[Federal Register: January 30, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 19)]
[Notices]
[Page 4322-4324]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30ja07-128]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2006-24843]
Notice of Request for Clearance of a New Information Collection:
Commercial Driver's License Program Improvements and Commercial
Driver's License Information System Modernization
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This action informs the public that FMCSA intends to request
that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approve a new
information collection required by the Commercial Driver's License
Program Improvements (CDLPI) and the Commercial Driver's License
Information System Modernization grant programs. That information
consists of grant application preparation and quarterly reports. The
CDLPI grant program also requires States' to conduct a self-assessment
of their Commercial Driver's License (CDL) programs. This notice is
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
DATES: Comments must be received by April 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, or submit electronically at http://dms.dot.gov/submit.
Be sure to include the docket number appearing in
the heading of this document on your comment. All comments received
will be available for examination and copying at the above address from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
If you would like to be notified when your comment is received, you
must include a self-addressed, stamped postcard or you may print the
acknowledgment page that appears after submitting your comments
electronically.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lloyd Goldsmith, Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Administration, Office of Safety Programs, Commercial
Driver's License Division (MC-ESL), 202-366-2964, 400 Seventh Street,
SW., Washington, DC, 20590. Office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Commercial Driver's License Program Improvements and
Commercial Driver's License Information System Modernization.
OMB Control Number: 2126-xxxx.
Type of Request: New information collection.
Background: The CDL program was created by the Commercial Motor
Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA) [Public Law 99-570, 100 Stat. 3207-
175, October 27, 1986] and its amending legislation. The goal of the
CDL program is to improve highway safety by ensuring that drivers of
large trucks and buses are qualified to operate those vehicles and to
remove unsafe and unqualified drivers from the highways. CMVSA retained
the States' right to issue a driver's license but established minimum
national standards which States must meet when licensing commercial
motor vehicle (CMV) drivers.
In CMVSA, Congress found that one of the leading impacts to CMV
safety was the possession of multiple licenses by commercial drivers.
Multiple licenses allowed drivers to spread their traffic violations
over a number of licenses and to maintain a ``good driver'' rating
regardless of the number of violations they may have acquired in one or
more States. In response to the States' concerns, CMVSA directed DOT to
establish Federal minimum standards to correct the multiple license
issue, testing and licensing to check a person's ability to operate the
types of vehicle he/she plans to operate, and to ensure that a person
with a bad driving record is prohibited from operating a CMV.
These standards were designed to:
Prohibit commercial drivers from possessing more than one
CDL,
Require that commercial drivers pass meaningful written
and driving tests,
Include special qualifications for hazardous materials
drivers, and
Establish disqualifications and penalties for drivers
convicted of the traffic violations specified in 49 CFR 383.51.
States that failed to comply with the requirements imposed by DOT
would be subject to withholding of a percentage of their Federal-aid
highway funds. To enable the States to fully implement the provisions
of CMVSA, Congress
[[Page 4323]]
authorized DOT to enter into an agreement for the operation of a
national non-Federal information system to serve as a clearinghouse and
depository of information pertaining to the licensing and
identification of operators of CMVs and the disqualification of such
operators from operating CMVs. CDLIS is operated by the American
Association of Motor Vehicles Administrators, an organization that
represents the States' driver licensing and motor vehicle agencies.
State driver licensing databases (including that of the District of
Columbia) and the CDLIS Central Site (Central Site) hold the data to
support the CDL program. The Central Site only serves as a pointer to
the current State of Record--the State where the driver's data is kept,
including convictions, crashes, and withdrawals from all previous
States. The Central Site is only updated when there is a name, date of
birth, social security number, State, or driver license number change.
All other data changes happen within and between States. The Central
Site information ensures that the driver has only one CDL and that all
current and history information on that driver resides in the database
of the current State of Record.
The Agency has been providing grant funds to States to support CDL
program activities since the inception of the program through the Motor
Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). The burden for the
information collection associated with this program is currently
captured under information collection number 2126-0010.
Section 4124 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) [Public Law
109-59, 119 Stat. 1736, August 10, 2005] established the CDLPI grants
to implement the requirements of the CDL program resulting from CMVSA.
Section 4123 of SAFETEA-LU (119 Stat. 1734) established the CDLIS
Modernization grants to develop a comprehensive national plan to
modernize the existing CDL information system. SAFETEA-LU specifies
specific data collection for the CDLPI grant program that is unique to
that grant. This new information collection request will provide for
the collection of the SAFETEA-LU mandated information for the CDLPI
program and the information for the new CDLIS Modernization grant
program.
CMVSA authorized DOT, working in partnership with the States, to
assist the States in implementation of the CDL program by expending $60
million in order to meet the goals established by Congress. These funds
were to be used to:
Develop the knowledge and skills tests,
Create a CDLIS telecommunications network connecting all
State Departments of Motor Vehicles (State DMVs),
Create national computer software to support each State in
sharing information between the State DMVs,
Implement the testing and licensing procedures of each
State, and
Implement in each State an information system that would
support the program.
