Enhancement Act of 2011, the State shall establish 

19 and maintain, as part of its driver information sys20 tem, the capability to receive an electronic copy of 

21 a medical examiner’s certificate, from a certified 

22 medical examiner, for each holder of a commercial 

23 driver’s license issued by the State who operates or 

24 intends to operate in interstate commerce.’’. 

25 (e) FUNDING.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of 

2 the funds provided for Data and Technology Grants 

3 under section 31104(a) of title 49, United States 

4 Code, there are authorized to be appropriated from 

5 the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass 

6 Transit Account) for the Secretary to make grants 

7 to States or an organization representing agencies 

8 and officials of the States to support development 

9 costs of the information technology needed to carry 

10 out section 31311(a)(24) of title 49, United States 

11 Code, up to $1 million for fiscal year 2012 and up 

12 to $1 million for fiscal year 2013. 

13 (2) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The amounts 

14 made available under this subsection shall remain 

15 available until expended. 

16 SEC. 304. COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE NOTIFICATION 

17 SYSTEM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 31304 is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘An employer’’ and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An employer’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(b) DRIVER VIOLATION RECORDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PERIODIC REVIEW.—Except as provided in 

2 paragraph (3), an employer shall ascertain the driv3 ing record of each driver it employs— 

4 ‘‘(A) by making an inquiry at least once 

5 every 12 months to the appropriate State agen6 cy in which the driver held or holds a commer7 cial driver’s license or permit during such time 

8 period; 

9 ‘‘(B) by receiving occurrence-based reports 

10 of changes in the status of a driver’s record 

11 from 1 or more driver record notification sys12 tems that meet minimum standards issued by 

13 the Secretary; or 

14 ‘‘(C) by a combination of inquiries to 

15 States and reports from driver record notifica16 tion systems. 

17 ‘‘(2) RECORD KEEPING.—A copy of the reports 

18 received under paragraph (1) shall be maintained in 

19 the driver’s qualification file. 

20 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS TO RECORD REVIEW RE21 QUIREMENT.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 

22 driver employed by an employer who, in any 7-day 

23 period, is employed or used as a driver by more than 

24 1 employer— 


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1 ‘‘(A) if the employer obtains the driver’s 

2 identification number, type, and issuing State 

3 of the driver’s commercial motor vehicle license; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(B) if the information described in sub6 paragraph (A) is furnished by another employer 

7 and the employer that regularly employs the 

8 driver meets the other requirements under this 

9 section. 

10 ‘‘(4) DRIVER RECORD NOTIFICATION SYSTEM

11 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘driver record 

12 notification system’ means a system that automati13 cally furnishes an employer with a report, generated 

14 by the appropriate agency of a State, on the change 

15 in the status of an employee’s driver’s license due to 

16 a conviction for a moving violation, a failure to ap17 pear, an accident, driver’s license suspension, driv18 er’s license revocation, or any other action taken 

19 against the driving privilege.’’. 

20 (b) STANDARDS FOR DRIVER RECORD NOTIFICATION

21 SYSTEMS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact22 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue minimum 

23 standards for driver notification systems, including stand24 ards for the accuracy, consistency, and completeness of the 

25 information provided. 


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1 (c) PLAN FOR NATIONAL NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.— 

2 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than 2 years 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec4 retary shall develop recommendations and a plan for 

5 the development and implementation of a national 

6 driver record notification system, including— 

7 (A) an assessment of the merits of achiev8 ing a national system by expanding the Com9 mercial Driver’s License Information System; 

10 and 

11 (B) an estimate of the fees that an em12 ployer will be charged to offset the operating 

13 costs of the national system. 

14 (2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

15 90 days after the recommendations and plan are de16 veloped under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

17 submit a report on the recommendations and plan to 

18 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans19 portation of the Senate and the Committee on 

20 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 

21 Representatives. 

22 SEC. 305. COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATOR 

23 TRAINING. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 31305 is amended by 

25 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) STANDARDS FOR TRAINING.—Not later than 6 

2 months after the date of enactment of the Commercial 

3 Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011, the Sec4 retary shall issue final regulations establishing minimum 

5 entry-level training requirements for an individual oper6 ating a commercial motor vehicle— 

7 ‘‘(1) addressing the knowledge and skills that— 

8 ‘‘(A) are necessary for an individual oper9 ating a commercial motor vehicle to safely oper10 ate a commercial motor vehicle; and 

11 ‘‘(B) must be acquired before obtaining a 

12 commercial driver’s license for the first time or 

13 upgrading from one class of commercial driver’s 

14 license to another class; 

15 ‘‘(2) addressing the specific training needs of a 

16 commercial motor vehicle operator seeking passenger 

17 or hazardous materials endorsements, including for 

18 an operator seeking a passenger endorsement train19 ing— 

20 ‘‘(A) to suppress motorcoach fires; and 

21 ‘‘(B) to evacuate passengers from 

22 motorcoaches safely; 

23 ‘‘(3) requiring effective instruction to acquire 

24 the knowledge, skills, and training referred to in 


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1 paragraphs (1) and (2), including classroom and be2 hind-the-wheel instruction; 

3 ‘‘(4) requiring certification that an individual 

4 operating a commercial motor vehicle meets the re5 quirements established by the Secretary; and 

6 ‘‘(5) requiring a training provider (including a 

7 public or private driving school, motor carrier, or 

8 owner or operator of a commercial motor vehicle) 

9 that offers training that results in the issuance of a 

10 certification to an individual under paragraph (4) to 

11 demonstrate that the training meets the require12 ments of the regulations, through a process estab13 lished by the Secretary.’’. 

14 (b) COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE UNIFORM

15 STANDARDS.—Section 31308(1) is amended to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) an individual issued a commercial driver’s 

18 license— 

19 ‘‘(A) pass written and driving tests for the 

20 operation of a commercial motor vehicle that 

21 comply with the minimum standards prescribed 

22 by the Secretary under section 31305(a); and 

23 ‘‘(B) present certification of completion of 

24 driver training that meets the requirements esVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:22 Dec 09, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1950.IS S1950

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1 tablished by the Secretary under section 

2 31305(c);’’. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The section head4 ing for section 31305 is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘§ 31305. General driver fitness, testing, and train6 ing’’. 

7 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

8 chapter 313 is amended by striking the item relating to 

9 section 31305 and inserting the following: 

‘‘31305. General driver fitness, testing, and training.’’. 

10 SEC. 306. COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 31309 is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (e)(4), by amending subpara13 graph (A) to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The plan shall speci15 fy— 

16 ‘‘(i) a date by which all States shall 

17 be operating commercial driver’s license in18 formation systems that are compatible with 

19 the modernized information system under 

20 this section; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) that States must use the systems 

22 to receive and submit conviction and dis23 qualification data.’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘use’’ and in25 serting ‘‘use, subject to section 31313(a),’’. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE PARTICIPATION.— 

2 Section 31311 is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a), as amended by section 

4 205(b) of this Act— 

5 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘At 

6 least’’ and all that follows through ‘‘regula7 tion),’’ and inserting: ‘‘Not later than the time 

8 period prescribed by the Secretary by regula9 tion,’’; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(23) Not later than 1 year after the date of 

12 enactment of the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety 

13 Enhancement Act of 2011, the State shall imple14 ment a system and practices for the exclusive elec15 tronic exchange of driver history record information 

16 on the system the Secretary maintains under section 

17 31309, including the posting of convictions, with18 drawals, and disqualifications.’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(d) CRITICAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION OF CRITICAL REQUIRE22 MENTS.—After reviewing the requirements under 

23 subsection (a), including the regulations issued pur24 suant to subsection (a) and section 31309(e)(4), the 

25 Secretary shall identify the requirements that are 


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1 critical to an effective State commercial driver’s li2 cense program. 

3 ‘‘(2) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after the date of enactment of the Commercial 

5 Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011, the 

6 Secretary shall issue guidance to assist States in 

7 complying with the critical requirements identified 

8 under paragraph (1). The guidance shall include a 

9 description of the actions that each State must take 

10 to collect and share accurate and complete data in 

11 a timely manner. 

12 ‘‘(e) STATE COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE PRO13 GRAM PLAN.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

15 after the Secretary issues guidance under subsection 

16 (d)(2), a State shall submit a plan to the Secretary 

17 for complying with the requirements under this sec18 tion during the period beginning on the date the 

19 plan is submitted and ending on September 30, 

20 2016. 

21 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—A plan submitted by a State 

22 under paragraph (1) shall identify— 

23 ‘‘(A) the actions that the State will take to 

24 comply with the critical requirements identified 

25 under subsection (d)(1); 


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1 ‘‘(B) the actions that the State will take to 

2 address any deficiencies in the State’s commer3 cial driver’s license program, as identified by 

4 the Secretary in the most recent audit of the 

5 program; and 

6 ‘‘(C) other actions that the State will take 

7 to comply with the requirements under sub8 section (a). 

9 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE.—A 

11 plan submitted by a State under paragraph (1) 

12 shall include a schedule for the implementation 

13 of the actions identified under paragraph (2). 

14 In establishing the schedule, the State shall 

15 prioritize the actions identified under para16 graphs (2)(A) and (2)(B). 

17 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH

18 CRITICAL REQUIREMENTS.—A plan submitted 

19 by a State under paragraph (1) shall include 

20 assurances that the State will take the nec21 essary actions to comply with the critical re22 quirements pursuant to subsection (d) not later 

23 than September 30, 2015. 

24 ‘‘(4) APPROVAL AND DISAPPROVAL.—The Sec25 retary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) review each plan submitted under 

2 paragraph (1); 

3 ‘‘(B) approve a plan that the Secretary de4 termines meets the requirements under this 

5 subsection and promotes the goals of this chap6 ter; and 

7 ‘‘(C) disapprove a plan that the Secretary 

8 determines does not meet the requirements or 

9 does not promote the goals. 

10 ‘‘(5) MODIFICATION OF DISAPPROVED PLANS.— 

11 If the Secretary disapproves a plan under paragraph 

12 (4)(C), the Secretary shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) provide a written explanation of the 

14 disapproval to the State; and 

15 ‘‘(B) allow the State to modify the plan 

16 and resubmit it for approval. 

17 ‘‘(6) PLAN UPDATES.—The Secretary may re18 quire a State to review and update a plan, as appro19 priate. 

20 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL COMPARISON OF STATE LEVELS OF

21 COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary shall annually— 

22 ‘‘(1) compare the relative levels of compliance 

23 by States with the requirements under subsection 

24 (a); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) make the results of the comparison avail2 able to the public.’’. 

3 (c) DECERTIFICATION AUTHORITY.—Section 31312 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 

6 subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(b) DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH CRITICAL

10 REQUIREMENTS.—Beginning on October 1, 2016, in mak11 ing a determination under subsection (a), the Secretary 

12 shall consider a State to be in substantial noncompliance 

13 with this chapter if the Secretary determines that— 

14 ‘‘(1) the State is not complying with a critical 

15 requirement under section 31311(d)(1); and 

16 ‘‘(2) sufficient grant funding was made avail17 able to the State under section 31313(a) to comply 

18 with the requirement.’’. 

19 SEC. 307. COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE REQUIRE20 MENTS. 

21 (a) LICENSING STANDARDS.—Section 31305(a)(7) is 

22 amended by inserting ‘‘would not be subject to a disquali23 fication under section 31310(g) of this title and’’ after 

24 ‘‘taking the tests’’. 


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1 (b) DISQUALIFICATIONS.—Section 31310(g)(1) is 

2 amended by deleting ‘‘who holds a commercial driver’s li3 cense and’’. 

4 SEC. 308. COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVER INFOR5 MATION SYSTEMS. 

6 Section 31106(c) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking the subsection heading and in8 serting ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—’’; 

9 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

10 (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D); and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—The Secretary may 

13 require a State, as a condition of an award of grant 

14 money under this section, to provide the Secretary 

15 access to all State licensing status and driver history 

16 records via an electronic information system, subject 

17 to section 2721 of title 18.’’. 

18 SEC. 309. DISQUALIFICATIONS BASED ON NON-COMMER19 CIAL MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATIONS. 

20 (a) FIRST OFFENSE.—Section 31310(b)(1)(D) is 

21 amended by deleting ‘‘commercial’’ after ‘‘revoked, sus22 pended, or canceled based on the individual’s operation of 

23 a,’’ and before ‘‘motor vehicle’’. 

24 (b) SECOND OFFENSE.—Section 31310(c)(1)(D) is 

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1 pended, or canceled based on the individual’s operation of 

2 a,’’ and before ‘‘motor vehicle’’. 

3 SEC. 310. FEDERAL DRIVER DISQUALIFICATIONS. 

4 (a) DISQUALIFICATION DEFINED.—Section 31301, 

5 as amended by section 205 of this Act, is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

7 (15) as paragraphs (7) through (16), respectively; 

8 and 

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(6) ‘Disqualification’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) the suspension, revocation, or can13 cellation of a commercial driver’s license by the 

14 State of issuance; 

15 ‘‘(B) a withdrawal of an individual’s privi16 lege to drive a commercial motor vehicle by a 

17 State or other jurisdiction as the result of a vio18 lation of State or local law relating to motor ve19 hicle traffic control, except for a parking, vehi20 cle weight, or vehicle defect violation; 

21 ‘‘(C) a determination by the Secretary that 

22 an individual is not qualified to operate a com23 mercial motor vehicle; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) a determination by the Secretary that 

2 a commercial motor vehicle driver is unfit under 

3 section 31144(g).’’. 

4 (b) COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE INFORMATION

5 SYSTEM CONTENTS.—Section 31309(b)(1)(F) is amended 

6 by inserting after ‘‘disqualified’’ the following: ‘‘by the 

7 State that issued the individual a commercial driver’s li8 cense, or by the Secretary,’’. 

9 (c) STATE ACTION ON FEDERAL DISQUALIFICA10 TION.—Section 31310(h) is amended by inserting after 

11 the first sentence the following: 

12 ‘‘If the State has not disqualified the individual from 

13 operating a commercial vehicle under subsections (b) 

14 through (g), the State shall disqualify the individual if the 

15 Secretary determines under 31144(g) that the individual 

16 is disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehi17 cle.’’. 

18 SEC. 311. EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES. 

19 Section 31304, as amended by section 304 of this 

20 Act, is amended in subsection (a)— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘knowingly’’; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘in which’’ and inserting ‘‘that 

23 the employer knows or should reasonably know 

24 that’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—SAFE ROADS ACT OF 

2 2011 

3 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Roads Act of 

5 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 402. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR CONTROLLED 

7 SUBSTANCE AND ALCOHOL TEST RESULTS OF 

8 COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 313 is amended— 

10 (1) in section 31306(a), by inserting ‘‘and sec11 tion 31306a’’ after ‘‘this section’’; and 

12 (2) by inserting after section 31306 the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘§ 31306a. National clearinghouse for controlled sub15 stance and alcohol test results of com16 mercial motor vehicle operators 

17 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

19 after the date of enactment of the Safe Roads Act 

20 of 2011, the Secretary of Transportation shall estab21 lish a national clearinghouse for records relating to 

22 alcohol and controlled substances testing of commer23 cial motor vehicle operators. 

