II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1501

To improve motor carrier safety, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 5, 1999

Mr. MCCAIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

A BILL

To improve motor carrier safety, 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 ‘‘Motor Carrier Safety

5 Improvement Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF A MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY

7 ADMINISTRATION.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of subtitle I of title 49,

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

10 thereof the following:
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1 ‘‘§ 113. Motor Carrier Safety Administration

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Motor Carrier Safety

3 Administration is an administration of the Department of

4 Transportation.

5 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATOR.—The Head of the Administra6 tion is an Administrator who is appointed by the Presi7 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate,

8 and shall be an individual with professional experience in

9 motor carrier safety. The Administrator reports directly

10 to the Secretary.

11 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS, POWERS, AND DUTIES.—The Ad12 ministrator shall carry out—

13 ‘‘(1) duties and powers related to motor carrier

14 safety vested in the Secretary by chapters 5, 311,

15 313, 315, and 317 of this title; and

16 ‘‘(2) other functions, powers, and duties of the

17 Secretary related to motor carriers as prescribed by

18 the Secretary, except for the authority to promulgate

19 motor vehicle safety standards applicable to the

20 manufacture and retrofit of trucks and buses which

21 authority shall be in the National Highway Traffic

22 Safety Administration.

23 ‘‘(d) MOTOR COACH DIVISION.—Within the Adminis24 tration, there shall be a separate division to oversee com25 mercial motor coach safety and to carry out other func-
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1 tions, powers, and duties of the Secretary as prescribed

2 by the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(e) CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro5 vided in the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act

6 of 1999, or the amendments made thereby, the Ad7 ministrator shall perform all functions that, imme8 diately before the effective date of such Act, were

9 functions of the Office of Motor Carrier and High10 way Safety of the Federal Highway Administration

11 or were performed by any officer or employee of the

12 Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety in the

13 capacity of such officer or employee. Those per14 sonnel, property, and records employed, used, held,

15 available, or to be made available in connection with

16 a function transferred to the Administrator by this

17 Act shall be transferred to the Administrator for use

18 in connection with the functions transferred, and un19 expended balances of appropriations, allocations, or

20 other funds of the Office of Motor Carrier and High21 way Safety shall also be transferred to the Adminis22 trator.

23 ‘‘(2) CAP ON PERSONNEL AND FUNDING AT FY

24 2000 LEVEL.—Except as otherwise provided in the

25 Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, or
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1 the amendments made thereby, the number of per2 sonnel employed by, and funds available for oper3 ations of, the Motor Carrier Safety Administration

4 shall not exceed the number of personnel, or funds

5 available, respectively, within the Department of

6 Transportation for the duties, powers, and functions

7 described in subsection (c) for fiscal year 2000.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

9 (1) FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION.—

10 Section 104 of title 49, United States Code, is

11 amended—

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon

13 in subsection (c)(1);

14 (B) by striking paragraph (2) of sub15 section (c) and redesignating paragraph (3) as

16 paragraph (2); and

17 (C) by striking subsection (d) and redesig18 nating subsection (e) as subsection (d).

19 (2) CHAPTER ANALYSIS.—The chapter analysis

20 for such chapter is amended by adding at the end

21 thereof the following:

‘‘113. Motor Carrier Safety Administration.’’.

22 SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

23 (a) MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION.—

24 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary

25 of Transportation from the Highway Trust Fund (other
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1 than from the Mass Transit Account) such sums as may

2 be necessary to pay the operating expenses of the Motor

3 Carrier Safety Administration.

4 (b) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS FOR STATE

5 GRANTS.—Section 31104(a) of title 49, United States

6 Code is amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The following amounts are au8 thorized for the Secretary of Transportation to incur obli9 gations to carry out section 31102:

10 ‘‘(1) Not more than $120,500,000 for fiscal

11 year 2000, of which not less than $95,000,000 will

12 be made available from the Highway Trust Fund

13 (other than the Mass Transit Account).

14 ‘‘(2) Not more than $125,500,000 for fiscal

15 year 2001, of which not less than $100,000,000 will

16 be made available from the Highway Trust Fund

17 (other than the Mass Transit Account).

