‘‘(F) driving a commercial motor vehicle when
the individual has not met the minimum testing
standards—
‘‘(i) under section 31305(a)(3) for the spe-
cific class of vehicle the individual is operating;
or
‘‘(ii) under section 31305(a)(5) for the
type of cargo the vehicle is carrying; and’’.
(d) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—Section
31305(b)(1) of such title is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘to operate the vehicle’’; and
(2) by inserting before the period at the end ‘‘to
operate the vehicle and has a commercial driver’s li-
cense to operate the vehicle’’.
SEC. 202. CDL SCHOOL BUS ENDORSEMENT.
Section 31305(a) of title 49, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph
(7);
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (8)(B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(9) shall prescribe minimum testing standards
for the operation of a school bus (that is a vehicle
described in section 31301(4)(B)) in a State that
elects to issue a commercial driver’s license school
bus endorsement and may prescribe different min-
imum testing standards for different classes of
school buses.’’.
SEC. 203. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE PARTICIPATION.
(a) NOTIFICATION OF STATE OFFICIALS.—Section
31311(a)(9) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘operating a commercial motor
vehicle’’; and
(2) by inserting ‘‘commercial’’ before ‘‘driver’s
license’’.
(b) PROVISIONAL LICENSES.—Section 31311(a)(10)
of such title is amended by inserting after ‘‘commercial
driver’s license’’ the following: ‘‘(including a provisional or
temporary commercial driver’s license)’’.
(c) RECORDKEEPING.—Section 31311(a) of such title
is amended by striking paragraph (13) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(13) The State shall (A) record in the driving
record of an individual who has a commercial driv-
er’s license issued by the State, and (B) make avail-
able to all authorized persons and governmental en-
tities having access to such record, all information
the State receives under paragraph (9) with respect
to the individual and every conviction by the State
of the individual for a violation involving a motor ve-
hicle (including a commercial motor vehicle) of a
State or local law on traffic control (except a park-
ing violation), not later than 10 days after the date
of receipt of such information or the date of such
conviction.’’.
(d) NONCOMMERCIAL
MOTOR
VEHICLE
CONVIC-
TIONS.—Section 31311(a) of title 49, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(18) The State shall revoke, suspend, or can-
cel, for a period determined in accordance with regu-
lations issued by the Secretary under section
31310(g), the commercial driver’s license of an indi-
vidual who has been convicted of serious offenses in-
volving a motor vehicle other than a commercial
motor vehicle.’’.
(e) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
31311(a)(15) of such title is amended by striking ‘‘sub-
sections (b)–(e), (g)(1)(A), and (g)(2) of’’.
SEC. 204. STATE NONCOMPLIANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 31314 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘With-
holding amounts for’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(d) COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSES.—
‘‘(1) STATE
NOT
IN
SUBSTANTIAL
COMPLI-
ANCE.—If the Secretary determines that a State is
not in substantial compliance with a requirement of
section 31311(a), the Secretary shall issue an order
declaring that all commercial driver’s licenses issued
by the State after the date of the order are not valid
and the State may not issue any commercial driver’s
licenses after the date of such order.
‘‘(2) PREVIOUSLY ISSUED LICENSES.—Nothing
in this subsection shall be construed as invalidating
or otherwise affecting commercial driver’s licenses
issued by a State before the date of issuance of an
order under paragraph (1) with respect to the State.
‘‘(3) STATE IN SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE.—A
State subject to an order under paragraph (1) may
not resume issuing commercial driver’s licenses until
the Secretary determines that the State is in sub-
stantial compliance with all of the requirements of
subsection 31311(a).
‘‘(4) NONRESIDENT
CDLS.—Any State other
than a State subject to an order under paragraph
(1) shall issue a nonresident commercial driver’s li-
cense to any individual domiciled in a State subject
to such an order who meets all of the requirements
of this chapter and any applicable State licensing re-
quirements.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for
chapter 313 of such title is amended by striking the item
relating to section 31314 and inserting the following:
‘‘31314. State noncompliance.’’.
SEC. 205. 24-HOUR STAFFING OF TELEPHONE HOTLINE.
Section 4017 of the Transportation Equity Act for
the 21st Century (49 U.S.C. 31143 note; 112 Stat. 413)
is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as
subsections (d) and (e), respectively;
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(c) STAFFING.—The toll-free telephone system shall
be staffed 24 hours a day 7 days a week by individuals
knowledgeable about Federal motor carrier safety regula-
tions and procedures.’’; and
(3) in subsection (e) (as redesignated by para-
graph (1) of this section) by striking ‘‘for each of
fiscal years 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘for fiscal year
1999 and $375,000 for each of fiscal years 2000’’.
SEC. 206. CHECKS BEFORE ISSUANCE OF DRIVER’S LI-
CENSES.
Section 30304 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) DRIVER RECORD INQUIRY.—Before issuing a
motor vehicle operator’s license to an individual, a State
shall request from the Secretary information from the Na-
tional Driver Register under section 30302 and the com-
mercial driver’s license information system under section
31309 on the individual’s driving record.’’.
SEC. 207. BORDER STAFFING STANDARDS.