24 ‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the clearing25 house shall be— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to improve compliance with the De2 partment of Transportation’s alcohol and con3 trolled substances testing program applicable to 

4 commercial motor vehicle operators; 

5 ‘‘(B) to facilitate access to information 

6 about an individual before employing the indi7 vidual as a commercial motor vehicle operator; 

8 ‘‘(C) to enhance the safety of our United 

9 States roadways by reducing accident fatalities 

10 involving commercial motor vehicles; and 

11 ‘‘(D) to reduce the number of impaired 

12 commercial motor vehicle operators. 

13 ‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—The clearinghouse shall func14 tion as a repository for records relating to the posi15 tive test results and test refusals of commercial 

16 motor vehicle operators and violations by such oper17 ators of prohibitions set forth in subpart B of part 

18 382 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 

19 subsequent corresponding regulations). 

20 ‘‘(4) ELECTRONIC EXCHANGE OF RECORDS.— 

21 The Secretary shall ensure that records can be elec22 tronically submitted to, and requested from, the 

23 clearinghouse by authorized users. 

24 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZED OPERATOR.—The Secretary 

25 may authorize a qualified and experienced private 


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1 entity to operate and maintain the clearinghouse and 

2 to collect fees on behalf of the Secretary under sub3 section (e). The entity shall establish, operate, main4 tain and expand the clearinghouse and permit access 

5 to driver information and records from the clearing6 house in accordance with this section. 

7 ‘‘(b) DESIGN OF CLEARINGHOUSE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) USE OF FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY

9 ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDATIONS.—In estab10 lishing the clearinghouse, the Secretary shall con11 sider— 

12 ‘‘(A) the findings and recommendations 

13 contained in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

14 Administration’s March 2004 report to Con15 gress required under section 226 of the Motor 

16 Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (49 

17 U.S.C. 31306 note); and 

18 ‘‘(B) the findings and recommendations 

19 contained in the Government Accountability Of20 fice’s May 2008 report to Congress entitled 

21 ‘Motor Carrier Safety: Improvements to Drug 

22 Testing Programs Could Better Identify Illegal 

23 Drug Users and Keep Them off the Road.’. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT OF SECURE PROCESSES.— 

2 In establishing the clearinghouse, the Secretary shall 

3 develop a secure process for— 

4 ‘‘(A) administering and managing the 

5 clearinghouse in compliance with applicable 

6 Federal security standards; 

7 ‘‘(B) registering and authenticating au8 thorized users of the clearinghouse; 

9 ‘‘(C) registering and authenticating per10 sons required to report to the clearinghouse 

11 under subsection (g); 

12 ‘‘(D) preventing the unauthorized access of 

13 information from the clearinghouse; 

14 ‘‘(E) storing and transmitting data; 

15 ‘‘(F) persons required to report to the 

16 clearinghouse under subsection (g) to timely 

17 and accurately submit electronic data to the 

18 clearinghouse; 

19 ‘‘(G) generating timely and accurate re20 ports from the clearinghouse in response to re21 quests for information by authorized users; and 

22 ‘‘(H) updating an individual’s record upon 

23 completion of the return-to-duty process de24 scribed in title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 


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1 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYER ALERT OF POSITIVE TEST RE2 SULT.—In establishing the clearinghouse, the Sec3 retary shall develop a secure method for electroni4 cally notifying an employer of each additional posi5 tive test result or other noncompliance— 

6 ‘‘(A) for an employee, that is entered into 

7 the clearinghouse during the 7-day period im8 mediately following an employer’s inquiry about 

9 the employee; and 

10 ‘‘(B) for an employee who is listed as hav11 ing multiple employers. 

12 ‘‘(4) ARCHIVE CAPABILITY.—In establishing the 

13 clearinghouse, the Secretary shall develop a process 

14 for archiving all clearinghouse records, including the 

15 depositing of personal records, records relating to 

16 each individual in the database, and access requests 

17 for personal records, for the purposes of— 

18 ‘‘(A) auditing and evaluating the timeli19 ness, accuracy, and completeness of data in the 

20 clearinghouse; and 

21 ‘‘(B) auditing to monitor compliance and 

22 enforce penalties for noncompliance. 

23 ‘‘(5) FUTURE NEEDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) INTEROPERABILITY WITH OTHER

2 DATA SYSTEMS.—In establishing the clearing3 house, the Secretary shall consider— 

4 ‘‘(i) the existing data systems con5 taining regulatory and safety data for com6 mercial motor vehicle operators; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the efficacy of using or com8 bining clearinghouse data with 1 or more 

9 of such systems; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) the potential interoperability of 

11 the clearinghouse with such systems. 

12 ‘‘(B) SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS.—In car13 rying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall 

14 determine— 

15 ‘‘(i) the clearinghouse’s capability for 

16 interoperability with— 

17 ‘‘(I) the National Driver Register 

18 established under section 30302; 

19 ‘‘(II) the Commercial Driver’s Li20 cense Information System established 

21 under section 31309; 

22 ‘‘(III) the Motor Carrier Manage23 ment Information System for pre24 employment screening services under 

25 section 31150; and 


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1 ‘‘(IV) other data systems, as ap2 propriate; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) any change to the administration 

4 of the current testing program, such as 

5 forms, that is necessary to collect data for 

6 the clearinghouse. 

7 ‘‘(c) STANDARD FORMATS.—The Secretary shall de8 velop standard formats to be used— 

9 ‘‘(1) by an authorized user of the clearinghouse 

10 to— 

11 ‘‘(A) request a record from the clearing12 house; and 

13 ‘‘(B) obtain the consent of an individual 

14 who is the subject of a request from the clear15 inghouse, if applicable; and 

16 ‘‘(2) to notify an individual that a positive alco17 hol or controlled substances test result, refusing to 

18 test, and a violation of any of the prohibitions under 

19 subpart B of part 382 of title 49, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations (or any subsequent corresponding regu21 lations), will be reported to the clearinghouse. 

22 ‘‘(d) PRIVACY.—A release of information from the 

23 clearinghouse shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) comply with applicable Federal privacy 

2 laws, including the fair information practices under 

3 the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a); 

4 ‘‘(2) comply with applicable sections of the Fair 

5 Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.); and 

6 ‘‘(3) not be made to any person or entity unless 

7 expressly authorized or required by law. 

8 ‘‘(e) FEES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT FEES.—Except 

10 as provided under paragraph (3), the Secretary may 

11 collect a reasonable, customary, and nominal fee 

12 from an authorized user of the clearinghouse for a 

13 request for information from the clearinghouse. 

14 ‘‘(2) USE OF FEES.—Fees collected under this 

15 subsection shall be used for the operation and main16 tenance of the clearinghouse. 

17 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not col18 lect a fee from an individual requesting information 

19 from the clearinghouse that pertains to the record of 

20 that individual. 

21 ‘‘(f) EMPLOYER REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION CONCERNING USE OF

23 CLEARINGHOUSE.—The Secretary shall determine if 

24 an employer is authorized to use the clearinghouse 

25 to meet the alcohol and controlled substances testing 


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1 requirements under title 49, Code of Federal Regu2 lations. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY OF EXISTING REQUIRE4 MENTS.—Each employer and service agent shall 

5 comply with the alcohol and controlled substances 

6 testing requirements under title 49, Code of Federal 

7 Regulations. 

8 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT PROHIBITIONS.—Beginning 

9 30 days after the date that the clearinghouse is es10 tablished under subsection (a), an employer shall not 

11 hire an individual to operate a commercial motor ve12 hicle unless the employer determines that the indi13 vidual, during the preceding 3-year period— 

14 ‘‘(A) if tested for the use of alcohol and 

15 controlled substances, as required under title 

16 49, Code of Federal Regulations— 

17 ‘‘(i) did not test positive for the use of 

18 alcohol or controlled substances in violation 

19 of the regulations; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) tested positive for the use of al21 cohol or controlled substances and com22 pleted the required return-to-duty process 

23 under title 49, Code of Federal Regula24 tions; 


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1 ‘‘(B)(i) did not refuse to take an alcohol or 

2 controlled substance test under title 49, Code of 

3 Federal Regulations; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) refused to take an alcohol or con5 trolled substance test and completed the 

6 required return-to-duty process under title 

7 49, Code of Federal Regulations; and 

8 ‘‘(C) did not violate any other provision of 

9 subpart B of part 382 of title 49, Code of Fed10 eral Regulations (or any subsequent cor11 responding regulations). 

12 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REVIEW.—Beginning 30 days 

13 after the date that the clearinghouse is established 

14 under subsection (a), an employer shall request and 

15 review a commercial motor vehicle operator’s record 

16 from the clearinghouse annually for as long as the 

17 commercial motor vehicle operator is under the em18 ploy of the employer. 

19 ‘‘(g) REPORTING OF RECORDS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 30 days after 

21 the date that the clearinghouse is established under 

22 subsection (a), a medical review officer, employer, 

23 service agent, and other appropriate person, as de24 termined by the Secretary, shall promptly submit to 


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1 the Secretary, if in possession of, the record of an 

2 individual who— 

3 ‘‘(A) refuses to take an alcohol or con4 trolled substances test required under title 49, 

5 Code of Federal Regulations; 

6 ‘‘(B) tests positive for alcohol or a con7 trolled substance in violation of the regulations; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(C) violates any other provision of sub10 part B of part 382 of title 49, Code of Federal 

11 Regulations (or any subsequent corresponding 

12 regulations). 

13 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION OF RECORDS IN CLEARING14 HOUSE.—The Secretary shall include in the clearing15 house the records of positive test results and test re16 fusals received under paragraph (1). 

17 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS AND DELETIONS.—If the 

18 Secretary determines that a record contained in the 

19 clearinghouse is not accurate, the Secretary shall 

20 modify or delete the record, as appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(4) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall expe22 ditiously notify an individual, unless such notifica23 tion would be duplicative, when— 

24 ‘‘(A) a record relating to the individual is 

25 received by the clearinghouse; 


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1 ‘‘(B) a record in the clearinghouse relating 

2 to the individual is modified or deleted, and in3 clude in the notification the reason for the 

4 modification or deletion; or 

5 ‘‘(C) a record in the clearinghouse relating 

6 to the individual is released to an employer and 

7 specify the reason for the release. 

8 ‘‘(5) DATA QUALITY AND SECURITY STANDARDS

9 FOR REPORTING AND RELEASING.—The Secretary 

10 may establish additional requirements, as appro11 priate, to ensure that— 

12 ‘‘(A) the submission of records to the 

13 clearinghouse is timely and accurate; 

14 ‘‘(B) the release of data from the clearing15 house is timely, accurate, and released to the 

16 appropriate authorized user under this section; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(C) an individual with a record in the 

19 clearinghouse has a cause of action for any in20 appropriate use of information included in the 

21 clearinghouse. 

22 ‘‘(6) RETENTION OF RECORDS.—The Secretary 

23 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) retain a record submitted to the 

2 clearinghouse for a 5-year period beginning on 

3 the date the record is submitted; 

4 ‘‘(B) remove the record from the clearing5 house at the end of the 5-year period, unless 

6 the individual fails to meet a return-to-duty or 

7 follow-up requirement under title 49, Code of 

8 Federal Regulations; and 

9 ‘‘(C) retain a record after the end of the 

10 5-year period in a separate location for 

11 archiving and auditing purposes. 

12 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZED USERS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) EMPLOYERS.—The Secretary shall estab14 lish a process for an employer to request and receive 

15 an individual’s record from the clearinghouse. 

16 ‘‘(A) CONSENT.—An employer may not ac17 cess an individual’s record from the clearing18 house unless the employer— 

19 ‘‘(i) obtains the prior written or elec20 tronic consent of the individual for access 

21 to the record; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) submits proof of the individual’s 

23 consent to the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(B) ACCESS TO RECORDS.—After receiv25 ing a request from an employer for an individVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:22 Dec 09, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1950.IS S1950

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1 ual’s record under subparagraph (A), the Sec2 retary shall grant access to the individual’s 

3 record to the employer as expeditiously as prac4 ticable. 

5 ‘‘(C) RETENTION OF RECORD RE6 QUESTS.—The Secretary shall require an em7 ployer to retain for a 3-year period— 

8 ‘‘(i) a record of each request made by 

9 the employer for records from the clearing10 house; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the information received pursu12 ant to the request. 

13 ‘‘(D) USE OF RECORDS.—An employer 

14 may use an individual’s record received from 

15 the clearinghouse only to assess and evaluate 

16 the qualifications of the individual to operate a 

17 commercial motor vehicle for the employer. 

18 ‘‘(E) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY OF INDI19 VIDUALS.—An employer that receives an indi20 vidual’s record from the clearinghouse under 

21 subparagraph (B) shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) protect the privacy of the indi23 vidual and the confidentiality of the record; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ensure that information con2 tained in the record is not divulged to a 

3 person or entity that is not directly in4 volved in assessing and evaluating the 

5 qualifications of the individual to operate a 

6 commercial motor vehicle for the employer. 

7 ‘‘(2) STATE LICENSING AUTHORITIES.—The 

8 Secretary shall establish a process for the chief com9 mercial driver’s licensing official of a State to re10 quest and receive an individual’s record from the 

11 clearinghouse if the individual is applying for a com12 mercial driver’s license from the State. 

13 ‘‘(A) CONSENT.—The Secretary may grant 

14 access to an individual’s record in the clearing15 house under this paragraph without the prior 

16 written or electronic consent of the individual. 

17 An individual who holds a commercial driver’s 

18 license shall be deemed to consent to such ac19 cess by obtaining a commercial driver’s license. 

20 ‘‘(B) PROTECTION OF PRIVACY OF INDI21 VIDUALS.—A chief commercial driver’s licensing 

22 official of a State that receives an individual’s 

23 record from the clearinghouse under this para24 graph shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) protect the privacy of the indi2 vidual and the confidentiality of the record; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(ii) ensure that the information in 

5 the record is not divulged to any person 

6 that is not directly involved in assessing 

7 and evaluating the qualifications of the in8 dividual to operate a commercial motor ve9 hicle. 

10 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY

11 BOARD.—The Secretary shall establish a process for 

12 the National Transportation Safety Board to request 

13 and receive an individual’s record from the clearing14 house if the individual is involved in an accident that 

15 is under investigation by the National Transpor16 tation Safety Board. 

17 ‘‘(A) CONSENT.—The Secretary may grant 

18 access to an individual’s record in the clearing19 house under this paragraph without the prior 

20 written or electronic consent of the individual. 

21 An individual who holds a commercial driver’s 

22 license shall be deemed to consent to such ac23 cess by obtaining a commercial driver’s license. 

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1 portation Safety Board that receives an individ2 ual’s record from the clearinghouse under this 

3 paragraph shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) protect the privacy of the indi5 vidual and the confidentiality of the record; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) unless the official determines 

8 that the information in the individual’s 

9 record should be reported under section 

10 1131(e), ensure that the information in the 

11 record is not divulged to any person that 

12 is not directly involved with investigating 

13 the accident. 

