[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3603 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3603
To require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to implement
a national employer notification service.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 11, 2018
Mr. Booker (for himself and Mr. Menendez) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to implement
a national employer notification service.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Miranda Vargas School Bus Driver Red
Flag Act'' or ``Miranda's Law''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL EMPLOYER NOTIFICATION SERVICE.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Employer notification service.--The term ``employer
notification service'' means a service that automatically
provides to an employer a report on the change in the status of
the driving record or driver's license of an employee who has a
commercial driver's license due to a conviction for a moving
violation, a failure to appear, driver's license suspension,
driver's license revocation, or any other action taken against
the driving privilege.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Transportation.
(b) National Employer Notification Service.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, shall issue a
final rule requiring the implementation of a national employer
notification service that States may access.
(2) Considerations.--Before issuing a final rule under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider--
(A) the recommendations made by the American
Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA),
including recommendations on annual per driver fees for
participating employers, in the report of the AAMVA
entitled ``Employer Notification System Design & Best
Practices Recommendations'', produced for the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Administration under grant/
cooperative agreement number FMCDL-0143-13-01-03; and
(B) the results of the pilot program under section
4022 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st
Century (49 U.S.C. 31309 note; Public Law 105-178)--
(i) to assess the feasibility, costs,
safety impacts, and benefits of a system
similar to the pilot program; and
(ii) to assess methods for efficient
exchange of driver safety data from existing
State systems.
(3) Requirements.--
(A) Employer compliance.--As part of the final rule
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall require any
employer who has 1 or more employees who holds a
commercial driver's license with a school bus
endorsement, pursuant to section 383.123 of title 49,
Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations),
to participate in the national employer notification
service.
(B) Driver notification.--
(i) Simultaneous driver notification.--As
part of the final rule under paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall ensure that whenever the
national employer notification service provides
to an employer a report on an employee, that
employee shall receive simultaneous
notification and a complete copy of the report.
(ii) Form.--An employee described in clause
(i) shall be notified under that clause--
(I) by mail sent to the address on
record for the employee with the driver
licensing agency in the State that
issued the commercial driver's license
to the employee; or
(II) on request of the employee, by
mail sent to an alternative address or
by alternative means, including
electronic mail.
(iii) Driver access to information.--Except
as otherwise prohibited by law, an employee
shall be permitted to review information
retained or disseminated by the national
employer notification service about that
employee at no cost to the employee.
(C) Procedures for correcting information.--As part
of the final rule under paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall ensure that an employee may, at no cost to the
employee--
(i) challenge inaccurate information
retained or disseminated by the national
employer notification service;
(ii) request expedited treatment to correct
inaccurate information retained or disseminated
by the national employer notification service,
if that inaccurate information is preventing
the employee from performing safety-sensitive
functions; and
(iii) request that the Secretary--
(I) remove information retained by
the national employer notification
service relating to a traffic citation
or arrest if the traffic citation or
arrest did not result in a conviction;
and
(II) notify the employer of the
employee of the removal of that
information.
(D) Treatment.--The implementation of the national
employer notification service in a State shall be
considered to be an eligible activity for a State
commercial driver's license program implementation
grant award under section 31313(a)(2) of title 49,
United States Code.
(c) State Implementation.--
(1) Implementation.--Each State and employer described in
subsection (b)(3)(A) shall begin use of the national employer
notification service by not later than 2 years after the date
on which Secretary establishes the national employer
notification service pursuant to the final rule under
subsection (b)(1).
(2) Enforcement.--Beginning not later than 2 years after
the date on which the Secretary establishes the national
employment notification service pursuant to the final rule
under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall ensure that the
national employer notification service is included as part of
the requirements and standards of the commercial driver license
program, including the consequences of State noncompliance,
under part 384 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (or
successor regulations).
(3) Annual inquiry exemption.--In accordance with the
regulatory guidance issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration entitled ``Driver Qualifications; Regulatory
Guidance Concerning the Use of Computerized Employer
Notification Systems for the Annual Inquiry and Review of
Driving Records'' (80 Fed. Reg. 13069 (March 12, 2015)), the
Secretary shall ensure that an employer participating in the
national employer notification service is exempt from the
requirements for annual inquiry and review of driving record
pursuant to section 391.25 of title 49, Code of Federal
Regulations (or successor regulations).
(d) Applicability to Schools and School Districts.--
(1) In general.--For purposes of this section, a school
district, local educational agency, or school shall be
considered to be an ``employer'' for purposes of the national
employer notification service if the school district, local
educational agency, or school organizes, sponsors, or pays for
the transportation of preprimary, primary, or secondary
students to or from school or on extracurricular trips.
(2) Treatment of private entity.--For purposes of this
section, in the case of a school district, local educational
agency, or school that contracts with a private entity to
provide transportation services for students traveling to or
from school or on an extracurricular trip, the private entity
and the school district, local educational agency, or school
shall be considered to be an ``employer''.
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