Title: To amend title 49, United States Code, to address delays in commercial driver's license skills testing and retesting, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Transportation and Public Works

Summary:
This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish requirements to ensure that states conduct commercial driver's license (CDL) skills tests and retests in a timely manner.
DOT must require each state to submit quarterly reports that describe the status of skills testing for individuals applying for a CDL at a CDL skills test location in the state, including average wait times and the numbers of examiners and test sites available to applicants. DOT must also submit specified reports to the states and Congress regarding the information received from the states.
Beginning in FY2021, the bill authorizes DOT to withhold certain highway funds from states that are not in compliance with specified requirements regarding CDL skills testing and retesting wait times.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4719 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4719

To amend title 49, United States Code, to address delays in commercial 
 driver's license skills testing and retesting, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 21, 2017

  Mr. Duncan of Tennessee (for himself and Mr. Cohen) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 
                           and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 49, United States Code, to address delays in commercial 
 driver's license skills testing and retesting, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE SKILLS TESTING AND RETESTING.

    (a) In General.--Section 31305 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) CDL Skills Testing and Retesting Wait Times.--
            ``(1) In general.--Beginning not later than February 7, 
        2020, the Secretary shall carry out a program to ensure that 
        States conduct in a timely manner skills tests and retests for 
        individuals applying for a CDL.
            ``(2) Compliance with program requirements.--For purposes 
        of section 31311(a), a State shall not be considered to be in 
        compliance with the requirements of the program for a fiscal 
        year if the Secretary determines as of the first day of the 
        fiscal year that--
                    ``(A) in the case of a State that prohibits or 
                currently does not authorize public and private 
                commercial driving schools, or independent CDL testing 
                facilities, from offering a CDL skills test as a third-
                party tester, there was a skills test delay at 3 or 
                more CDL skills test locations in the State during--
                            ``(i) 2 consecutive calendar quarters in 
                        the preceding 12-month period; or
                            ``(ii) 3 calendar quarters in the preceding 
                        18-month period;
                    ``(B) in the case of a State that has 2 or fewer 
                CDL skills test locations, there was a skills test 
                delay at any skills test location; or
                    ``(C) the State failed to submit reports in 
                accordance with paragraph (4) in the preceding 12-month 
                period.
            ``(3) Information systems.--In carrying out the program, 
        the Secretary shall add, or require to be added, to an 
        information system described in section 31106 or 31309 (or 
        other provision of law as applicable) appropriate fields to 
        enter information concerning a CDL skills test location for the 
        purpose of permitting the Administration and States to easily 
        track and tabulate the number of days between certification and 
        skills tests and retests conducted at a CDL skills testing 
        location.
            ``(4) State reporting requirement.--Beginning on February 
        7, 2020, the Secretary shall require each State to submit to 
        the Secretary, on a quarterly basis, a report that describes 
        the status of skills testing for individuals applying for a CDL 
        at a CDL skills test location in the State, including--
                    ``(A) the average wait time beginning on the date 
                an individual is certified by a training provider to 
                sit for the CDL skills test and ending on the date the 
                individual completes the test;
                    ``(B) the average wait time beginning on the date 
                an individual fails a CDL skills test and ending on the 
                date the individual retakes the test;
                    ``(C) the actual number of qualified CDL examiners 
                available to test applicants; and
                    ``(D) the number of testing sites available through 
                the State agency responsible for administering the CDL 
                skills test and whether this number has increased or 
                decreased from the previous year.
            ``(5) Annual report to states.--Not later than October 1, 
        2020, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 
        each State a report that compiles the average wait times of 
        such State, as described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 
        paragraph (4).
            ``(6) Annual report to congress.--Not later than February 
        1, 2021, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 
        the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 
        of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
        Transportation of the Senate a report that--
                    ``(A) contains a summary of the information 
                received from States in the preceding year under 
                paragraph (4); and
                    ``(B) describes specific steps that the Secretary 
                is taking to address skills test delays in States that 
                have such delays.
            ``(7) Definitions.--In this subsection, the following 
        definitions apply:
                    ``(A) Calendar quarter.--The term `calendar 
                quarter' means a 3-month period beginning on the first 