14 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USERS.—The 

15 Secretary shall consider whether to grant access to 

16 the clearinghouse to additional users. The Secretary 

17 may authorize access to an individual’s record from 

18 the clearinghouse to an additional user if the Sec19 retary determines that granting access will further 

20 the purposes under subsection (a)(2). In determining 

21 whether the access will further the purposes under 

22 subsection (a)(2), the Secretary shall consider, 

23 among other things— 

24 ‘‘(A) what use the additional user will 

25 make of the individual’s record; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the costs and benefits of the use; and 

2 ‘‘(C) how to protect the privacy of the indi3 vidual and the confidentiality of the record. 

4 ‘‘(i) ACCESS TO CLEARINGHOUSE BY INDIVIDUALS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab6 lish a process for an individual to request and re7 ceive information from the clearinghouse— 

8 ‘‘(A) to determine whether the clearing9 house contains a record pertaining to the indi10 vidual; 

11 ‘‘(B) to verify the accuracy of a record; 

12 ‘‘(C) to update an individual’s record, in13 cluding completing the return-to-duty process 

14 described in title 49, Code of Federal Regula15 tions; and 

16 ‘‘(D) to determine whether the clearing17 house received requests for the individual’s in18 formation. 

19 ‘‘(2) DISPUTE PROCEDURE.—The Secretary 

20 shall establish a procedure, including an appeal 

21 process, for an individual to dispute and remedy an 

22 administrative error in the individual’s record. 

23 ‘‘(j) PENALTIES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An employer, employee, 

25 medical review officer, or service agent who violates 


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1 any provision of this section shall be subject to civil 

2 penalties under section 521(b)(2)(C) and criminal 

3 penalties under section 521(b)(6)(B), and any other 

4 applicable civil and criminal penalties, as determined 

5 by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(2) VIOLATION OF PRIVACY.—The Secretary 

7 shall establish civil and criminal penalties, consistent 

8 with paragraph (1), for an authorized user who vio9 lates paragraph (2)(B) or (3)(B) of subsection (h). 

10 ‘‘(k) COMPATIBILITY OF STATE AND LOCAL LAWS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PREEMPTION.—Except as provided under 

12 paragraph (2), any law, regulation, order, or other 

13 requirement of a State, political subdivision of a 

14 State, or Indian tribe related to a commercial driv15 er’s license holder subject to alcohol or controlled 

16 substance testing under title 49, Code of Federal 

17 Regulations, that is inconsistent with this section or 

18 a regulation issued pursuant to this section is pre19 empted. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—The preemption under 

21 paragraph (1) shall include— 

22 ‘‘(A) the reporting of valid positive results 

23 from alcohol screening tests and drug tests; 

24 ‘‘(B) the refusal to provide a specimen for 

25 an alcohol screening test or drug test; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) other violations of subpart B of part 

2 382 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

3 any subsequent corresponding regulations). 

4 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—A law, regulation, order, or 

5 other requirement of a State, political subdivision of 

6 a State, or Indian tribe shall not be preempted 

7 under this subsection to the extent it relates to an 

8 action taken with respect to a commercial motor ve9 hicle operator’s commercial driver’s license or driv10 ing record as a result of the driver’s— 

11 ‘‘(A) verified positive alcohol or drug test 

12 result; 

13 ‘‘(B) refusal to provide a specimen for the 

14 test; or 

15 ‘‘(C) other violations of subpart B of part 

16 382 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

17 any subsequent corresponding regulations). 

18 ‘‘(l) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

19 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZED USER.—The term ‘author20 ized user’ means an employer, State licensing au21 thority, National Transportation Safety Board, or 

22 other person granted access to the clearinghouse 

23 under subsection (h). 

24 ‘‘(2) CHIEF COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSING

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1 censing official’ means the official in a State who is 

2 authorized to— 

3 ‘‘(A) maintain a record about commercial 

4 driver’s licenses issued by the State; and 

5 ‘‘(B) take action on commercial driver’s li6 censes issued by the State. 

7 ‘‘(3) CLEARINGHOUSE.—The term ‘clearing8 house’ means the clearinghouse established under 

9 subsection (a). 

10 ‘‘(4) COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE OPER11 ATOR.—The term ‘commercial motor vehicle oper12 ator’ means an individual who— 

13 ‘‘(A) possesses a valid commercial driver’s 

14 license issued in accordance with section 31308; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) is subject to controlled substances 

17 and alcohol testing under title 49, Code of Fed18 eral Regulations. 

19 ‘‘(5) EMPLOYER.—The term ‘employer’ means 

20 a person or entity employing, or seeking to employ, 

21 1 or more employees (including an individual who is 

22 self-employed) to be commercial motor vehicle opera23 tors. 


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1 ‘‘(6) MEDICAL REVIEW OFFICER.—The term 

2 ‘medical review officer’ means a licensed physician 

3 who is responsible for— 

4 ‘‘(A) receiving and reviewing a laboratory 

5 result generated under the testing program; 

6 ‘‘(B) evaluating a medical explanation for 

7 a controlled substances test under title 49, 

8 Code of Federal Regulations; and 

9 ‘‘(C) interpreting the results of a con10 trolled substances test. 

11 ‘‘(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

12 the Secretary of Transportation. 

13 ‘‘(8) SERVICE AGENT.—The term ‘service 

14 agent’ means a person or entity, other than an em15 ployee of the employer, who provides services to em16 ployers or employees under the testing program. 

17 ‘‘(9) TESTING PROGRAM.—The term ‘testing 

18 program’ means the alcohol and controlled sub19 stances testing program required under title 49, 

20 Code of Federal Regulations.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

22 chapter 313 is amended by inserting after the item relat23 ing to section 31306 the following: 

‘‘31306a. National clearinghouse for positive controlled substance and alcohol 

test results of commercial motor vehicle operators.’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. DRUG AND ALCOHOL VIOLATION SANCTIONS. 

2 Chapter 313 is amended— 

3 (1) by redesignating section 31306(f) as 

4 31306(f)(1); and 

5 (2) by inserting after section 31306(f)(1) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS.—The Secretary 

8 may require a State to revoke, suspend, or cancel 

9 the commercial driver’s license of a commercial 

10 motor vehicle operator who is found, based on a test 

11 conducted and confirmed under this section, to have 

12 used alcohol or a controlled substance in violation of 

13 law until the commercial motor vehicle operator 

14 completes the rehabilitation process under subsection 

15 (e).’’; and 

16 (3) by amending section 31310(d) to read as 

17 follows: 

18 ‘‘(d) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE VIOLATIONS.—The 

19 Secretary may permanently disqualify an individual from 

20 operating a commercial vehicle if the individual— 

21 ‘‘(1) uses a commercial motor vehicle in the 

22 commission of a felony involving manufacturing, dis23 tributing, or dispensing a controlled substance, or 

24 possession with intent to manufacture, distribute, or 

25 dispense a controlled substance; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) uses alcohol or a controlled substance, in 

2 violation of section 31306, 3 or more times.’’. 

3 SEC. 404. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 From the funds authorized to be appropriated under 

5 section 31104(h) of title 49, United States Code, up to 

6 $5,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated from the 

7 Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Ac8 count) for the Secretary of Transportation to develop, de9 sign, and implement the national clearinghouse required 

10 by section 402 of this Act. 

11 TITLE V—ENFORCEMENT 

12 SEC. 501. INSPECTION DEMAND AND DISPLAY OF CREDEN13 TIALS. 

14 (a) SAFETY INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 504(c) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘, or an employee of the recipi17 ent of a grant issued under section 31102 of this 

18 title’’ after ‘‘a contractor’’; and 

19 (2) by inserting ‘‘, in person or in writing’’ 

20 after ‘‘proper credentials’’. 

21 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 521(b)(2)(E) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub24 paragraph (E)(i); and 

25 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) PLACE OUT OF SERVICE.—The 

2 Secretary may by regulation adopt proce3 dures for placing out of service the com4 mercial motor vehicle of a foreign-domi5 ciled motor carrier that fails to promptly 

6 allow the Secretary to inspect and copy a 

7 record or inspect equipment, land, build8 ings, or other property.’’. 

9 (c) HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INVESTIGATIONS.—Sec10 tion 5121(c)(2) is amended by inserting ‘‘, in person or 

11 in writing,’’ after ‘‘proper credentials’’. 

12 (d) COMMERCIAL INVESTIGATIONS.—Section 

13 14122(b) is amended by inserting ‘‘, in person or in writ14 ing’’ after ‘‘proper credentials’’. 

15 SEC. 502. OUT OF SERVICE PENALTY FOR DENIAL OF AC16 CESS TO RECORDS. 

17 Section 521(b)(2)(E) is amended— 

18 (1) by inserting after ‘‘$10,000.’’ the following: 

19 ‘‘In the case of a motor carrier, the Secretary may 

20 also place the violator’s motor carrier operations out 

21 of service.’’; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘such penalty’’ after ‘‘It shall be 

23 a defense to’’ and inserting ‘‘a penalty’’. 


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1 SEC. 503. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF OPERATION OUT 

2 OF SERVICE ORDERS. 

3 Section 521(b)(2) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(F) PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS RELATING

6 TO OUT OF SERVICE ORDERS.—A motor carrier 

7 or employer (as defined in section 31132) that 

8 operates a commercial motor vehicle in com9 merce in violation of a prohibition on transpor10 tation under section 31144(c) of this title or an 

11 imminent hazard out of service order issued 

12 under subsection (b)(5) of this section or sec13 tion 5121(d) of this title shall be liable for a 

14 civil penalty not to exceed $25,000.’’. 

15 SEC. 504. MINIMUM PROHIBITION ON OPERATION FOR 

16 UNFIT CARRIERS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 31144(c)(1) is amended 

18 by inserting ‘‘, and such period shall be for not less than 

19 10 days’’ after ‘‘operator is fit’’. 

20 (b) OWNERS OR OPERATORS TRANSPORTING PAS21 SENGERS.—Section 31144(c)(2) is amended by inserting 

22 ‘‘, and such period shall be for not less than 10 days’’ 

23 after ‘‘operator is fit’’. 

24 (c) OWNERS OR OPERATORS TRANSPORTING HAZ25 ARDOUS MATERIAL.—Section 31144(c)(3) is amended by 


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1 inserting at the end of the first sentence the following: 

2 ‘‘, and such period shall be for not less than 10 days’’. 

3 SEC. 505. MINIMUM OUT OF SERVICE PENALTIES. 

4 Section 521(b)(7) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘The penalties may include a minimum duration for 

7 any out of service period, not to exceed 90 days.’’. 

8 SEC. 506. IMPOUNDMENT AND IMMOBILIZATION OF COM9 MERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES FOR IMMINENT 

10 HAZARD. 

11 Section 521(b) is amended by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(15) IMPOUNDMENT OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR

14 VEHICLES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) ENFORCEMENT OF IMMINENT HAZ16 ARD OUT-OF-SERVICE ORDERS.— 

17 ‘‘(i) The Secretary, or an authorized 

18 State official carrying out motor carrier 

19 safety enforcement activities under section 

20 31102, may enforce an imminent hazard 

21 out-of-service order issued under chapters 

22 5, 51, 131 through 149, 311, 313, or 315 

23 of this title, or a regulation promulgated 

24 thereunder, by towing and impounding a 


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1 commercial motor vehicle until the order is 

2 rescinded. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Enforcement shall not unreason4 ably interfere with the ability of a shipper, 

5 carrier, broker, or other party to arrange 

6 for the alternative transportation of any 

7 cargo or passenger being transported at 

8 the time the commercial motor vehicle is 

9 immobilized. In the case of a commercial 

10 motor vehicle transporting passengers, the 

11 Secretary or authorized State official shall 

12 provide reasonable, temporary, and secure 

13 shelter and accommodations for passengers 

14 in transit. 

15 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary’s designee or an 

16 authorized State official carrying out 

17 motor carrier safety enforcement activities 

18 under section 31102, shall immediately no19 tify the owner of a commercial motor vehi20 cle of the impoundment and the oppor21 tunity for review of the impoundment. A 

22 review shall be provided in accordance with 

23 section 554 of title 5, except that the re24 view shall occur not later than 10 days 

25 after the impoundment. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.—The 

2 Secretary shall promulgate regulations on the 

3 use of impoundment or immobilization of com4 mercial motor vehicles as a means of enforcing 

5 additional out-of-service orders issued under 

6 chapters 5, 51, 131 through 149, 311, 313, or 

7 315 of this title, or a regulation promulgated 

8 thereunder. Regulations promulgated under this 

9 subparagraph shall include consideration of 

10 public safety, the protection of passengers and 

11 cargo, inconvenience to passengers, and the se12 curity of the commercial motor vehicle. 

13 ‘‘(C) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

14 term ‘impoundment’ or ’impounding’ means the 

15 seizing and taking into custody of a commercial 

16 motor vehicle or the immobilizing of a commer17 cial motor vehicle through the attachment of a 

18 locking device or other mechanical or electronic 

19 means.’’. 

20 SEC. 507. INCREASED PENALTIES FOR EVASION OF REGU21 LATIONS. 

22 (a) PENALTIES.—Section 524 is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘knowingly and willfully’’; 

24 (2) by inserting after ‘‘this chapter’’ the fol25 lowing: ‘‘, chapter 51, subchapter III of chapter 311 


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1 (except sections 31138 and 31139) or section 

2 31302, 31303, 31304, 31305(b), 31310(g)(1)(A), or 

3 31502 of this title, or a regulation issued under any 

4 of those provisions,’’; 

5 (3) by striking ‘‘$200 but not more than $500’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘$2,000 but not more than $5,000’’; 

7 and 

8 (4) by striking ‘‘$250 but not more than 

9 $2,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,500 but not more than 

10 $7,500’’. 

11 (b) EVASION OF REGULATION.—Section 14906 is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘$200’’ and inserting ‘‘at least 

14 $2,000’’; 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘$250’’ and inserting ‘‘$5,000’’; 

16 and 

17 (3) by inserting after ‘‘a subsequent violation’’ 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘, and may be subject to criminal penalties’’. 

20 SEC. 508. FAILURE TO PAY CIVIL PENALTY AS A DISQUALI21 FYING OFFENSE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 311 is amended by in23 serting after section 31151 the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 31152. Disqualification for failure to pay 

2 ‘‘An individual assessed a civil penalty under this 

3 chapter, or chapters 5, 51, or 149 of this title, or a regula4 tion issued under any of those provisions, who fails to pay 

5 the penalty or fails to comply with the terms of a settle6 ment with the Secretary, shall be disqualified from oper7 ating a commercial motor vehicle. A disqualification shall 

8 continue until the penalty is paid, or the individual com9 plies with the terms of the settlement, unless the non10 payment is because the individual is a debtor in a case 

11 under chapter 11 of title 11, United States Code.’’. 

12 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—Section 31310, as 

13 amended by sections 206 and 310 of this Act, is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) by redesignating subsections (h) through (k) 

16 as subsections (i) through (l), respectively; and 

17 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(h) DISQUALIFICATION FOR FAILURE TO PAY.— 

20 The Secretary shall disqualify from operating a commer21 cial motor vehicle any individual who fails to pay a civil 

22 penalty within the prescribed period, or fails to conform 

23 to the terms of a settlement with the Secretary. A disquali24 fication shall continue until the penalty is paid, or the in25 dividual conforms to the terms of the settlement, unless 

26 the nonpayment is because the individual is a debtor in 


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1 a case under chapter 11 of title 11, United States Code.’’; 

2 and 

3 (3) in subsection (i), as redesignated, by strik4 ing ‘‘Notwithstanding subsections (b) through (g)’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘Notwithstanding subsections (b) 

6 through (h)’’. 