(a) DEVELOPMENT
AND
IMPLEMENTATION.—Not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Transportation shall develop and imple-
ment appropriate staffing standards for Federal and State
motor carrier safety inspectors in international border
areas.
(b) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In developing
standards under subsection (a), the Secretary shall con-
sider volume of traffic, hours of operation of the border
facility, types of commercial motor vehicles, types of cargo,
delineation of responsibility between Federal and State in-
spectors, and such other factors as the Secretary deter-
mines appropriate.
(c) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—The standards de-
veloped and implemented under subsection (a) shall ensure
that the United States and each State will not reduce its
respective level of staffing of motor carrier safety inspec-
tors in international border areas from its average level
staffing for fiscal year 2000.
(d) BORDER COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE
AND
SAFETY ENFORCEMENT PROGRAMS.—
(1) ENFORCEMENT.—If, on October 1, 2001,
and October 1 of each fiscal year thereafter, the
Secretary has not ensured that the levels of staffing
required by the standards developed under sub-
section (a) are deployed, the Secretary shall des-
ignate 5 percent of amounts made available for allo-
cation under section 31104(f)(1) of title 49, United
States Code, for such fiscal year for States, local
governments, and other persons for carrying out
border commercial motor vehicle safety programs
and enforcement activities and projects.
(2) ALLOCATION.—The amounts designated
pursuant to this subsection shall be allocated by the
Secretary to State agencies, local governments, and
other persons that use and train qualified officers
and employees in coordination with State motor ve-
hicle safety agencies.
(3) LIMITATION.—If the Secretary makes a
designation pursuant to paragraph (1) for a fiscal
year, the Secretary may not make a designation
under section 31104(f)(2)(B) of title 49, United
States Code, for such fiscal year.
SEC. 208. MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM ASSESSMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation
should ensure that motor carriers operate safely by impos-
ing civil penalties at a level calculated to ensure prompt
and sustained compliance with Federal motor carrier safe-
ty and commercial driver’s license laws.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary—
(1) should establish and assess minimum civil
penalties for each violation of a law referred to in
subsection (a); and
(2) shall assess the maximum civil penalty for
each violation of a law referred to in subsection (a)
by any person who has previously been found to
have committed the same violation or a related viola-
tion.
(c) EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.—If the Sec-
retary determines and documents that extraordinary cir-
cumstances exist which merit the assessment of any civil
penalty lower than any level established under subsection
(b), the Secretary may assess such lower penalty.
(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct
a study of the effectiveness of the revised civil pen-
alties established in the Transportation Equity Act
for the 21st Century and this Act in ensuring
prompt and sustained compliance with Federal
motor carrier safety and commercial driver’s license
laws.
(2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary
shall transmit the results of such study and any rec-
ommendations to Congress by September 30, 2002.
(e) SEMIANNUAL AUDIT BY INSPECTOR GENERAL.—
The Inspector General of the Department of Transpor-
tation shall conduct a semiannual audit of the National
Motor Carrier Administration’s enforcement activities, in-
cluding an analysis of the number of violations cited by
safety inspectors and the level of fines assessed and col-
lected for such violations, and of the number of cases in
which there are findings of extrordinary circumstances
under subsection (c) and the circumstances in which these
findings are made and shall promptly submit the results
of each such audit to Congress.
SEC. 209. STUDY OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE CRASH
CAUSATION AND DATA IMPROVEMENT.
(a) OBJECTIVES.—The Secretary of Transportation
shall conduct a comprehensive study to determine the
causes of, and contributing factors to, crashes that involve
commercial motor vehicles. The study shall also identify
data requirements and collection procedures, reports, and
other measures that will improve the Department of
Transportation’s and States’ ability to—
(1) evaluate future crashes involving commer-
cial motor vehicles;
(2) monitor crash trends and identify causes
and contributing factors; and
(3) develop effective safety improvement policies
and programs.
(b) DESIGN.—The study shall be designed to yield
information that will help the Department and the States
identify activities and other measures likely to lead to sig-
nificant reductions in the frequency, severity, and rate per
mile traveled of crashes involving commercial motor vehi-
cles. As practicable, the study shall rank such activities
and measures by the reductions each would likely achieve,
if implemented.
(c) CONSULTATION.—In designing and conducting
the study, the Secretary shall consult with persons with
expertise on—
(1) crash causation and prevention;
(2) commercial motor vehicles, drivers, and car-
riers;
(3) highways and noncommercial motor vehicles
and drivers;
(4) Federal and State highway and motor car-
rier safety programs;
(5) research methods and statistical analysis;
and
(6) other relevant topics.
(d) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary shall make
available for public comment information about the objec-
tives, methodology, implementation, findings, and other
aspects of the study.
(e) REPORT.—The Secretary shall promptly transmit
the results of the study, together with any legislative rec-
ommendations, to Congress. The Secretary shall review
the study at least once every 5 years and update the study
and report as necessary.
(f) DATA IMPROVEMENTS.—Based on the findings of
the study, the Secretary shall work with the States, and
other appropriate entities, to standardize crash data re-
quirements, collection procedures, and reports.
(g) 
ELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstanding 
section
104(a)(4) of title 23, United States Code, activities under
this section shall be eligible for funding under section
104(a) of such title and may be carried out by any entity
within the Department that the Secretary designates.