                day of January, April, July, or October.
                    ``(B) CDL.--The term `CDL' means a commercial 
                driver's license, as that term is defined in section 
                31301.
                    ``(C) CDL skills test location.--The term `CDL 
                skills test location' means a CDL skills test location 
                that is exclusively operated by a State and that 
                employs State employees who are responsible for 
                administering CDL skills testing.
                    ``(D) Independent cdl testing facility.--The term 
                `independent CDL testing facility' means a CDL testing 
                facility that is not--
                            ``(i) a CDL skills test location (as 
                        defined in this paragraph);
                            ``(ii) a public or private commercial 
                        driving school; or
                            ``(iii) a trucking company.
                    ``(E) Physically absent.--The term `physically 
                absent', with respect to a scheduled skills test, means 
                that the individual scheduled to take the test was not 
                physically present--
                            ``(i) at least 10 minutes before the test; 
                        or
                            ``(ii) for a longer period of time before 
                        the test, as determined by the State but not to 
                        exceed 1 hour.
                    ``(F) Skills test delay.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The term `skills test 
                        delay' means, with respect to a calendar 
                        quarter, an average period in excess of 7 
                        days--
                                    ``(I) in the case of an initial CDL 
                                skills exam, beginning on the date an 
                                individual is certified by a training 
                                provider to sit for the CDL skills test 
                                and ending on the date the individual 
                                completes the test (after subtracting 
                                from that period any day that is part 
                                of a mandatory notification or waiting 
                                period under Federal or State law); and
                                    ``(II) in the case of a CDL skills 
                                retest, beginning on the date an 
                                individual fails a CDL skills test and 
                                ending on the date the individual 
                                retakes the test (after subtracting 
                                from that period any day that is part 
                                of a mandatory notification or waiting 
                                period under Federal or State law).
                            ``(ii) Special rule.--For purposes of 
                        clause (i), any individual scheduled to take a 
                        skills exam who is physically absent from the 
                        skills exam on the date scheduled shall be 
                        recorded as a `no show'. Any State CDL test 
                        location that has a `no show' percentage above 
                        25 percent of total appointments scheduled at 
                        that location shall not be counted toward the 
                        State's average skill test delays.''.
    (b) Withholding of Apportionments.--
            (1) In general.--Section 31311(a) of title 49, United 
        States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(26) Beginning in fiscal year 2021, the State shall be in 
        compliance with the program requirements established under 
        section 31305(e), relating to commercial driver's license 
        skills testing and retesting wait times, as determined by the 
        Secretary under section 31305(e)(2).''.
            (2) Availability of withheld amounts.--Section 31314(d) of 
        title 49, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Availability for Apportionment.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as described in paragraph (2), 
        amounts withheld under this section from apportionment to a 
        State after September 30, 1995, are not available for 
        apportionment to the State.
            ``(2) Exception for cdl testing compliance.--If the 
        Secretary determines that a State that did not comply 
        substantially with paragraph (26) of section 31311(a) begins to 
        comply substantially with such paragraph, amounts withheld 
        under this section from apportionment to the State as a result 
        of the prior noncompliance shall be provided to the State in 
        the same manner as such amounts would have been provided if not 
        withheld.''.
    (c) Notice to States.--If the Secretary of Transportation makes a 
determination that a State does not comply substantially with section 
31311(a)(26) of title 49, United States Code, the Secretary shall issue 
a notice to such State that identifies any reason for such 
determination.
    (d) Compliance Plans.--A State having amounts withheld from 
apportionment under section 31314 of title 49, United States Code, as a 
result of noncompliance with the requirements of section 31311(a)(26) 
of such title, shall submit to the Secretary of Transportation, not 
later than 270 days after the date on which the State is notified of 
the noncompliance, a plan to satisfy such requirements.
    (e) Financial Assistance Program.--Section 31313(a)(3) of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (E) by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) address delays in commercial driver's license 
                skills testing and retesting.''.
    (f) Repeal.--Effective February 7, 2020, section 5506 of the FAST 
Act (Public Law 119-94; 129 Stat. 1553), and the item relating to that 
section in the table of contents in section 1(b) of that Act, are 
repealed.
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