7 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of 

8 chapter 311 is amended by inserting after the item relat9 ing to section 31151 the following: 

‘‘31152. Disqualification for failure to pay.’’. 

10 SEC. 509. VIOLATIONS RELATING TO COMMERCIAL MOTOR 

11 VEHICLE SAFETY REGULATION AND OPERA12 TORS. 

13 Section 521(b)(2)(D) is amended by striking ‘‘ability 

14 to pay,’’. 

15 SEC. 510. EMERGENCY DISQUALIFICATION FOR IMMINENT 

16 HAZARD. 

17 Section 31310(f) is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘section 521 

19 or’’ before ‘‘section 5102’’; and 

20 (2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘section 521 

21 or’’ before ‘‘section 5102’’. 


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1 SEC. 511. INTRASTATE OPERATIONS OF INTERSTATE 

2 MOTOR CARRIERS. 

3 (a) PROHIBITED TRANSPORTATION.—Section 

4 521(b)(5) is amended by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(C) If an employee, vehicle, or all or part 

7 of an employer’s commercial motor vehicle oper8 ations is ordered out of service under paragraph 

9 (5)(A), the commercial motor vehicle operations 

10 of the employee, vehicle, or employer that affect 

11 interstate commerce are also prohibited.’’. 

12 (b) PROHIBITION ON OPERATION IN INTERSTATE

13 COMMERCE AFTER NONPAYMENT OF PENALTIES.—Sec14 tion 521(b)(8) is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub16 paragraph (C); and 

17 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL PROHIBITION.—A per20 son prohibited from operating in interstate com21 merce under paragraph (8)(A) may not operate 

22 any commercial motor vehicle where the oper23 ation affects interstate commerce.’’. 


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1 SEC. 512. ENFORCEMENT OF SAFETY LAWS AND REGULA2 TIONS. 

3 (a) ENFORCEMENT OF SAFETY LAWS AND REGULA4 TIONS.—Chapter 311, as amended by sections 113 and 

5 508 of this Act, is amended by adding after section 31153 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 31154. Enforcement of safety laws and regulations 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may bring a civil 

9 action to enforce this part, or a regulation or order of the 

10 Secretary under this part, when violated by an employer, 

11 employee, or other person providing transportation or 

12 service under this subchapter or subchapter I. 

13 ‘‘(b) VENUE.—In a civil action under subsection 

14 (a)— 

15 ‘‘(1) trial shall be in the judicial district in 

16 which the employer, employee, or other person oper17 ates; 

18 ‘‘(2) process may be served without regard to 

19 the territorial limits of the district or of the State 

20 in which the action is instituted; and 

21 ‘‘(3) a person participating with a carrier or 

22 broker in a violation may be joined in the civil action 

23 without regard to the residence of the person.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of 

2 chapter 311 is amended by inserting after the item relat3 ing to section 31153 the following: 

‘‘31154. Enforcement of safety laws and regulations.’’. 

4 SEC. 513. DISCLOSURE TO STATE AND LOCAL LAW EN5 FORCEMENT AGENCIES. 

6 Section 31106(e) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub8 section (e)(1); and 

9 (2) by inserting at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any prohi11 bition on disclosure of information in section 

12 31105(h) or 31143(b) of this title or section 552a 

13 of title 5, the Secretary may disclose information 

14 maintained by the Secretary pursuant to chapters 

15 51, 135, 311, or 313 of this title to appropriate per16 sonnel of a State agency or instrumentality author17 ized to carry out State commercial motor vehicle 

18 safety activities and commercial driver’s license laws, 

19 or appropriate personnel of a local law enforcement 

20 agency, in accordance with standards, conditions, 

21 and procedures as determined by the Secretary. Dis22 closure under this section shall not operate as a 

23 waiver by the Secretary of any applicable privilege 

24 against disclosure under common law or as a basis 


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1 for compelling disclosure under section 552 of title 

2 5.’’. 

3 TITLE VI—COMPLIANCE, 

4 SAFETY, ACCOUNTABILITY 

5 SEC. 601. COMPLIANCE, SAFETY, ACCOUNTABILITY. 

6 (a) Section 31102 is amended— 

7 (1) by amending the section heading to read: 

8 ‘‘§ 31102. Compliance, safety, and accountability 

9 grants’’; 

10 (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to this section, 

13 the Secretary of Transportation shall make and admin14 ister a compliance, safety, and accountability grant pro15 gram to assist States, local governments, and other enti16 ties and persons with motor carrier safety and enforce17 ment on highways and other public roads, new entrant 

18 safety audits, border enforcement, hazardous materials 

19 safety and security, consumer protection and household 

20 goods enforcement, and other programs and activities re21 quired to improve the safety of motor carriers as deter22 mined by the Secretary. The Secretary shall allocate fund23 ing in accordance with section 31104 of this title.’’; 

24 (3) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) by amending the heading to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(b) MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ASSISTANCE PRO4 GRAM.—’’; 

5 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

6 through (3) as (2) through (4), respectively; 

7 (C) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 

8 redesignated, the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM GOAL.—The goal of the Motor 

10 Carrier Safety Assistance Program is to ensure that 

11 the Secretary, States, local government agencies, 

12 and other political jurisdictions work in partnership 

13 to establish programs to improve motor carrier, com14 mercial motor vehicle, and driver safety to support 

15 a safe and efficient surface transportation system 

16 by— 

17 ‘‘(A) making targeted investments to pro18 mote safe commercial motor vehicle transpor19 tation, including transportation of passengers 

20 and hazardous materials; 

21 ‘‘(B) investing in activities likely to gen22 erate maximum reductions in the number and 

23 severity of commercial motor vehicle crashes 

24 and fatalities resulting from such crashes; 


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1 ‘‘(C) adopting and enforcing effective 

2 motor carrier, commercial motor vehicle, and 

3 driver safety regulations and practices con4 sistent with Federal requirements; and 

5 ‘‘(D) assessing and improving statewide 

6 performance by setting program goals and 

7 meeting performance standards, measures, and 

8 benchmarks.’’; 

9 (D) in paragraph (2), as redesignated— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘make a declaration 

11 of’’ in subparagraph (I) and inserting 

12 ‘‘demonstrate’’; 

13 (ii) by amending subparagraph (M) to 

14 read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(M) ensures participation in appropriate 

16 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 

17 systems and other information systems by all 

18 appropriate jurisdictions receiving Motor Car19 rier Safety Assistance Program funding;’’; 

20 (iii) in subparagraph (Q), by inserting 

21 ‘‘and dedicated sufficient resources to’’ be22 tween ‘‘established’’ and ‘‘a program’’; 

23 (iv) in subparagraph (W), by striking 

24 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 


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1 (v) by amending subparagraph (X) to 

2 read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(X) except in the case of an imminent or 

4 obvious safety hazard, ensures that an inspec5 tion of a vehicle transporting passengers for a 

6 motor carrier of passengers is conducted at a 

7 station, terminal, border crossing, maintenance 

8 facility, destination, weigh station, rest stop, 

9 turnpike service area, or a location where ade10 quate food, shelter, and sanitation facilities are 

11 available for passengers, and reasonable accom12 modation is available for passengers with dis13 abilities; and’’; and 

14 (vi) by adding after subparagraph (X) 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(Y) ensures that the State will transmit 

17 to its roadside inspectors the notice of each fed18 eral exemption granted pursuant to section 

19 31315(b) and provided to the State by the Sec20 retary, including the name of the person grant21 ed the exemption and any terms and conditions 

22 that apply to the exemption.’’; and 

23 (E) by amending paragraph (4), as redes24 ignated, to read as follows: 

25 ‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A plan submitted by a 

2 State under paragraph (2) shall provide that 

3 the total expenditure of amounts of the lead 

4 State agency responsible for implementing the 

5 plan will be maintained at a level at least equal 

6 to the average level of that expenditure for fis7 cal years 2004 and 2005. 

8 ‘‘(B) AVERAGE LEVEL OF STATE EXPENDI9 TURES.—In estimating the average level of 

10 State expenditure under subparagraph (A), the 

11 Secretary— 

12 ‘‘(i) may allow the State to exclude 

13 State expenditures for Government-spon14 sored demonstration or pilot programs; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) shall require the State to exclude 

17 State matching amounts used to receive 

18 Government financing under this sub19 section. 

20 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—Upon the request of a 

21 State, the Secretary may waive or modify the 

22 requirements of this paragraph for 1 fiscal 

23 year, if the Secretary determines that a waiver 

24 is equitable due to exceptional or uncontrollable 

25 circumstances, such as a natural disaster or a 


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1 serious decline in the financial resources of the 

2 State motor carrier safety assistance program 

3 agency.’’; 

4 (4) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub5 section (h); and 

6 (5) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(e) NEW ENTRANT SAFETY ASSURANCE PRO9 GRAM.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM GOAL.—The Secretary may 

11 make grants to States and local governments for 

12 pre-authorization safety audits and new entrant 

13 motor carrier audits as described in section 

14 31144(g). 

15 ‘‘(2) RECIPIENTS.—Grants made in support of 

16 this program may be provided to States and local 

17 governments. 

18 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of a 

19 grant made under this program is 100 percent. 

20 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Eligible activities 

21 will be in accordance with criteria developed by the 

22 Secretary and posted in the Federal Register in ad23 vance of the grant application period. 

24 ‘‘(5) DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary deter25 mines that a State or local government is unable to 


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1 conduct a new entrant motor carrier audit, the Sec2 retary may use the funds to conduct the audit. 

3 ‘‘(f) BORDER ENFORCEMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM GOAL.—The Secretary of Trans5 portation may make a grant for carrying out border 

6 commercial motor vehicle safety programs and re7 lated enforcement activities and projects. 

8 ‘‘(2) RECIPIENTS.—The Secretary of Transpor9 tation may make a grant to an entity, State, or 

10 other person for carrying out border commercial 

11 motor vehicle safety programs and related enforce12 ment activities and projects. 

13 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Secretary shall re14 imburse a grantee at least 80 percent of the costs 

15 incurred in a fiscal year for carrying out border 

16 commercial motor vehicle safety programs and re17 lated enforcement activities and projects. 

18 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible activity 

19 will be in accordance with criteria developed by the 

20 Secretary and posted in the Federal Register in ad21 vance of the grant application period. 

22 ‘‘(g) HIGH PRIORITY INITIATIVES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM GOAL.—The Secretary may 

24 make grants to carry out high priority activities and 

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1 ty and compliance with commercial motor vehicle 

2 safety regulations, including activities and projects 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(A) are national in scope; 

5 ‘‘(B) increase public awareness and edu6 cation; 

7 ‘‘(C) target unsafe driving of commercial 

8 motor vehicles and non-commercial motor vehi9 cles in areas identified as high risk crash cor10 ridors; 

11 ‘‘(D) improve consumer protection and en12 forcement of household goods regulations; 

13 ‘‘(E) improve the movement of hazardous 

14 materials safely and securely, including activi15 ties related to the establishment of uniform 

16 forms and application procedures that improve 

17 the accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of 

18 commercial motor vehicle safety data reported 

19 to the Secretary; or 

20 ‘‘(F) demonstrate new technologies to im21 prove commercial motor vehicle safety. 

22 ‘‘(2) RECIPIENTS.—The Secretary may allocate 

23 amounts to award grants to State agencies, local 

24 governments, and other persons for carrying out 

25 high priority activities and projects that improve 


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1 commercial motor vehicle safety and compliance with 

2 commercial motor vehicle safety regulations in ac3 cordance with the program goals specified in para4 graph (1). 

5 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Secretary shall re6 imburse a grantee at least 80 percent of the costs 

7 incurred in a fiscal year for carrying out the high 

8 priority activities or projects. 

9 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An eligible activity 

10 will be in accordance with criteria that is— 

11 ‘‘(A) developed by the Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(B) posted in the Federal Register in ad13 vance of the grant application period.’’. 

14 (b) Conforming Amendment.—The analysis of chap15 ter 311 is amended by striking the item relating to section 

16 31102 and inserting the following: 

‘‘31102. Compliance, safety, and accountability grants.’’. 

17 SEC. 602. PERFORMANCE AND REGISTRATION INFORMA18 TION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. 

19 Section 31106(b) is amended— 

20 (1) by amending paragraph (3)(C) to read as 

21 follows— 

22 ‘‘(C) establish and implement a process— 

23 ‘‘(i) to cancel the motor vehicle reg24 istration and seize the registration plates 

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1 ble under section 31310(j)(2)(C) for know2 ingly allowing or requiring an employee to 

3 operate such a commercial motor vehicle in 

4 violation of an out-of-service order; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) to reinstate the vehicle registra6 tion or return the registration plates of the 

7 commercial motor vehicle, subject to sanc8 tions under clause (i), if the Secretary per9 mits such carrier to resume operations 

10 after the date of issuance of such order.’’; 

11 and 

12 (2) by striking paragraph (4). 

13 SEC. 603. COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE DEFINED. 

14 Section 31101(1) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) ‘commercial motor vehicle’ means (except 

16 under section 31106) a self-propelled or towed vehi17 cle used on the highways in commerce to transport 

18 passengers or property, if the vehicle— 

19 ‘‘(A) has a gross vehicle weight rating or 

20 gross vehicle weight of at least 10,001 pounds, 

21 whichever is greater; 

22 ‘‘(B) is designed or used to transport more 

23 than 8 passengers, including the driver, for 

24 compensation; 


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1 ‘‘(C) is designed or used to transport more 

2 than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is 

3 not used to transport passengers for compensa4 tion; or 

5 ‘‘(D) is used in transporting material 

6 found by the Secretary of Transportation to be 

7 hazardous under section 5103 and transported 

8 in a quantity requiring placarding under regula9 tions prescribed by the Secretary under section 

10 5103.’’. 

11 SEC. 604. DRIVER SAFETY FITNESS RATINGS. 

12 Section 31144, as amended by section 204 of this 

13 Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVERS.—The 

15 Secretary may maintain by regulation a procedure for de16 termining the safety fitness of a commercial motor vehicle 

17 driver and for prohibiting the driver from operating in 

18 interstate commerce. The procedure and prohibition shall 

19 include the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) Specific initial and continuing require21 ments that a driver must comply with to dem22 onstrate safety fitness. 

23 ‘‘(2) The methodology and continually updated 

24 safety performance data that the Secretary will use 

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1 spection results, serious traffic offenses, and crash 

2 involvement data. 

3 ‘‘(3) Specific time frames within which the Sec4 retary will determine whether a driver is fit. 

5 ‘‘(4) A prohibition period or periods, not to ex6 ceed 1 year, that a driver that the Secretary deter7 mines is not fit will be prohibited from operating a 

8 commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce. 

9 The period or periods shall begin on the 46th day 

10 after the date of the fitness determination and con11 tinue until the Secretary determines the driver is fit 

12 or until the prohibition period expires. 

