[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9471 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9471

To require the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to implement 
               a national employer notification service.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 6, 2024

Mr. Gottheimer (for himself, Mr. Lawler, Ms. Norton, Mr. Moskowitz, and 
 Ms. Tokuda) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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) Employer Notification Service Defined.--In this Act, the term 
``employer notification service'' means a service that automatically 
furnishes an employer with 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, an accident, driver's license suspension, driver's license 
revocation, or any other action taken against the driving privilege.
    (b) Implementation of National Employer Notification Service.--
            (1) Requirements.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, acting 
        through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, shall 
        issue a final regulation requiring the implementation of a 
        national employer notification service that States may access.
            (2) Considerations.--Before issuing such final regulation 
        requiring the implementation of a national employer 
        notification service, 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 its report, ``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 a pilot program conducted in 
                2007 under section 4022 of the Transportation Equity 
                Act of the 21st Century (Public Law 105-178), to assess 
                the feasibility, costs, safety impacts, and benefits of 
                such a system, and to assess methods for efficient 
                exchange of driver safety data from existing State 
                systems.

SEC. 3. STATE IMPLEMENTATION.

    (a) Implementation.--Not later than 2 years after the Secretary has 
issued a final regulation requiring the implementation of a national 
employer notification service, each State shall use such service to 
notify employers with a report described in section 2(a).
    (b) Enforcement.--After the 2-year period described in subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall ensure that the national employer notification 
service described in this section is included as part of the 
requirements and standards of the commercial driver license program, 
including the consequences of noncompliance, set forth in part 384 of 
title 49, Code of Federal Regulations.
    (c) Employer Compliance and Allowable Grant Cost.--Included in 
developing the final regulation under section 2(a), the Secretary 
shall--
            (1) 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, to participate in the employer 
        notification service; and
            (2) ensure that State implementation of the employer 
        notification service is an allowable cost for commercial 
        driver's license program implementation grant awards under 
        section 31313 of title 49, United States Code.
    (d) Annual Inquiry Exemption.--In keeping with Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety Administration regulatory guidance set forth on page 
13069 of volume 80 of the Federal Register, the Secretary shall ensure 
that employers participating in the employer notification service are 
exempt from the requirements for annual inquiry and review of driving 
record, pursuant to part 391.25 of title 49, Code of Federal 
Regulations.

SEC. 4. APPLICABILITY TO SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

    For purposes of this Act, a school district, local educational 
agency, or school shall be considered an ``employer'' for purposes of 
the national employer notification service if it organizes, sponsors, 
or pays for the transportation of preprimary, primary, and secondary 
students to or from school or on extracurricular trips. In the case of 
a school district, local educational agency, or school that pays a 
private company or proprietorship to provide transportation services 
for students traveling to or from school or on a extracurricular trip, 
both the private company or proprietorship and the school district, 
local educational agency, or school shall be considered ``employers'' 
for purposes of the national employer notification service.

SEC. 5. SIMULTANEOUS DRIVER NOTIFICATION.

    Included in developing the final regulation under section 2(a), the 
Secretary shall ensure that whenever the national employer notification 
service furnishes an employer with a report on an employee, such 
employee shall receive simultaneous notification and a copy of the 
report.
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