18 ‘‘(3) Not more than $130,500,000 for fiscal

19 year 2002, of which not less than $105,000,000 will

20 be made available from the Highway Trust Fund

21 (other than the Mass Transit Account).

22 ‘‘(4) Not more than $135,500,000 for fiscal

23 year 2003, of which not less than $110,000,000 will

24 be made available from the Highway Trust Fund

25 (other than the Mass Transit Account).’’.
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1 (c) CONTRACT AUTHORITY FUNDING FOR INFORMA2 TION SYSTEMS.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 31107 of title 49,

4 United States Code, is amended—

5 (A) by striking so much of the section as

6 precedes subsection (b) and inserting the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘§ 31107. Authorization of appropriations and con9 tract authority funding for information

10 systems

11 ‘‘(a) FUNDING.—The following amounts are author12 ized to carry out sections 31106 and 31309 of this title:

13 ‘‘(1) Not more than $35,000,000 for fiscal year

14 2000, of which not less than $10,000,000 will be

15 made available from the Highway Trust Fund (other

16 than the Mass Transit Account).

17 ‘‘(2) Not more than $36,500,000 for fiscal year

18 2001, of which not less than $12,000,000 will be

19 made available from the Highway Trust Fund (other

20 than the Mass Transit Account).

21 ‘‘(3) Not more than $36,500,000 for fiscal year

22 2002, of which not less than $12,000,000 will be

23 made available from the Highway Trust Fund (other

24 than the Mass Transit Account).
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1 ‘‘(4) Not more than $39,500,000 for fiscal year

2 2003, of which not less than $15,000,000 will be

3 made available from the Highway Trust Fund (other

4 than the Mass Transit Account).’’; and

5 (B) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub6 section (c), and inserting after subsection (a)

7 the following:

8 ‘‘(b) EMERGENCY CDL PROGRAM GRANTS.—Of the

9 amounts authorized by subsection (a), the Secretary may

10 provide a grant of up to $1,000,000 to a grant to a State

11 whose commercial driver’s license program is in danger of

12 being designated as failing to fulfill compliance require13 ments. If the Secretary determines a State will not fulfill

14 compliance requirements after it has received such a

15 grant, the Secretary shall immediately suspend the State’s

16 authority to issue commercial driver’s licenses.’’.

17 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis

18 for such chapter is amended by striking the item re19 lating to section 31107 and inserting the following:

‘‘31107. Authorization of appropriations and contract authority funding for information systems.’’.

20 SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE IMPROVEMENTS.

21 The Secretary of Transportation shall implement the

22 safety improvement recommendations provided for in the

23 Department of Transportation Inspector General’s Report

24 TR–1999–91. The Secretary shall report to the Senate
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1 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

2 and the House Committee on Transportation and Infra3 structure the specific actions taken to carry out this sec4 tion every 90 days, beginning 90 days after the date of

5 enactment of this Act, until all of those recommendations

6 have been implemented.

7 SEC. 5. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE COMMERCIAL DRIVERS LI8 CENSE PROGRAM.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 31311(a) of title 49,

10 United States Code, is amended—

11 (1) by striking ‘‘commercial’’ the second place

12 it appears in paragraph (6);

13 (2) by striking ‘‘cancellation.’’ in paragraph (8)

14 and inserting ‘‘cancellation, and the violation that

15 resulted in the disqualification, revocation, suspen16 sion, or cancellation shall be recorded.’’;

17 (3) by striking ‘‘individual operating a commer18 cial’’ in paragraph (9) and inserting ‘‘individual pos19 sessing a commercial driver’s license operating a’’;

20 (4) by striking ‘‘violation.’’ in paragraph (9)

21 and inserting ‘‘violation, and the violation shall be

22 recorded.’’;

23 (5) by adding at the end of paragraph (10) the

24 following: ‘‘The State may not issue a special license

25 or permit to an individual who holds a commercial
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1 driver’s license that permits the individual to drive

2 a commercial motor vehicle during a period in

3 which—

4 ‘‘(A) the individual is disqualified from op5 erating a commercial motor vehicle; or

6 ‘‘(B) the individual’s driver’s license is re7 voked, suspended, or canceled.’’; and

8 (6) by adding at the end thereof the following:

9 ‘‘(18) The State shall maintain, as part of its

10 driver information system, a record of each violation

11 by, or conviction under, a State or local motor vehi12 cle traffic control law while operating a motor vehi13 cle (except a parking violation) for each individual

14 who holds a commercial driver’s license.