13 ‘‘(5) A review by the Secretary, not later than 

14 30 days after an unfit driver requests a review, of 

15 the driver’s compliance with the requirements the 

16 driver failed to comply with and that resulted in the 

17 Secretary determining that the driver was not fit. 

18 The burden of proof shall be on the driver to dem19 onstrate fitness. 

20 ‘‘(6) The eligibility criteria for reinstatement, 

21 including the remedial measures the unfit driver 

22 must take for reinstatement.’’. 


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1 SEC. 605. UNIFORM ELECTRONIC CLEARANCE FOR COM2 MERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 311 is amended by add4 ing after section 31109 the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 31110. Withholding amounts for State noncompli6 ance 

7 ‘‘(a) FIRST FISCAL YEAR.—Subject to criteria estab8 lished by the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary 

9 may withhold up to 50 percent of the amount a State is 

10 otherwise eligible to receive under section 31102(b) on the 

11 first day of the fiscal year after the first fiscal year fol12 lowing the date of enactment of the Commercial Motor 

13 Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011 in which the 

14 State uses for at least 180 days an electronic commercial 

15 motor vehicle inspection selection system that does not 

16 employ a selection methodology approved by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(b) SECOND FISCAL YEAR.—The Secretary shall 

18 withhold up to 75 percent of the amount a State is other19 wise eligible to receive under section 31102(b) on the first 

20 day of the fiscal year after the second fiscal year following 

21 the date of enactment of the Commercial Motor Vehicle 

22 Safety Enhancement Act of 2011 in which the State uses 

23 for at least 180 days an electronic commercial motor vehi24 cle inspection selection system that does not employ a se25 lection methodology approved by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(c) SUBSEQUENT AVAILABILITY OF WITHHELD

2 FUNDS.—The Secretary may make the amounts withheld 

3 under subsection (a) or subsection (b) available to the 

4 State if the Secretary determines that the State has sub5 stantially complied with the requirement described under 

6 subsection (a) or subsection (b) not later than 180 days 

7 after the beginning of the fiscal year in which amounts 

8 were withheld.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of 

10 chapter 311 is amended by inserting after the item relat11 ing to section 31109 the following: 

‘‘31110. Withholding amounts for State noncompliance.’’. 

12 SEC. 606. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 Section 31104 is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘§ 31104. Availability of amounts 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap16 propriated from Highway Trust Fund (other than the 

17 Mass Transit Account) for Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

18 Administration programs the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) COMPLIANCE, SAFETY, AND ACCOUNT20 ABILITY GRANTS UNDER SECTION 31102.— 

21 ‘‘(A) $249,717,000 for fiscal year 2012, 

22 provided that the Secretary shall set aside not 

23 less than $168,388,000 to carry out the motor 

24 carrier safety assistance program under section 

25 31102(b); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) $253,814,000 for fiscal year 2013, 

2 provided that the Secretary shall set aside not 

3 less than $171,813,000 to carry out the motor 

4 carrier safety assistance program under section 

5 31102(b). 

6 ‘‘(2) DATA AND TECHNOLOGY GRANTS UNDER

7 SECTION 31109.— 

8 ‘‘(A) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

9 ‘‘(B) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

10 ‘‘(3) DRIVER SAFETY GRANTS UNDER SECTION

11 31313.— 

12 ‘‘(A) $31,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

13 ‘‘(B) $31,000,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

14 ‘‘(4) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall develop 

15 criteria to allocate the remaining funds under para16 graphs (1), (2), and (3) for fiscal year 2013 and for 

17 each fiscal year thereafter not later than April 1 of 

18 the prior fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY AND REALLOCATION OF

20 AMOUNTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ALLOCATIONS AND REALLOCATIONS.— 

22 Amounts made available under subsection (a)(1) re23 main available until expended. Allocations to a State 

24 remain available for expenditure in the State for the 

25 fiscal year in which they are allocated and for the 


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1 next fiscal year. Amounts not expended by a State 

2 during those 2 fiscal years are released to the Sec3 retary for reallocation. 

4 ‘‘(2) REDISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS.—The Sec5 retary may, after August 1 of each fiscal year, upon 

6 a determination that a State does not qualify for 

7 funding under section 31102(b) or that the State 

8 will not expend all of its existing funding, reallocate 

9 the State’s funding. In revising the allocation and 

10 redistributing the amounts, the Secretary shall give 

11 preference to those States that require additional 

12 funding to meet program goals under section 

13 31102(b). 

14 ‘‘(3) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY FOR DATA AND

15 TECHNOLOGY GRANTS.—Amounts made available 

16 under subsection (a)(2) remain available for obliga17 tion for the fiscal year and the next 2 years in which 

18 they are appropriated. Allocations remain available 

19 for expenditure in the State for 5 fiscal years after 

20 they were obligated. Amounts not expended by a 

21 State during those 3 fiscal years are released to the 

22 Secretary for reallocation. 

23 ‘‘(4) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY FOR DRIVER

24 SAFETY GRANTS.—Amounts made available under 

25 subsection (a)(3) of this section remain available for 


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1 obligation for the fiscal year and the next fiscal year 

2 in which they are appropriated. Allocations to a 

3 State remain available for expenditure in the State 

4 for the fiscal year in which they are allocated and 

5 for the following 2 fiscal years. Amounts not ex6 pended by a State during those 3 fiscal years are re7 leased to the Secretary for reallocation. 

8 ‘‘(5) REALLOCATION.—The Secretary, upon a 

9 request by a State, may reallocate grant funds pre10 viously awarded to the State under a grant program 

11 authorized by section 31102, 31109, or 31313 to an12 other grant program authorized by those sections 

13 upon a showing by the State that it is unable to ex14 pend the funds within the 12 months prior to their 

15 expiration provided that the State agrees to expend 

16 the funds within the remaining period of expendi17 ture. 

18 ‘‘(c) GRANTS AS CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS.—Ap19 proval by the Secretary of a grant under sections 31102, 

20 31109, and 31313 is a contractual obligation of the Gov21 ernment for payment of the Government’s share of costs 

22 incurred in developing and implementing programs to im23 prove commercial motor vehicle safety and enforce com24 mercial driver’s license regulations, standards, and orders. 


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1 ‘‘(d) DEDUCTION FOR ADMINISTRATIVE EX2 PENSES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On October 1 of each fiscal 

4 year or as soon after that as practicable, the Sec5 retary may deduct, from amounts made available 

6 under— 

7 ‘‘(A) subsection (a)(1) for that fiscal year, 

8 not more than 1.5 percent of those amounts for 

9 administrative expenses incurred in carrying 

10 out section 31102 in that fiscal year; 

11 ‘‘(B) subsection (a)(2) for that fiscal year, 

12 not more than 1.4 percent of those amounts for 

13 administrative expenses incurred in carrying 

14 out section 31109 in that fiscal year; and 

15 ‘‘(C) subsection (a)(3) for that fiscal year, 

16 not more than 1.4 percent of those amounts for 

17 administrative expenses incurred in carrying 

18 out section 31313 in that fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(2) TRAINING.—The Secretary may use at 

20 least 50 percent of the amounts deducted from the 

21 amounts made available under sections (a)(1) and 

22 (a)(3) to train non-Government employees and to de23 velop related training materials to carry out sections 

24 31102, 31311, and 31313 of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(3) CONTRACTS.—The Secretary may use 

2 amounts deducted under paragraph (1) to enter into 

3 contracts and cooperative agreements with States, 

4 local governments, associations, institutions, cor5 porations, and other persons, if the Secretary deter6 mines the contracts and cooperative agreements are 

7 cost-effective, benefit multiple jurisdictions of the 

8 United States, and enhance safety programs and re9 lated enforcement activities. 

10 ‘‘(e) ALLOCATION CRITERIA AND ELIGIBILITY.— 

11 ‘‘(1) On October 1 of each fiscal year or as 

12 soon as practicable after that date after making the 

13 deduction under subsection (d)(1)(A), the Secretary 

14 shall allocate amounts made available to carry out 

15 section 31102(b) for such fiscal year among the 

16 States with plans approved under that section. Allo17 cation shall be made under the criteria prescribed by 

18 the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(2) On October 1 of each fiscal year or as 

20 soon as practicable after that date and after making 

21 the deduction under subsection (d)(1)(B) or 

22 (d)(1)(C), the Secretary shall allocate amounts made 

23 available to carry out sections 31109(a) and 

24 31313(b)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(f) INTRASTATE COMPATIBILITY.—The Secretary 

2 shall prescribe regulations specifying tolerance guidelines 

3 and standards for ensuring compatibility of intrastate 

4 commercial motor vehicle safety laws and regulations with 

5 Government motor carrier safety regulations to be en6 forced under section 31102(b). To the extent practicable, 

7 the guidelines and standards shall allow for maximum 

8 flexibility while ensuring a degree of uniformity that will 

9 not diminish transportation safety. In reviewing State 

10 plans and allocating amounts or making grants under sec11 tion 153 of title 23, United States Code, the Secretary 

12 shall ensure that the guidelines and standards are applied 

13 uniformly. 

14 ‘‘(g) WITHHOLDING AMOUNTS FOR STATE NON15 COMPLIANCE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to criteria estab17 lished by the Secretary, the Secretary may withhold 

18 up to 100 percent of the amounts a State is other19 wise eligible to receive under section 31102(b) on 

20 October 1 of each fiscal year beginning after the 

21 date of enactment of the Commercial Motor Vehicle 

22 Safety Enhancement Act of 2011 and continuing for 

23 the period that the State does not comply substan24 tially with a requirement under section 31109(b). 


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1 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT AVAILABILITY OF WITHHELD

2 FUNDS.—The Secretary may make the amounts 

3 withheld in accordance with paragraph (1) available 

4 to a State if the Secretary determines that the State 

5 has substantially complied with a requirement under 

6 section 31109(b) not later than 180 days after the 

7 beginning of the fiscal year in which the amounts 

8 are withheld. 

9 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated from the 

12 Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit 

13 Account) for the Secretary to pay administrative ex14 penses of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminis15 tration— 

16 ‘‘(A) $250,819,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(B) $248,523,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

19 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds authorized by 

20 this subsection shall be used for personnel costs, ad21 ministrative infrastructure, rent, information tech22 nology, programs for research and technology, infor23 mation management, regulatory development, the 

24 administration of the performance and registration 

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1 cation, other operating expenses, and such other ex2 penses as may from time to time be necessary to im3 plement statutory mandates of the Administration 

4 not funded from other sources. 

5 ‘‘(i) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The amounts 

7 made available under this section shall remain avail8 able until expended. 

9 ‘‘(2) INITIAL DATE OF AVAILABILITY.—Author10 izations from the Highway Trust Fund (other than 

11 the Mass Transit Account) for this section shall be 

12 available for obligation on the date of their appor13 tionment or allocation or on October 1 of the fiscal 

14 year for which they are authorized, whichever occurs 

15 first.’’. 

16 SEC. 607. HIGH RISK CARRIER REVIEWS. 

17 (a) HIGH RISK CARRIER REVIEWS.—Section 

18 31104(h), as amended by section 606 of this Act, is 

19 amended by adding at the end of paragraph (2) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘From the funds authorized by this subsection, the 

22 Secretary shall ensure that a review is completed on each 

23 motor carrier that demonstrates through performance 

24 data that it poses the highest safety risk. At a minimum, 

25 a review shall be conducted whenever a motor carrier is 


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1 among the highest risk carriers for 2 consecutive 

2 months.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 4138 of the 

4 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Eq5 uity Act: A Legacy for Users (49 U.S.C. 31144 note) is 

6 repealed. 

7 SEC. 608. DATA AND TECHNOLOGY GRANTS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 31109 is amended to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘§ 31109. Data and technology grants 

11 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of 

12 Transportation shall establish and administer a data and 

13 technology grant program to assist the States with the im14 plementation and maintenance of data systems. The Sec15 retary shall allocate the funds in accordance with section 

16 31104. 

17 ‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE GOALS.—The Secretary may 

18 make a grant to a State to implement the performance 

19 and registration information system management require20 ments of section 31106(b) to develop, implement, and 

21 maintain commercial vehicle information systems and net22 works, and other innovative technologies that the Sec23 retary determines improve commercial motor vehicle safe24 ty. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant to im2 plement the requirements of section 31106(b), the State 

3 shall design a program that— 

4 ‘‘(1) links Federal motor carrier safety informa5 tion systems with the State’s motor carrier informa6 tion systems; 

7 ‘‘(2) determines the safety fitness of a motor 

8 carrier or registrant when licensing or registering 

9 the registrant or motor carrier or while the license 

10 or registration is in effect; and 

11 ‘‘(3) denies, suspends, or revokes the commer12 cial motor vehicle registrations of a motor carrier or 

13 registrant that was issued an operations out-of-serv14 ice order by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(d) REQUIRED PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

16 shall require States that participate in the program under 

17 section 31106 to— 

18 ‘‘(1) comply with the uniform policies, proce19 dures, and technical and operational standards pre20 scribed by the Secretary under section 31106(b); 

21 ‘‘(2) possess or seek the authority to possess for 

22 a time period not longer than determined reasonable 

23 by the Secretary, to impose sanctions relating to 

24 commercial motor vehicle registration on the basis of 

25 a Federal safety fitness determination; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) establish and implement a process to can2 cel the motor vehicle registration and seize the reg3 istration plates of a vehicle when an employer is 

4 found liable under section 31310(j)(2)(C) for know5 ingly allowing or requiring an employee to operate 

6 such a commercial motor vehicle in violation of an 

7 out of service order. 

8 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL SHARE.—The total Federal share of 

9 the cost of a project payable from all eligible Federal 

10 sources shall be at least 80 percent.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of 

12 chapter 311 is amended by striking the item relating to 

13 section 31109 and inserting the following: 

‘‘31109. Data and technology grants.’’. 

14 SEC. 609. DRIVER SAFETY GRANTS. 

15 (a) DRIVER FOCUSED GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 

16 31313 is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘§ 31313. Driver safety grants 

18 ‘‘(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall 

19 make and administer a driver focused grant program to 

20 assist the States, local governments, entities, and other 

21 persons with commercial driver’s license systems, pro22 grams, training, fraud detection, reporting of violations 

23 and other programs required to improve the safety of driv24 ers as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 


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1 deems critical. The Secretary shall allocate the funds for 

2 the program in accordance with section 31104. 

3 ‘‘(b) COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE PROGRAM IM4 PROVEMENT GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM GOAL.—The Secretary of Trans6 portation may make a grant to a State in a fiscal 

7 year— 

8 ‘‘(A) to comply with the requirements of 

9 section 31311; 

10 ‘‘(B) in the case of a State that is making 

11 a good faith effort toward substantial compli12 ance with the requirements of this section and 

13 section 31311, to improve its implementation of 

14 its commercial driver’s license program; 

15 ‘‘(C) for research, development demonstra16 tion projects, public education, and other spe17 cial activities and projects relating to commer18 cial driver licensing and motor vehicle safety 

19 that are of benefit to all jurisdictions of the 

20 United States or are designed to address na21 tional safety concerns and circumstances; 

22 ‘‘(D) for commercial driver’s license pro23 gram coordinators; 

24 ‘‘(E) to implement or maintain a system to 

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1 cial motor vehicle of the suspension or revoca2 tion of the operator’s commercial driver’s li3 cense consistent with the standards developed 

4 under section 304(b) of the Commercial Motor 

5 Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011; or 

6 ‘‘(F) to train operators of commercial 

7 motor vehicles, as defined under section 31301, 

8 and to train operators and future operators in 

9 the safe use of such vehicles. Funding priority 

10 for this discretionary grant program shall be to 

11 regional or multi-state educational or nonprofit 

12 associations serving economically distressed re13 gions of the United States. 

