The Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005 (the Act), Sections 4301-4308 of Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Pub. L. 109-59, 119 Stat. 1144, August 10, 2005, established a 15-member Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Board of Directors (the Board) appointed by the Secretary of Transportation consisting of representatives of the Department of Transportation, participating States, and the motor carrier industry. The Board is required to develop the rules and regulations that will govern the UCR Agreement.

The UCR Agreement is the interstate agreement developed under the unified carrier registration plan governing the collection and distribution of registration and financial responsibility information and fees paid by motor carriers, motor private carriers, brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing companies.

This grant opportunity is for the purpose of providing administrative support and assistance to the Board in accomplishing its independent responsibilities. The Board is required to meet at least once per year but additional meetings may be called, as needed. 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(4). It is anticipated that the award recipient of this grant will support as many as 10 Board meetings.

This grant opportunity has 10 goals:

1. To provide for administrative support and assistance to the UCR Board in drafting the rules and regulations to govern the UCR Agreement consistent with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(2)(A)(B)(C) and (D);

2. To provide administrative support, travel reservations, and reimbursement of UCR Board member travel expenses to all meetings consistent with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(3);

3. To provide administrative support and assistance in arranging meetings of the UCR Board and subcommittees approved by the Board consistent with the meeting requirements of 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(4). Specific objectives include:
   
   

   a.  Coordinating and arranging meeting dates, times, locations, and adequate facilities;
   
   b.  Providing on-site administrative support to compile meeting notes; and
   
   c.  Drafting meeting announcements for posting on the FMCSA Web site and for publication in the Federal Register;

4. To provide for administrative support and assistance to the UCR Board in efforts to determine annual fees to be assessed to carriers, leasing companies, brokers, and freight forwarders under the UCR Agreement consistent with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d)(7);

5. To provide a designated repository for State UCR Participation Plans, Amended Plans, and other documentation consistent with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(e);

6. To provide administrative support and assistance to the UCR Board in determining the adequacy of State UCR Participation Plans;

7. To provide administrative support and assistance to the UCR Board in developing the specific content of the UCR Agreement consistent with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(f);

8. To provide administrative support and assistance to the UCR Board in determining the amount of revenues generated under the UCR Agreement to which a State is entitled consistent with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(g)(4);

9. To provide administrative support and assistance to the UCR Board in determining the distribution of excess funds consistent with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(h)(3); and

10. To provide administrative support and assistance to the UCR Board in determining excess funds remaining in the depository and recommending reduced fees to the FMCSA consistent with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(h)(4).

Who May Apply:

This grant opportunity will be funded with High Priority funds through the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. Eligible recipients are State agencies, local governments, and organizations representing government agencies or officials that use and train qualified officers and employees in coordination with State motor vehicle safety agencies. Funding provided by this grant will be available for 1 year from the date of award.

Federal Share:

The Federal share shall not exceed 80 percent of the approved expenditures in the project plan.

Match Requirement:

A 20-percent matching share by the recipient is required. The amount of award to a qualified applicant will be at the discretion of FMCSA based upon a panel review of all applications, recommendations of the review panel, and funding available. The successful applicant will be required to sign a grant agreement with FMCSA.

Application Deadline:

All application packages must be received by FMCSA no later than August 24, 2006. Application packages received after the deadline will not be processed. The application package must include a detailed project proposal not to exceed 10 pages in length (text only with font size of 12) in Microsoft Word or PDF format. Proposals must clearly demonstrate that the applicant has the ability and resources to successfully complete the project. Administrative costs associated with conducting grant activities must be included in the project proposal.

How to Apply:

Applicants may apply electronically or by mail.