15 ‘‘(19) The State may not allow information re16 garding violations described in section 31310 of this

17 chapter to be withheld or masked in any way from

18 the record of an individual possessing a commercial

19 driver’s license. This paragraph takes effect on Jan20 uary 1, 2001.’’.

21 (b) WITHHOLDING FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—Sub22 sections (a) and (b) of 31314 of title 49, United States

23 Code, are each amended by striking ‘‘shall withhold’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘may withhold up to’’.

25 (c) MEDICAL CERTIFICATES.—
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1 (1) MEDICAL CERTIFICATES.—Within 6 months

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary of Transportation shall initiate a rulemaking

4 to provide for a Federal medical qualification certifi5 cate to be made a part of commercial drivers’ li6 censes issued by any State.

7 (2) NATIONAL REGISTRY OF MEDICAL PRO8 VIDERS.—The Secretary shall initiate a rulemaking

9 to establish a national registry of preferred medical

10 providers. To be listed in the registry, a medical pro11 vider shall, at a minimum, demonstrate knowledge of

12 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Standards for

13 driver medical and physical qualifications.

14 (d) DECERTIFICATION AUTHORITY.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 313 of title 49,

16 United States Code, is amended by adding at the

17 end thereof the following:

18 ‘‘§ 31312. Decertification authority

19 ‘‘If the Secretary of Transportation determines that

20 a State is in substantial noncompliance with this chapter,

21 the Secretary shall—

22 ‘‘(1) prohibit that State from carrying out li23 censing procedures under this chapter; and

24 ‘‘(2) prohibit that State from issuing any com25 mercial driver’s licenses until such time the Sec-
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1 retary determines such State is in compliance with

2 this chapter.’’.

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter

4 analysis for chapter 313 of title 49, United States

5 Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the

6 following:

‘‘31312. Decertification authority’’.

7 SEC. 6. IMPROVED DATA COLLECTION AND MOTOR CAR8 RIER SAFETY.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation

10 shall carry out a program, in cooperation with the States,

11 to improve the collection and analysis of data on crashes,

12 including crash causation, involving commercial motor ve13 hicles.

14 (b) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary

15 shall administer the program through the National High16 way Traffic Safety Administration in cooperation with the

17 Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The National High18 way Traffic Administration shall—

19 (1) enter into agreements with the States to

20 collect data and report the data by electronic means

21 to a central data repository; and

22 (2) train State employees and motor carrier

23 safety enforcement officials to assure the quality and

24 uniformity of the data.
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1 (c) USE OF DATA.—The National Highway Traffic

2 Safety Administration shall—

3 (1) integrate the data, including driver citation

4 and conviction information; and

5 (2) make the data base available electronically

6 to the Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the

7 States, motor carriers, and other interested parties

8 for problem identification, program evaluation, plan9 ning, and other safety-related activities.

10 (d) REPORT.—Within 3 years after the date on which

11 the improved data program begins, the Secretary shall

12 transmit a report to the Congress on the program, to13 gether with any recommendations the Secretary finds ap14 propriate.

15 (e) FUNDING.—For each of the fiscal years 2001,

16 2002, and 2003, the Secretary may use up to $10,000,000

17 of the amounts made available to the Secretary under sec18 tion 31107 of title 49, United States Code, to carry out

19 this section.

20 (f) HARMONIZATION OF REPORTING VIOLATIONS BY

21 STATES.—The Secretary of Transportation, in coopera22 tion with the States, shall develop a uniform system to

23 support the electronic transmission of data State-to-State

24 on violations of all motor vehicle traffic control laws by

25 individuals possessing a commercial drivers’ licenses as re-
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1 quired by sections 31311(a)(9) and (19) of title 49,

2 United States Code. Not later than 2 years after the date

3 of enactment of this act, the Secretary shall transmit to

4 the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

5 and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

6 a report on the status of the implementation of this sub7 section.