14 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give pri15 ority, in making grants under paragraph (1)(B), to 

16 a State that will use the grants to achieve compli17 ance with the requirements of the Motor Carrier 

18 Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (113 Stat. 1748), 

19 including the amendments made by the Commercial 

20 Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011. 

21 ‘‘(3) RECIPIENTS.—The Secretary may allocate 

22 grants to State agencies, local governments, and 

23 other persons for carrying out activities and projects 

24 that improve commercial driver’s license safety and 

25 compliance with commercial driver’s license and 


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1 commercial motor vehicle safety regulations in ac2 cordance with the program goals under paragraph 

3 (1) and that train operators on commercial motor 

4 vehicles. The Secretary may make a grant to a State 

5 to comply with section 31311 for commercial driver’s 

6 license program coordinators and for notification 

7 systems. 

8 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of a 

9 grant made under this program shall be at least 80 

10 percent, except that the Federal share of grants for 

11 commercial driver license program coordinators and 

12 training commercial motor vehicle operators shall be 

13 100 percent.’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis of 

15 chapter 313 is amended by striking the item relating to 

16 section 31313 and inserting the following: 

‘‘31313. Driver safety grants.’’. 

17 SEC. 610. COMMERCIAL VEHICLE INFORMATION SYSTEMS 

18 AND NETWORKS. 

19 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 

21 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

22 the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and In23 frastructure of the House of Representatives that in24 cludes— 


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1 (1) established time frames and milestones for 

2 resuming the Commercial Vehicle Information Sys3 tems and Networks Program; and 

4 (2) a strategic workforce plan for its grants 

5 management office to ensure that it has determined 

6 the skills and competencies that are critical to 

7 achieving its mission goals. 

8 TITLE VII—MOTORCOACH 

9 ENHANCED SAFETY ACT OF 2011 

10 SEC. 701. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Motorcoach Enhanced 

12 Safety Act of 2011’’. 

13 SEC. 702. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) ADVANCED GLAZING.—The term ‘‘advanced 

16 glazing’’ means glazing installed in a portal on the 

17 side or the roof of a motorcoach that is designed to 

18 be highly resistant to partial or complete occupant 

19 ejection in all types of motor vehicle crashes. 

20 (2) BUS.—The term ‘‘bus’’ has the meaning 

21 given the term in section 571.3(b) of title 49, Code 

22 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the day be23 fore the date of enactment of this Act). 

24 (3) COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE.—Except as 

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1 hicle’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

2 31132(1) of title 49, United States Code. 

3 (4) DIRECT TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYS4 TEM.—The term ‘‘direct tire pressure monitoring 

5 system’’ means a tire pressure monitoring system 

6 that is capable of directly detecting when the air 

7 pressure level in any tire is significantly under-in8 flated and providing the driver a low tire pressure 

9 warning as to which specific tire is significantly 

10 under-inflated. 

11 (5) ELECTRONIC ON-BOARD RECORDER.—The 

12 term ‘‘electronic on-board recorder’’ means an elec13 tronic device that acquires and stores data showing 

14 the record of duty status of the vehicle operator and 

15 performs the functions required of an automatic on16 board recording device in section 395.15(b) of title 

17 49, Code of Federal Regulations. 

18 (6) EVENT DATA RECORDER.—The term ‘‘event 

19 data recorder’’ has the meaning given that term in 

20 section 563.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula21 tions. 

22 (7) MOTOR CARRIER.—The term ‘‘motor car23 rier’’ means— 

24 (A) a motor carrier (as defined in section 

25 13102(14) of title 49, United States Code); or 


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1 (B) a motor private carrier (as defined in 

2 section 13102(15) of that title). 

3 (8) MOTORCOACH.—The term ‘‘motorcoach’’ 

4 has the meaning given the term ‘‘over-the-road bus’’ 

5 in section 3038(a)(3) of the Transportation Equity 

6 Act for the 21st Century (49 U.S.C. 5310 note), but 

7 does not include— 

8 (A) a bus used in public transportation 

9 provided by, or on behalf of, a public transpor10 tation agency; or 

11 (B) a school bus, including a multifunction 

12 school activity bus. 

13 (9) MOTORCOACH SERVICES.—The term ‘‘mo14 torcoach services’’ means passenger transportation 

15 by motorcoach for compensation. 

16 (10) MULTIFUNCTION SCHOOL ACTIVITY BUS.— 

17 The term ‘‘multifunction school activity bus’’ has the 

18 meaning given the term in section 571.3(b) of title 

19 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

20 day before the date of enactment of this Act). 

21 (11) PORTAL.—The term ‘‘portal’’ means any 

22 opening on the front, side, rear, or roof of a motor23 coach that could, in the event of a crash involving 

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1 tion of any occupant from the motorcoach, including 

2 a young child. 

3 (12) PROVIDER OF MOTORCOACH SERVICES.— 

4 The term ‘‘provider of motorcoach services’’ means 

5 a motor carrier that provides passenger transpor6 tation services with a motorcoach, including per-trip 

7 compensation and contracted or chartered com8 pensation. 

9 (13) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION.—The term 

10 ‘‘public transportation’’ has the meaning given the 

11 term in section 5302 of title 49, United States Code. 

12 (14) SAFETY BELT.—The term ‘‘safety belt’’ 

13 has the meaning given the term in section 

14 153(i)(4)(B) of title 23, United States Code. 

15 (15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

16 means the Secretary of Transportation. 

17 SEC. 703. REGULATIONS FOR IMPROVED OCCUPANT PRO18 TECTION, PASSENGER EVACUATION, AND 

19 CRASH AVOIDANCE. 

20 (a) REGULATIONS REQUIRED WITHIN 1 YEAR.—Not 

21 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

22 the Secretary shall prescribe regulations requiring safety 

23 belts to be installed in motorcoaches at each designated 

24 seating position. 


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1 (b) REGULATIONS REQUIRED WITHIN 2 YEARS.— 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, the Secretary shall prescribe the following commercial 

4 motor vehicle regulations: 

5 (1) ROOF STRENGTH AND CRUSH RESIST6 ANCE.—The Secretary shall establish improved roof 

7 and roof support standards for motorcoaches that 

8 substantially improve the resistance of motorcoach 

9 roofs to deformation and intrusion to prevent serious 

10 occupant injury in rollover crashes involving 

11 motorcoaches. 

12 (2) ANTI-EJECTION SAFETY COUNTER13 MEASURES.—The Secretary shall require advanced 

14 glazing to be installed in each motorcoach portal and 

15 shall consider other portal improvements to prevent 

16 partial and complete ejection of motorcoach pas17 sengers, including children. In prescribing such 

18 standards, the Secretary shall consider the impact of 

19 such standards on the use of motorcoach portals as 

20 a means of emergency egress. 

21 (3) ROLLOVER CRASH AVOIDANCE.—The Sec22 retary shall require motorcoaches to be equipped 

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1 duce the number and frequency of rollover crashes 

2 among motorcoaches. 

3 (c) COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE TIRE PRESSURE

4 MONITORING SYSTEMS.—Not later than 3 years after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prescribe 

6 the following commercial vehicle regulation: 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 

8 motorcoaches to be equipped with direct tire pres9 sure monitoring systems that warn the operator of 

10 a commercial motor vehicle when any tire exhibits a 

11 level of air pressure that is below a specified level of 

12 air pressure established by the Secretary. 

13 (2) PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS.—The regu14 lation prescribed by the Secretary under this sub15 section shall include performance requirements to 

16 ensure that direct tire pressure monitoring systems 

17 are capable of— 

18 (A) providing a warning to the driver when 

19 1 or more tires are underinflated; 

20 (B) activating in a specified time period 

21 after the underinflation is detected; and 

22 (C) operating at different vehicle speeds. 

23 (d) APPLICATION OF REGULATIONS.— 

24 (1) NEW MOTORCOACHES.—Any regulation pre25 scribed in accordance with subsection (a), (b), or (c) 


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1 shall apply to all motorcoaches manufactured more 

2 than 2 years after the date on which the regulation 

3 is published as a final rule. 

4 (2) RETROFIT REQUIREMENTS FOR EXISTING

5 MOTORCOACHES.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, by 

7 regulation, provide for the application of any re8 quirement established under subsection (a) or 

9 (b)(2) to motorcoaches manufactured before the 

10 date on which the requirement applies to new 

11 motorcoaches under paragraph (1) based on an 

12 assessment of the feasibility, benefits, and costs 

13 of retrofitting the older motorcoaches. 

14 (B) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary shall 

15 complete an assessment with respect to safety 

16 belt retrofits not later than 1 year after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act and with respect 

18 to anti-ejection countermeasure retrofits not 

19 later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

20 of this Act. 

21 (e) FAILURE TO MEET DEADLINE.—If the Secretary 

22 determines that a final rule cannot be issued before the 

23 deadline established under this section, the Secretary 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) submit a report to the Committee on Com2 merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

3 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

4 House of Representatives that explains why the 

5 deadline cannot be met; and 

6 (2) establish a new deadline for the issuance of 

7 the final rule. 

8 SEC. 704. STANDARDS FOR IMPROVED FIRE SAFETY. 

9 (a) EVALUATIONS.—Not later than 18 months after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall ini11 tiate the following rulemaking proceedings: 

12 (1) FLAMMABILITY STANDARD FOR EXTERIOR

13 COMPONENTS.—The Secretary shall establish re14 quirements for fire hardening or fire resistance of 

15 motorcoach exterior components to prevent fire and 

16 smoke inhalation injuries to occupants. 

17 (2) SMOKE SUPPRESSION.—The Secretary shall 

18 update Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 

19 Number 302 (49 C.F.R. 571.302; relating to flam20 mability of interior materials) to improve the resist21 ance of motorcoach interiors and components to 

22 burning and permit sufficient time for the safe evac23 uation of passengers from motorcoaches. 


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1 (3) PREVENTION OF, AND RESISTANCE TO, 

2 WHEEL WELL FIRES.—The Secretary shall establish 

3 requirements— 

4 (A) to prevent and mitigate the propaga5 tion of wheel well fires into the passenger com6 partment; and 

7 (B) to substantially reduce occupant 

8 deaths and injuries from such fires. 

9 (4) AUTOMATIC FIRE SUPPRESSION.—The Sec10 retary shall establish requirements for motorcoaches 

11 to be equipped with highly effective fire suppression 

12 systems that automatically respond to and suppress 

13 all fires in such motorcoaches. 

14 (5) PASSENGER EVACUATION.—The Secretary 

15 shall establish requirements for motorcoaches to be 

16 equipped with— 

17 (A) improved emergency exit window, door, 

18 roof hatch, and wheelchair lift door designs to 

19 expedite access and use by passengers of 

20 motorcoaches under all emergency cir21 cumstances, including crashes and fires; and 

22 (B) emergency interior lighting systems, 

23 including luminescent or retroreflectorized de24 lineation of evacuation paths and exits, which 

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1 cident to accomplish more rapid and effective 

2 evacuation of passengers. 

3 (6) CAUSATION AND PREVENTION OF MOTOR4 COACH FIRES.—The Secretary shall examine the 

5 principle causes of motorcoach fires and vehicle de6 sign changes intended to reduce the number of mo7 torcoach fires resulting from those principle causes. 

8 (b) DEADLINE.—Not later than 42 months after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 

10 (1) issue final rules in accordance with sub11 section (a); or 

12 (2) if the Secretary determines that any stand13 ard is not warranted based on the requirements and 

14 considerations set forth in subsection (a) and (b) of 

15 section 30111 of title 49, United States Code, sub16 mit a report that describes the reasons for not pre17 scribing such a standard to— 

18 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

19 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

20 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com21 merce of the House of Representatives. 

22 (c) TIRE PERFORMANCE STANDARD.—Not later than 

23 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec24 retary shall— 


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1 (1) issue a final rule upgrading performance 

2 standards for tires used on motorcoaches, including 

3 an enhanced endurance test and a new high-speed 

4 performance test; or 

5 (2) if the Secretary determines that a standard 

6 is not warranted based on the requirements and con7 siderations set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of 

8 section 30111 of title 49, United States Code, sub9 mit a report that describes the reasons for not pre10 scribing such a standard to— 

11 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

12 and Transportation of the Senate; and 

13 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com14 merce of the House of Representatives. 

15 SEC. 705. OCCUPANT PROTECTION, COLLISION AVOIDANCE, 

16 FIRE CAUSATION, AND FIRE EXTINGUISHER 

17 RESEARCH AND TESTING. 

18 (a) SAFETY RESEARCH INITIATIVES.—Not later than 

19 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary shall complete the following research and testing: 

21 (1) IMPROVED FIRE EXTINGUISHERS.—The 

22 Secretary shall research and test the need to install 

23 improved fire extinguishers or other readily available 

24 firefighting equipment in motorcoaches to effectively 


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1 extinguish fires in motorcoaches and prevent pas2 senger deaths and injuries. 

3 (2) INTERIOR IMPACT PROTECTION.—The Sec4 retary shall research and test enhanced occupant im5 pact protection standards for motorcoach interiors to 

6 reduce substantially serious injuries for all pas7 sengers of motorcoaches. 

8 (3) COMPARTMENTALIZATION SAFETY COUN9 TERMEASURES.—The Secretary shall require en10 hanced compartmentalization safety counter11 measures for motorcoaches, including enhanced seat12 ing designs, to substantially reduce the risk of pas13 sengers being thrown from their seats and colliding 

14 with other passengers, interior surfaces, and compo15 nents in the event of a crash involving a motorcoach. 

16 (4) COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEMS.—The Sec17 retary shall research and test forward and lateral 

18 crash warning systems applications for 

19 motorcoaches. 

20 (b) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 2 years after the 

21 completion of each research and testing initiative required 

22 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall issue final motor 

23 vehicle safety standards if the Secretary determines that 

24 such standards are warranted based on the requirements 


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1 and considerations set forth in section subsections (a) and 

2 (b) of section 30111 of title 49, United States Code. 

