court may award appropriate relief, including a temporary 
or permanent injunction, punitive damages, and assess-
ment of civil penalties considering the same penalty 
amounts and factors as prescribed for the Secretary in an 
administrative case under section 2105. 
‘‘(b) IMMINENT SECURITY HAZARDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary has reason 
to believe that an imminent security hazard exists, 
the Secretary may bring a civil action in an appro-
priate district court of the United States— 
‘‘(A) to suspend or restrict the transpor-
tation of the security sensitive material respon-
sible for the hazard; or 
‘‘(B) to eliminate or mitigate the hazard. 
‘‘(2) ACTIONS BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 
On request of the Secretary, the Attorney General 
shall bring an action under paragraph (1). 
‘‘SEC. 2108. COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS 
REGISTERED TO OPERATE IN MEXICO OR 
CANADA. 
‘‘A commercial motor vehicle operator registered to 
operate in Mexico or Canada shall not operate a commer-
cial motor vehicle transporting a security sensitive mate-
rial in commerce in the United States until the operator 
has undergone a background records check similar to the 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
04:27 Apr 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5915.IH
H5915
jbell on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
background records check required for commercial motor 
vehicle operators licensed in the United States to trans-
port security sensitive materials in commerce. 
‘‘SEC. 2109. TRANSITION. 
‘‘(a) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING PRIOR 
HAZARDOUS
MATERIALS
ENDORSEMENTS.—An indi-
vidual who has obtained a hazardous materials endorse-
ment in accordance with section 1572 of title 49, Code 
of Federal Regulations, before the date of enactment of 
this title, shall be treated as having met the background 
check requirements of the transportation security card 
under section 70105 of title 46, United States Code, sub-
ject to reissuance or expiration dates as determined by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(b) REDUCTION IN FEES.—The Secretary shall re-
duce, to the great extent practicable, any fees associated 
with obtaining a transportation security card under sec-
tion 70105 of title 46, United Sates Code, for any indi-
vidual referred to in subsection (a). 
‘‘SEC. 2110. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 
‘‘Nothing in the title shall be construed as affecting 
the authority of the Secretary of Transportation to regu-
late hazardous materials under chapter 51 of title 49, 
United States Code. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
04:27 Apr 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5915.IH
H5915
jbell on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
‘‘SEC. 2111. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this title, the following definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) COMMERCE.—The term ‘commerce’ means 
trade or transportation in the jurisdiction of the 
United States— 
‘‘(A) between a place in a State and a 
place outside of the State; or 
‘‘(B) that affects trade or transportation 
between a place in a State and a place outside 
of the State. 
‘‘(2) HAZARDOUS MATERIAL.—The term ‘haz-
ardous material’ means a substance or material the 
Secretary of Transportation designates under section 
5103(a) of title 49, United States Code. 
‘‘(3) IMMINENT SECURITY HAZARD.—The term 
‘imminent security hazard’ means the existence of a 
condition relating to security sensitive materials 
that— 
‘‘(A) presents a substantial likelihood of a 
transportation security incident; and 
‘‘(B) may occur before the reasonably fore-
seeable completion date of a formal proceeding 
begun to lessen the risk of that incident. 
‘‘(4) PERSON.—The term ‘person’, in addition 
to its meaning under section 1 of title 1, United 
States Code— 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
04:27 Apr 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5915.IH
H5915
jbell on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
‘‘(A) includes a government, Indian tribe, 
or authority of a government or tribe offering 
security sensitive material for transportation in 
commerce or transporting security sensitive ma-
terial to further a commercial enterprise; but 
‘‘(B) does not include— 
‘‘(i) the United States Postal Service; 
and 
‘‘(ii) in sections 2105 and 2106, a de-
partment, agency, or instrumentality of the 
Government. 
‘‘(5) SECURITY
SENSITIVE
MATERIAL.—The 
term ‘security sensitive material’ means a substance 
or material in quantity and form the Secretary des-
ignates under section 2101. 
‘‘(6) 
TRANSPORTS; 
TRANSPORTATION.—The 
term ‘transports’ or ‘transportation’ means the 
movement of property and loading, unloading, or 
storage incidental to the movement. 
‘‘(7) TRANSPORTATION SECURITY INCIDENT.— 
The term ‘transportation security incident’ has the 
meaning given that term by section 70101 of title 
46, United States Code.’’. 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
04:27 Apr 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5915.IH
H5915
jbell on PROD1PC66 with BILLS
SEC. 102. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. 
The table of contents contained in section 1(b) of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (116 Stat. 2135) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘TITLE XXI—SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY 
‘‘Sec. 2101. Designation of security sensitive material. 
‘‘Sec. 2102. Transportation of security sensitive materials. 
‘‘Sec. 2103. Enrollment locations. 
‘‘Sec. 2104. Authority to ensure compliance. 
‘‘Sec. 2105. Civil penalties. 
‘‘Sec. 2106. Criminal penalties. 
‘‘Sec. 2107. Enforcement. 
‘‘Sec. 2108. Commercial motor vehicle operators registered to operate in Mexico 
or Canada. 
‘‘Sec. 2109. Transition. 
‘‘Sec. 2110. Savings clause. 
‘‘Sec. 2111. Definitions.’’. 
SEC. 103. LIMITATION ON ISSUANCE OF HAZMAT LICENSES. 
Section 5103a of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(a) LIMITATION.—The Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity shall periodically conduct a name-based background 
check of all individuals who possess a license to operate 
a motor vehicle transporting in commerce a hazardous ma-
terial for which the Secretary of Transportation requires 
placarding. Such a name-based check shall be conducted 
against the integrated and consolidated terrorism watch 
list maintained by the Federal Government and relevant 
databases.’’; 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
04:27 Apr 30, 2008
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5915.IH
H5915
jbell on PROD1PC66 with BILLS