8 (g) MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY INITIATIVES.—

9 (1) EVENT RECORDERS.—The Secretary of

10 Transportation shall establish a department-wide

11 policy to ensure the protection of privacy for any in12 dividual or entity utilizing electronic recorders or

13 other technology to monitor vehicle and operator

14 performance or location. Under the policy estab15 lished by the Secretary the data obtained from the

16 devices shall receive no less protection than that pro17 vided for users and owners of flight data recorders,

18 cockpit voice recorders, and other forms of safety in19 formation under Federal Aviation Administration

20 and National Transportation Safety Board privacy

21 procedures or regulations.

22 (2) 8-PASSENGER VEHICLE SAFETY RULE.—

23 The regulations prescribed by the Secretary of

24 Transportation under section 31136 of title 49,

25 United States Code, apply to operators of commer-
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1 cial motor vehicles described in section 31132(1)(B)

2 of such title. This paragraph takes effect 60 days

3 after the date of enactment of this Act.

4 (3) DATA IMPROVEMENTS FOR UNIFORM CAR5 RIER REGISTRATION SYSTEM.—Section 13908 of

6 title 49, United States Code, is amended—

7 (A) by striking the last sentence of sub8 section (d); and

9 (B) by adding at the end thereof the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(f) DEADLINE FOR OPERATIONAL SYSTEM.—The

12 uniform carrier registration system developed under this

13 section shall be in operation no later than one year after

14 the date of enactment of the Motor Carrier Safety Im15 provement Act of 1999.’’.

16 (4) MINIMUM FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—

17 (A) TRANSPORTATION OF PASSENGERS.—

18 Section 31138 of title 49, United States Code,

19 is amended—

20 (i) by striking ‘‘for compensation’’ in

21 subsection (a); and

22 (ii) adding at the end of subsection

23 (c) the following:

24 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall require all persons

25 subject to the minimum financial responsibility re-
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1 quirements of this section to file evidence of the re2 quired financial responsibility with the Secretary.’’.

3 (B) TRANSPORTATION OF PROPERTY.—

4 Section 31139 of title 49, United States Code,

5 is amended—

6 (i) by striking ‘‘for compensation’’ in

7 subsection (b)(1); and

8 (ii) adding at the end of subsection

9 (e) the following:

10 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall require all persons

11 subject to the minimum financial responsibility re12 quirements of this section to file evidence of the re13 quired financial responsibility with the Secretary.’’.

14 SEC. 7. COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ADVISORY

15 COMMITTEE.

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor17 tation may establish a Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety

18 Advisory Committee to provide advice and recommenda19 tions on a range of regulatory issues. The members of the

20 advisory committee shall be appointed by the Secretary

21 from among individuals affected by rulemakings under

22 consideration by the Department of Transportation, in23 cluding representatives of labor, industry, safety advo24 cates, manufacturers, and safety enforcement officials. No
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1 one interest may constitute a majority of the advisory

2 committee.

3 (b) FUNCTION.—The advisory committee established

4 under subsection (a) shall provide advice to the Secretary

5 on commercial motor vehicle safety regulations and assist

6 the Secretary in timely completion of ongoing rulemakings

7 by utilizing negotiated rulemaking procedures.

8 SEC. 8. OWNER-CONTROLLED INSURANCE PROGRAM AC9 COUNTABILITY.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 305 of title 49, United

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the

12 following:

13 ‘‘(c) OWNER-CONTROLLED INSURANCE PROGRAM

14 ACCOUNTABILITY.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For all transportation

16 projects receiving Federal funding, the Secretary

17 shall—

18 ‘‘(A) ensure that reserves for owner-con19 trolled insurance programs do not exceed cur20 rent and projected liabilities, as computed using

21 acceptable actuarial cost methods, for claims;

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of liabilities that do not

23 become payable for more than one year after re24 serves are provided, ensure that the reserve
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1 amounts do not exceed the discounted value of

2 the liabilities; and

3 ‘‘(C) ensure that adjustments in owner4 controlled insurance program premiums and re5 serves are made at least annually.

6 ‘‘(2) REFUNDS.—Any refunds of insurance pre7 miums or reserve amounts, including interest, that

8 exceed a project’s liabilities shall be immediately re9 turned to the Federal government.’’.

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