3 SEC. 706. MOTORCOACH REGISTRATION. 

4 (a) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

5 13902(b) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 

7 (8) as paragraphs (5) through (12), respectively; 

8 and 

9 (2) by inserting before paragraph (5), as redes10 ignated, the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION REQUIRE12 MENTS FOR PROVIDERS OR MOTORCOACH SERV13 ICES.—In addition to meeting the requirements 

14 under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary may not reg15 ister a person to provide motorcoach services until 

16 after the person— 

17 ‘‘(A) undergoes a preauthorization safety 

18 audit, including verification, in a manner suffi19 cient to demonstrate the ability to comply with 

20 Federal rules and regulations, of— 

21 ‘‘(i) a drug and alcohol testing pro22 gram under part 40 of title 49, Code of 

23 Federal Regulations; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the carrier’s system of compli2 ance with hours-of-service rules, including 

3 hours-of-service records; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the ability to obtain required in5 surance; 

6 ‘‘(iv) driver qualifications, including 

7 the validity of the commercial driver’s li8 cense of each driver who will be operating 

9 under such authority; 

10 ‘‘(v) disclosure of common ownership, 

11 common control, common management, 

12 common familial relationship, or other cor13 porate relationship with another motor car14 rier or applicant for motor carrier author15 ity during the past 3 years; 

16 ‘‘(vi) records of the State inspections, 

17 or of a Level I or V Commercial Vehicle 

18 Safety Alliance Inspection, for all vehicles 

19 that will be operated by the carrier; 

20 ‘‘(vii) safety management programs, 

21 including vehicle maintenance and repair 

22 programs; and 

23 ‘‘(viii) the ability to comply with the 

24 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 

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1 the-Road Bus Transportation Accessibility 

2 Act of 2007 (122 Stat. 2915); 

3 ‘‘(B) has been interviewed to review safety 

4 management controls and the carrier’s written 

5 safety oversight policies and practices; and 

6 ‘‘(C) through the successful completion of 

7 a written examination developed by the Sec8 retary, has demonstrated proficiency to comply 

9 with and carry out the requirements and regu10 lations described in subsection (a)(1). 

11 ‘‘(2) PRE-AUTHORIZATION SAFETY AUDIT.— 

12 The pre-authorization safety audit required under 

13 paragraph (1)(A) shall be completed on-site not later 

14 than 90 days following the submission of an applica15 tion for operating authority. 

16 ‘‘(3) FEE.—The Secretary may establish, under 

17 section 9701 of title 31, a fee of not more than 

18 $1,200 for new registrants that as nearly as possible 

19 covers the costs of performing a preauthorization 

20 safety audit. Amounts collected under this sub21 section shall be deposited in the Highway Trust 

22 Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account).’’. 

23 (b) SAFETY REVIEWS OF NEW OPERATORS.—Section 

24 31144(g)(1) is amended by inserting ‘‘transporting prop25 erty’’ after ‘‘each operator’’. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

2 24305(a)(3)(A)(i) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

3 13902(b)(8)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

4 13902(b)(12)(A)’’. 

5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 707. IMPROVED OVERSIGHT OF MOTORCOACH SERV9 ICE PROVIDERS. 

10 Section 31144, as amended by sections 204 and 604 

11 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(j) PERIODIC SAFETY REVIEWS OF PROVIDERS OF

13 MOTORCOACH SERVICES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) SAFETY REVIEW.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) determine the safety fitness of all 

17 providers of motorcoach services registered 

18 with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Ad19 ministration; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) assign a safety fitness rating to 

21 each such provider. 

22 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph (A) 

23 shall apply— 

24 ‘‘(i) to any provider of motorcoach 

25 services registered with the Administration 


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1 after the date of enactment of the Motor2 coach Enhanced Safety Act of 2011 begin3 ning not later than 2 years after the date 

4 of such registration; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) to any provider of motorcoach 

6 services registered with the Administration 

7 on or before the date of enactment of that 

8 Act beginning not later than 3 years after 

9 the date of enactment of that Act. 

10 ‘‘(2) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

11 establish, by regulation, a process for monitoring the 

12 safety performance of each provider of motorcoach 

13 services on a regular basis following the assignment 

14 of a safety fitness rating, including progressive inter15 vention to correct unsafe practices. 

16 ‘‘(3) ENFORCEMENT STRIKE FORCES.—In addi17 tion to the enhanced monitoring and enforcement ac18 tions required under paragraph (2), the Secretary 

19 may organize special enforcement strike forces tar20 geting providers of motorcoach services. 

21 ‘‘(4) PERIODIC UPDATE OF SAFETY FITNESS

22 RATING.—In conducting the safety reviews required 

23 under this subsection, the Secretary shall reassess 

24 the safety fitness rating of each provider not less 

25 frequently than once every 3 years. 


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1 ‘‘(5) MOTORCOACH SERVICES DEFINED.—In 

2 this subsection, the term ‘provider of motorcoach 

3 services’ has the meaning given such term in section 

4 702 of the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 

5 2011.’’. 

6 SEC. 708. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY, BENEFITS, AND COSTS 

7 OF ESTABLISHING A SYSTEM OF CERTIFI8 CATION OF TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

9 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact10 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to 

11 the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

12 of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and 

13 Infrastructure of the House of Representatives that de14 scribes the feasibility, benefits, and costs of establishing 

15 a system of certification of public and private schools and 

16 of motor carriers and motorcoach operators that provide 

17 motorcoach driver training. 

18 SEC. 709. REPORT ON DRIVER’S LICENSE REQUIREMENTS 

19 FOR 9- TO 15-PASSENGER VANS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub22 mit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

23 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

24 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep25 resentatives that examines requiring all or certain classes 


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1 of drivers operating a vehicle, which is designed or used 

2 to transport not fewer than 9 and not more than 15 pas3 sengers (including a driver) in interstate commerce, to 

4 have a commercial driver’s license passenger-carrying en5 dorsement and be tested in accordance with a drug and 

6 alcohol testing program under part 40 of title 49, Code 

7 of Federal Regulations. 

8 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the report 

9 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider— 

10 (1) the safety benefits of the requirement de11 scribed in subsection (a); 

12 (2) the scope of the population that would be 

13 impacted by such requirement; 

14 (3) the cost to the Federal Government and 

15 State governments to meet such requirement; and 

16 (4) the impact on safety benefits and cost from 

17 limiting the application of such requirement to cer18 tain drivers of such vehicles, such as drivers who are 

19 compensated for driving. 

20 SEC. 710. EVENT DATA RECORDERS. 

21 (a) EVALUATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, after consid23 ering the performance requirements for event data record24 ers for passenger vehicles under part 563 of title 49, Code 

25 of Federal Regulations, shall complete an evaluation of 


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1 event data recorders, including requirements regarding 

2 specific types of vehicle operations, events and incidents, 

3 and systems information to be recorded, for event data 

4 recorders to be used on motorcoaches used by motor car5 riers in interstate commerce. 

6 (b) STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

7 2 years after completing the evaluation required under 

8 subsection (a), the Secretary shall issue standards and 

9 regulations based on the results of that evaluation. 

10 SEC. 711. SAFETY INSPECTION PROGRAM FOR COMMER11 CIAL MOTOR VEHICLES OF PASSENGERS. 

12 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a rulemaking pro14 ceeding to consider requiring States to conduct annual in15 spections of commercial motor vehicles designed or used 

16 to transport passengers, including an assessment of— 

17 (1) the risks associated with improperly main18 tained or inspected commercial motor vehicles de19 signed or used to transport passengers; 

20 (2) the effectiveness of existing Federal stand21 ards for the inspection of such vehicles in— 

22 (A) mitigating the risks described in para23 graph (1); and 

24 (B) ensuring the safe and proper operation 

25 condition of such vehicles; and 


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1 (3) the costs and benefits of a mandatory State 

2 inspection program. 

3 SEC. 712. DISTRACTED DRIVING. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 311, as amended by sec5 tions 113, 508, and 512 of this Act, is amended by adding 

6 after section 31154 the following: 

7 ‘‘§ 31155. Regulation of the use of distracting devices 

8 in motorcoaches 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

10 date of enactment of the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act 

11 of 2011, the Secretary of Transportation shall prescribe 

12 regulations on the use of electronic or wireless devices, in13 cluding cell phones and other distracting devices, by an 

14 individual employed as the operator of a motorcoach (as 

15 defined in section 702 of that Act). 

16 ‘‘(b) BASIS FOR REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall 

17 base the regulations prescribed under subsection (a) on 

18 accident data analysis, the results of ongoing research, 

19 and other information, as appropriate. 

20 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITED USE.—Except as provided under 

21 subsection (d), the Secretary shall prohibit the use of the 

22 devices described in subsection (a) in circumstances in 

23 which the Secretary determines that their use interferes 

24 with a driver’s safe operation of a motorcoach. 


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1 ‘‘(d) PERMITTED USE.—The Secretary may permit 

2 the use of a device that is otherwise prohibited under sub3 section (c) if the Secretary determines that such use is 

4 necessary for the safety of the driver or the public in emer5 gency circumstances.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 

7 chapter 311 is amended by inserting after the item relat8 ing to section 31154 the following: 

‘‘31155. Regulation of the use of distracting devices in motorcoaches.’’. 

9 SEC. 713. REGULATIONS. 

10 Any standard or regulation prescribed or modified 

11 pursuant to the Motorcoach Enhanced Safety Act of 2011 

12 shall be prescribed or modified in accordance with section 

13 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

14 TITLE VIII—SAFE HIGHWAYS 

15 AND INFRASTRUCTURE PRES16 ERVATION 

17 SEC. 801. COMPREHENSIVE TRUCK SIZE AND WEIGHT LIM18 ITS STUDY. 

19 (a) TRUCK SIZE AND WEIGHT LIMITS STUDY.—Not 

20 later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 the Secretary, in consultation with each relevant State and 

22 other applicable Federal agencies, shall commence a com23 prehensive truck size and weight limits study. The study 

24 shall— 


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1 (1) provide data on accident frequency and fac2 tors related to accident risk of each route of the Na3 tional Highway System in each State that allows a 

4 vehicle to operate with size and weight limits that 

5 are in excess of the Federal law and regulations and 

6 its correlation to truck size and weight limits; 

7 (2) evaluate the impacts to the infrastructure of 

8 each route of the National Highway System in each 

9 State that allows a vehicle to operate with size and 

10 weight limits that are in excess of the Federal law 

11 and regulations, including— 

12 (A) an analysis that quantifies the cost of 

13 the impacts in dollars; 

14 (B) an analysis of the percentage of trucks 

15 operating in excess of the Federal size and 

16 weight limits; and 

17 (C) an analysis that examines the ability of 

18 each State to recover the cost for the impacts; 

19 (3) evaluate the impacts and frequency of viola20 tions in excess of the Federal size and weight law 

21 and regulations to determine the cost of the enforce22 ment of the law and regulations, and the effective23 ness of the enforcement methods; 


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1 (4) examine the relationship between truck per2 formance and crash involvement and its correlation 

3 to Federal size and weight limits; 

4 (5) assess the impacts that truck size and 

5 weight limits in excess of the Federal law and regu6 lations have in the risk of bridge failure contributing 

7 to the structural deficiencies of bridges or in the 

8 useful life of a bridge; 

9 (6) analyze the impacts on safety and infra10 structure in each State that allows a truck to oper11 ate in excess of Federal size and weight limitations 

12 in truck-only lanes; and 

13 (7) compare and contrast the safety and infra14 structure impacts of the Federal limits regarding 

15 truck size and weight limits in relation to— 

16 (A) six-axle and other alternative configu17 rations of tractor-trailers; and 

18 (B) safety records of foreign nations with 

19 truck size and weight limits and tractor-trailer 

20 configurations that differ from the Federal law 

21 and regulations. 

22 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

23 that the study is commenced under subsection (a), the 

24 Secretary shall submit a final report on the study, includ25 ing all findings and recommendations, to the Committee 


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1 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Com2 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate 

3 and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

4 of the House of Representatives. 

5 SEC. 802. COMPILATION OF EXISTING STATE TRUCK SIZE 

6 AND WEIGHT LIMIT LAWS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

8 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta9 tion with the States, shall begin to compile— 

10 (1) a list for each State, as applicable, that de11 scribes each route of the National Highway System 

12 that allows a vehicle to operate in excess of the Fed13 eral truck size and weight limits that— 

14 (A) was authorized under State law on or 

15 before the date of enactment of this Act; and 

16 (B) was in actual and lawful operation on 

17 a regular or periodic basis (including seasonal 

18 operations) on or before the date of enactment 

19 of this Act; 

20 (2) a list for each State, as applicable, that de21 scribes— 

22 (A) the size and weight limitations applica23 ble to each segment of the National Highway 

24 System in that State as listed under paragraph 

25 (1); 


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1 (B) each combination that exceeds the 

2 Interstate weight limit, but that the Depart3 ment of Transportation, other Federal agency, 

4 or a State agency has determined on or before 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, could be or 

6 could have been lawfully operated in the State; 

7 and 

8 (C) each combination that exceeds the 

9 Interstate weight limit, but that the Secretary 

10 determines could have been lawfully operated on 

11 a non-Interstate segment of the National High12 way System in the State on or before the date 

13 of enactment of this Act; and 

14 (3) a list of each State law that designates or 

15 allows designation of size and weight limitations in 

16 excess of Federal law and regulations on routes of 

17 the National Highway System, including nondivisible 

18 loads. 

19 (b) SPECIFICATIONS.—The Secretary, in consultation 

20 with the States, shall specify whether the determinations 

21 under paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a) were made 

22 by the Department of Transportation, other Federal agen23 cy, or a State agency. 

24 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit a final 


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1 report of the compilation under subsection (a) to the Com2 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the 

3 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Sen4 ate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc5 ture of the House of Representatives. 

6 TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS 

7 SEC. 901. DETENTION TIME STUDY. 

8 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall task the 

10 Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee to study the ex11 tent to which detention time contributes to drivers vio12 lating hours of service requirements and driver fatigue. In 

13 conducting this study, the Committee shall— 

14 (1) examine data collected from driver and vehi15 cle inspections; 

16 (2) consult with— 

17 (A) motor carriers and drivers, shippers, 

18 and representatives of ports and other facilities 

19 where goods are loaded and unloaded; 

20 (B) government officials; and 

21 (C) other parties as appropriate; and 

22 (3) provide recommendations to the Secretary 

23 for addressing issues identified in the study. 

24 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide 


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1 a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

2 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

3 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep4 resentatives that includes recommendations for legislation 

5 and for addressing the results of the study. 

6 SEC. 902. PROHIBITION OF COERCION. 

7 Section 31136(a) is amended by— 

8 (1) striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (3); 

9 (2) striking the period at the end of paragraph 

10 (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) adding after subsection (4) the following: 

12 ‘‘(5) an operator of a commercial motor vehicle 

13 is not coerced by a motor carrier, shipper, receiver, 

14 or transportation intermediary to operate a commer15 cial motor vehicle in violation of a regulation pro16 mulgated under this section, or chapter 51 or chap17 ter 313 of this title.’’. 

18 SEC. 903. MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

19 (a) MEMBERSHIP.—Section 4144(b)(1) of the Safe, 

20 Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity 

21 Act: A Legacy for Users (49 U.S.C. 31100 note) is 

22 amended by inserting ‘‘nonprofit employee labor organiza23 tions representing commercial motor vehicle drivers,’’ 

24 after ‘‘industry,’’. 


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1 (b) TERMINATION DATE.—Section 4144(d) of the 

2 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Eq3 uity Act: A Legacy for Users (49 U.S.C. 31100 note) is 

4 amended by striking ‘‘March 31, 2012’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘September 30, 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 904. WAIVERS, EXEMPTIONS, AND PILOT PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) WAIVER STANDARDS.—Section 31315(a) is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

10 (2); 

11 (2) by striking paragraph (3); and 

12 (3) redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph 

13 (3). 