Congress continued to provide funding in subsequent years to
improve the program or to implement new program initiatives and systems
enhancements mandated by subsequent legislation.
This notice proposes that, in order to qualify for a grant, a State
must submit an application with budget information and a self-
assessment of its CDL program. In addition, this notice proposes that
after the grant is awarded, a State must submit quarterly reports
explaining its work activities and its accomplishments. FMCSA will
monitor and evaluate a State's progress under its approved grant
project. If a State fails to operate within the guidelines of the
approved grant or does not remedy any identified deficiencies or
incompatibilities in a timely manner, FMCSA may terminate the grant
project. This proposed information collection would provide FMCSA with
the information that serves as the basis for these responsibilities and
decisions.
It is proposed that a State may submit its grant application
electronically using grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/Apply?campaignid=tabnavtracking
081105). A State may submit its
quarterly reports using e-mail.
Proposed Form MCSA-5842, Grant Application Continuation Sheet (CDL-
3), would be submitted with the CDLPI and CDLIS Modernization grant
proposals. It supplements the information on SF-424, Application for
Federal Assistance, with the information necessary to evaluate the
grant proposal for conformity with congressionally-mandated eligibility
criteria in SAFETEA-LU. This new form includes the congressionally-
mandated Maintenance of Expenditures and is based on Part Two: Writing
The Grant Proposal from Developing and Writing Grant Proposals on The
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Web site [http://www.cfda.gov
] modified to provide the information necessary to monitor
project execution.
Proposed Form MCSA-5843, Budget Detail Worksheet (CDL-4), is
submitted with the CDLPI and CDLIS Modernization grant proposals. This
budget worksheet collects detailed budget information not provided on
SF-424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs. As a result,
the SF-424A will not be required. This new form was based on the
expired (OJP Form 7150/1) (fillable) Budget Detail Worksheet.
Proposed Form MCSA-5844, Self-Assessment of State CDL Program (CDL-
5), is submitted with the CDLPI grant proposals. This structured self-
assessment instrument will allow FMCSA to link grant proposals to
improvement needs identified by the State and for cross comparisons
among States. SAFETEA-LU requires States to submit an assessment of
their CDL programs as part of the application for CDLPI grants.
These forms are intended to be completed on grants.gov during the
application process. The header information on each form would
automatically be completed with information from the SF-424.
CDLPI Grants
Respondents: State CDL lead agencies (the 50 States and the
District of Columbia).
Number of Respondents (for the CDLPI grants): 51 (per year and per
quarter).
Frequency (for the CDLPI grants): Annual application with quarterly
reports.
Estimated Time Per Response (for the CDLPI grants): 56 hours (30
hours to prepare the annual grant application, 10 hours to complete the
self assessment of the State CDL Program, and 4 hours to prepare each
quarterly report (4 x 4 = 16 hours)).
Estimated Total Annual Burden (for the CDLPI grants): 2,856 hours
(51 respondents x 56 hours per response).
CDLIS Modernization Grants
Number of Respondents (for the CDLIS Modernization grants): 51 (per
year and per quarter).
Frequency (for the CDLIS Modernization grants): Annual application
with quarterly reports.
Estimated Time Per Response (for the CDLIS Modernization grants):
46 hours (30 hours to prepare the annual grant application and 4 hours
to prepare each quarterly report (4 x 4 = 16 hours)).
Estimated Total Annual Burden (for the CDLIS Modernization grants):
2,346 hours (51 respondents x 46 hours per response).
[[Page 4324]]
Combined Total Annual Burden: 5,202 hours (2,856 hours CDLPI
Estimated Total Annual Burden + 2,346 hours CDLIS Modernization
Estimated Total Annual Burden).
Public Comments Invited
Your comments are invited on whether the collection of information
is necessary for FMCSA to meet its goal of reducing truck crashes,
including:
Whether the information is useful to this goal;
The accuracy of the estimated burden of the information
collection;
Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information collected; and
Ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on respondents, including the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
Electronic Access and Filing
You may submit or retrieve comments online through the Docket
Management System (DMS) at http://dms.dot.gov/submit. Acceptable
formats include MS Word (versions 95 to 97), MS Word for Mac (versions
6 to 8), Rich Text File (RTF), American Standard Code Information
Interchange (ASCII)(TXT), Portable Document Format (PDF), and
WordPerfect (versions 7 or 8). DMS is available 24 hours each day, 365
days each year. Electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines
are available under the Help section of the Web site. You may also
download an electronic copy of this document from the DOT DMS on the
Internet at http://dms.dot.gov/search. Please include the docket number
appearing in the heading of this document.
Issued on: January 23, 2007.
John H. Hill,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E7-1440 Filed 1-29-07; 8:45 am]
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