14 (b) EXEMPTION STANDARDS.—Section 31315(b)(4) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘(or, in 

17 the case of a request for an exemption from the 

18 physical qualification standards for commercial 

19 motor vehicle drivers, post on a web site established 

20 by the Secretary to implement the requirements of 

21 section 31149)’’ after ‘‘Federal Register’’; 

22 (2) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(B) UPON GRANTING A REQUEST.—Upon 

25 granting a request and before the effective date 


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1 of the exemption, the Secretary shall publish in 

2 the Federal Register (or, in the case of an ex3 emption from the physical qualification stand4 ards for commercial motor vehicle drivers, post 

5 on a web site established by the Secretary to 

6 implement the requirements of section 31149) 

7 the name of the person granted the exemption, 

8 the provisions from which the person is exempt, 

9 the effective period, and the terms and condi10 tions of the exemption.’’; and 

11 (3) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘(or, in 

12 the case of a request for an exemption from the 

13 physical qualification standards for commercial 

14 motor vehicle drivers, post on a web site established 

15 by the Secretary to implement the requirements of 

16 section 31149)’’ after ‘‘Federal Register’’. 

17 (c) PROVIDING NOTICE OF EXEMPTIONS TO STATE

18 PERSONNEL.—Section 31315(b)(7) is amended to read as 

19 follows: 

20 ‘‘(7) NOTIFICATION OF STATE COMPLIANCE

21 AND ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL.—Before the effec22 tive date of an exemption, the Secretary shall notify 

23 a State safety compliance and enforcement agency, 

24 and require the agency pursuant to section 

25 31102(b)(1)(Y) to notify the State’s roadside inspecVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:22 Dec 09, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00148 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1950.IS S1950

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1 tors, that a person will be operating pursuant to an 

2 exemption and the terms and conditions that apply 

3 to the exemption.’’. 

4 (d) PILOT PROGRAMS.—Section 31315(c)(1) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘in the Federal Register’’. 

6 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Section 31315 is 

7 amended by adding after subsection (d) the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

9 submit an annual report to the Committee on Commerce, 

10 Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Com11 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 

12 of Representatives listing the waivers, exemptions, and 

13 pilot programs granted under this section, and any im14 pacts on safety. 

15 ‘‘(f) WEB SITE.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 

16 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration web site in17 cludes a link to the web site established by the Secretary 

18 to implement the requirements under sections 31149 and 

19 31315. The link shall be in a clear and conspicuous loca20 tion on the home page of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

21 Administration web site and be easily accessible to the 

22 public.’’. 

23 SEC. 905. TRANSPORTATION OF HORSES. 

24 Section 80502 is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘This section 

2 does not’’ and inserting ‘‘Subsections (a) and (b) 

3 shall not’’; 

4 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub5 section (e); 

6 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(d) TRANSPORTATION OF HORSES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—No person may transport, 

10 or cause to be transported, a horse from a place in 

11 a State, the District of Columbia, or a territory or 

12 possession of the United States through or to a 

13 place in another State, the District of Columbia, or 

14 a territory or possession of the United States in a 

15 motor vehicle containing 2 or more levels stacked on 

16 top of each other. 

17 ‘‘(2) MOTOR VEHICLE DEFINED.—In this sub18 section, the term ‘motor vehicle’— 

19 ‘‘(A) means a vehicle driven or drawn by 

20 mechanical power and manufactured primarily 

21 for use on public highways; and 

22 ‘‘(B) does not include a vehicle operated 

23 exclusively on a rail or rails.’’; and 

24 (4) in subsection (e), as redesignated— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘A rail carrier’’ and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A rail carrier’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘this section’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘subsection (a) or (b)’’; and 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘On learning’’ and insert7 ing before ‘‘of a violation’’ the following: 

8 ‘‘(2) TRANSPORTATION OF HORSES IN MULTI9 LEVEL TRAILER.— 

10 ‘‘(A) CIVIL PENALTY.—A person that 

11 knowingly violates subsection (d) is liable to the 

12 United States Government for a civil penalty of 

13 at least $100 but not more than $500 for each 

14 violation. A separate violation occurs under sub15 section (d) for each horse that is transported, 

16 or caused to be transported, in violation of sub17 section (d). 

18 ‘‘(B) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.— 

19 The penalty provided under subparagraph (A) 

20 shall be in addition to any penalty or remedy 

21 available under any other law. 

22 ‘‘(3) CIVIL ACTION.—On learning’’. 


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1 TITLE X—HOUSEHOLD GOODS 

2 TRANSPORTATION 

3 SEC. 1001. ADDITIONAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS 

4 FOR HOUSEHOLD GOODS MOTOR CARRIERS. 

5 (a) Section 13902(a)(2) is amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘section 

7 13702(c);’’ and inserting ‘‘section 13702(c); and’’; 

8 (2) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(C) demonstrates, before being registered, 

11 through successful completion of a proficiency 

12 examination established by the Secretary, 

13 knowledge and intent to comply with applicable 

14 Federal laws relating to consumer protection, 

15 estimating, consumers’ rights and responsibil16 ities, and options for limitations of liability for 

17 loss and damage.’’; and 

18 (3) by striking subparagraph (D). 

19 (b) COMPLIANCE REVIEWS OF NEW HOUSEHOLD

20 GOODS MOTOR CARRIERS.—Section 31144(g), as amend21 ed by section 102 of this Act, is amended by adding at 

22 the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(6) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR HOUSE24 HOLD GOODS MOTOR CARRIERS.—(A) In addition to 

25 the requirements of this subsection, the Secretary 


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1 shall require, by regulation, each registered house2 hold goods motor carrier to undergo a consumer pro3 tection standards review not later than 18 months 

4 after the household goods motor carrier begins oper5 ations under such authority. 

6 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—In the regulations 

7 issued pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Sec8 retary shall establish the elements of the con9 sumer protections standards review, including 

10 basic management controls. In establishing the 

11 elements, the Secretary shall consider the ef12 fects on small businesses and shall consider es13 tablishing alternate locations where such re14 views may be conducted for the convenience of 

15 small businesses.’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall take effect 2 years after the date of en18 actment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 1002. FAILURE TO GIVE UP POSSESSION OF HOUSE20 HOLD GOODS. 

21 (a) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—Section 14704(a)(1) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘and 14103’’ and inserting ‘‘, 14103, 

23 and 14915(c)’’. 

24 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 14915(a)(1) is 

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘The United States may assign all or a portion of 

2 the civil penalty to an aggrieved shipper. The Secretary 

3 of Transportation shall establish criteria upon which such 

4 assignments shall be made. The Secretary may order, 

5 after notice and an opportunity for a proceeding, that a 

6 person found holding a household goods shipment hostage 

7 return the goods to an aggrieved shipper.’’. 

8 SEC. 1003. SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY. 

9 (a) SETTLEMENT OF GENERAL CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

10 Section 14901 is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(h) SETTLEMENT OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS CIVIL

13 PENALTIES.—Nothing in this section shall be construed 

14 to prohibit the Secretary from accepting partial payment 

15 of a civil penalty as part of a settlement agreement in the 

16 public interest, or from holding imposition of any part of 

17 a civil penalty in abeyance.’’. 

18 (b) SETTLEMENT OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS CIVIL

19 PENALTIES.—Section 14915(a) is amended by adding at 

20 the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(4) SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

22 this section shall be construed as prohibiting the 

23 Secretary from accepting partial payment of a civil 

24 penalty as part of a settlement agreement in the 


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1 public interest, or from holding imposition of any 

2 part of a civil penalty in abeyance.’’. 

3 SEC. 1004. HOUSEHOLD GOODS TRANSPORTATION ASSIST4 ANCE PROGRAM. 

5 (a) JOINT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—Not later than 

6 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

7 Secretary shall develop and implement a joint assistance 

8 program, through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Ad9 ministration— 

10 (1) to educate consumers about the household 

11 goods motor carrier industry pursuant to the rec12 ommendations of the task force established under 

13 section 1005 of this Act; 

14 (2) to improve the Federal Motor Carrier Safe15 ty Administration’s implementation, monitoring, and 

16 coordination of Federal and State household goods 

17 enforcement activities; 

18 (3) to assist a consumer with the timely resolu19 tion of an interstate household goods hostage situa20 tion, as appropriate; and 

21 (4) to conduct other enforcement activities as 

22 designated by the Secretary. 

23 (b) JOINT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PARTNERSHIP.— 

24 The Secretary— 


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1 (1) may partner with 1 or more household 

2 goods motor carrier industry groups to implement 

3 the joint assistance program under subsection (a); 

4 and 

5 (2) shall ensure that each participating house6 hold goods motor carrier industry group— 

7 (A) implements the joint assistance pro8 gram in the best interest of the consumer; 

9 (B) implements the joint assistance pro10 gram in the public interest; 

11 (C) accurately represents its financial in12 terests in providing household goods mover 

13 services in the normal course of business and in 

14 assisting consumers resolving hostage situa15 tions; 

16 (D) does not hold itself out or misrepre17 sent itself as an agent of the Federal govern18 ment; 

19 (E) abides by Federal regulations and 

20 guidelines for the provision of assistance and 

21 receipt of compensation for household goods 

22 mover services; and 

23 (F) accurately represents the Federal and 

24 State remedies that are available to consumers 


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1 for resolving interstate household goods hostage 

2 situations. 

3 (c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit a report 

4 annually to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

5 Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

6 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep7 resentatives providing a detailed description of the joint 

8 assistance program under subsection (a). 

9 (d) PROHIBITION.—The joint assistance program 

10 under subsection (a) may not include the provision of 

11 funds by the United States to a consumer for lost, stolen, 

12 or damaged items. 

13 SEC. 1005. HOUSEHOLD GOODS CONSUMER EDUCATION 

14 PROGRAM. 

15 (a) TASK FORCE.—The Secretary of Transportation 

16 shall establish a task force to develop recommendations 

17 to ensure that a consumer is informed of Federal law con18 cerning the transportation of household goods by a motor 

19 carrier, including recommendations— 

20 (1) on how to condense publication ESA 03005 

21 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 

22 into a format that can be more easily used by a con23 sumer; and 


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1 (2) on the use of state-of-the-art education 

2 techniques and technologies, including the use of the 

3 Internet as an educational tool. 

4 (b) TASK FORCE MEMBERS.—The task force shall be 

5 comprised of— 

6 (1) individuals with expertise in consumer af7 fairs; 

8 (2) educators with expertise in how people learn 

9 most effectively; and 

10 (3) representatives of the household goods mov11 ing industry. 

12 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the task force shall com14 plete its recommendations under subsection (a). Not later 

15 than 1 year after the task force completes its rec16 ommendations under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

17 issue regulations implementing the recommendations, as 

18 appropriate. 

19 (d) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT EXEMP20 TION.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

21 App.) shall not apply to the task force. 

22 (e) TERMINATION.—The task force shall terminate 2 

23 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 TITLE XI—TECHNICAL 

2 AMENDMENTS 

3 SEC. 1101. UPDATE OF OBSOLETE TEXT. 

4 (a) Section 31137(e), as redesignated by section 301 

5 of this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘Not later than De6 cember 1, 1990, the Secretary shall prescribe’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘The Secretary shall maintain’’. 

8 (b) Section 31151(a) is amended— 

9 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor12 tation shall maintain a program to ensure that inter13 modal equipment used to transport intermodal con14 tainers is safe and systematically maintained.’’; and 

15 (2) by striking paragraph (4). 

16 (c) Section 31307(b) is amended by striking ‘‘Not 

17 later than December 18, 1994, the Secretary shall pre18 scribe’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall maintain’’. 

19 (d) Section 31310(g)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘Not 

20 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’. 

22 (e) Section 4123(f) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexi23 ble, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for 

24 Users (119 Stat. 1736) is amended by striking ‘‘Not later 


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1 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘The’’. 

3 SEC. 1102. CORRECTION OF INTERSTATE COMMERCE COM4 MISSION REFERENCES. 

5 (a) SAFETY INFORMATION AND INTERVENTION IN

6 INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION PROCEEDINGS.— 

7 Chapter 3 is amended— 

8 (1) by repealing section 307; 

9 (2) in the analysis, by striking the item relating 

10 to section 307; 

11 (3) in section 333(d)(1)(C), by striking ‘‘Inter12 state Commerce Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘Sur13 face Transportation Board’’; and 

14 (4) in section 333(e)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘Interstate Commerce 

16 Commission’’ each place it appears and insert17 ing ‘‘Surface Transportation Board’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ each place it 

19 appears and inserting ‘‘Board’’. 

20 (b) FILING AND PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATION TO

21 ABANDON OR DISCONTINUE.—Section 10903(b)(2) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘24706(c) of this title’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘24706(c) of this title before May 31, 1998’’. 

24 (c) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES OF PERSONS INJURED

25 BY CARRIERS OR BROKERS.— 


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1 (1) Section 14704 is amended— 

2 (A) in subsection (a)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘IN GENERAL.—’’ and 

4 all that follows through ‘‘injured’’ and in5 serting ‘‘ENFORCEMENT OF ORDER.—A 

6 person injured’’; and 

7 (ii) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

8 subsection (b)(2); and 

9 (B) in subsection (b)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘LIABILITY AND DAM11 AGES FOR EXCEEDING TARIFF RATE.—’’ 

12 and all that follows through ‘‘A carrier’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘EXCEEDING TARIFF

14 RATE.—(1) A carrier’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘DAMAGES FOR VIO16 LATIONS.—’’ in paragraph (2), as redesig17 nated, and inserting ‘‘OTHER VIOLA18 TIONS.—’’. 

19 (2) Section 14705(c) is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘14704(b)’’ and substituting ‘‘14704(b)(2)’’. 

21 (d) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO PART C OF SUB22 TITLE V.— 

23 (1) Section 24307(b)(3) is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘Interstate Commerce Commission’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘Surface Transportation Board’’. 


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1 (2) Section 24311 is amended— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘Interstate Commerce 

3 Commission’’ each place it appears and insert4 ing ‘‘Surface Transportation Board’’; and 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ each place it 

6 appears and inserting ‘‘Board’’. 

7 (3) Section 24902 is amended— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘Interstate Commerce 

9 Commission’’ each place it appears and insert10 ing ‘‘Surface Transportation Board’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ each place it 

12 appears and inserting ‘‘Board’’. 

13 (4) Section 24904 is amended— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘Interstate Commerce 

15 Commission’’ each place it appears and insert16 ing ‘‘Surface Transportation Board’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ each place it 

18 appears and inserting ‘‘Board’’. 

19 SEC. 1103. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

20 (a) Section 14504a(c)(1) is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘sections’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘section’’; and 

23 (2) in subparagraph (D)(ii)(II) by striking the 

24 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’. 


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1 (b) Section 24305(a)(3)(1) is amended by striking 

2 ‘‘section 13902(b)(8)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

3 13902(b)(9)(A)’’. 

4 (c) Section 31103(a) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

5 31102(b)(1)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 31102(b)(2)(E)’’. 

6 (d) Section 31103(b) is amended by striking ‘‘author7 ized by section 31104(f)(2)’’. 

8 (e) Section 31309(b)(2) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘31308(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘31308(3)’’. 

Æ 


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