[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 4, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62503-62505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26250]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Parts 383 and 384

[Docket No. FMCSA-2001-11117]
RIN 2126-AA70


Limitations on the Issuance of Commercial Driver's Licenses With 
a Hazardous Materials Endorsement

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Interim rules; re-opening of the comment period.

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SUMMARY: In May 2003 and April 2005, FMCSA published interim final 
rules (IFR) regarding the limitations on the issuance of commercial 
driver's licenses with a hazardous materials endorsement. The comment 
period for the May 2003 IFR closed on July 7, 2003; there was no 
comment period for the April 2005 IFR. The Agency received over 50 
comments on the 2003

[[Page 62504]]

IFR. FMCSA now plans to adopt the provisions of the IFRs that have not 
previously been made final. To ensure that interested parties have an 
opportunity to provide comments, the Agency has re-opened the comment 
period for 15 days.

DATES: The comment periods for the interim final rules published May 5, 
2003, at 68 FR 23844, and April 29, 2005, at 70 FR 22268, are reopened. 
Comments must be received on or before December 19, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket Number FMCSA-
2001-11117 using any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building, Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building, Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590, between 
9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    To avoid duplication, please use only one of these four methods. 
See the ``Public Participation and Request for Comments'' portion of 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for instructions on submitting 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Selden Fritschner, CDL Division, 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 
Washington, DC 20590-0001; by email at [email protected], or by 
telephone at 202-366-0677. If you have questions on viewing or 
submitting material to the docket, contact Docket Services, telephone 
(202) 366-9826.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Public Participation and Request for Comments

A. Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
IFR (FMCSA-2001-11117), indicate the specific section of the document 
to which each comment applies, and provide a reason for each suggestion 
or recommendation. You may submit your comments and material online or 
by fax, mail, or hand delivery, but please use only one of these means. 
FMCSA recommends that you include your name and a mailing address, an 
email address, or a telephone number in the body of your document so 
that FMCSA can contact you if there are questions regarding your 
submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to http://www.regulations.gov, 
put the docket number, FMCSA-2001-11117, in the keyword box, and click 
``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on the ``Comment Now!'' 
button and type your comment into the text box on the following screen. 
Choose whether you are submitting your comment as an individual or on 
behalf of a third party and then submit.
    If you submit your comments by mail or hand delivery, submit them 
in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable for 
copying and electronic filing. If you submit comments by mail and would 
like to know that they reached the facility, please enclose a stamped, 
self-addressed postcard or envelope.
    FMCSA will consider all comments and material received during the 
comment period and may change this IFR based on your comments. FMCSA 
may issue a final rule at any time after the close of the comment 
period.

B. Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as any documents mentioned in this 
preamble as being available in the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Insert the docket number, FMCSA-2001-11117, in the 
keyword box, and click ``Search.'' Next, click the ``Open Docket 
Folder'' button and choose the document to review. If you do not have 
access to the internet, you may view the docket online by visiting the 
Docket Management Facility in Room W12-140 on the ground floor of the 
DOT West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.

C. Privacy Act

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the 
public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT posts these 
comments, without edit, including any personal information the 
commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system 
of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.transportation.gov/privacy.

II. Background

    On May 5, 2003, FMCSA published an IFR titled ``Limitations on the 
Issuance of Commercial Driver's Licenses with a Hazardous Materials 
Endorsement'' (68 FR 23844). It revised its regulations to require 
State licensing agencies to issue or renew a hazardous materials 
endorsement for a CDL only if the Transportation Security 
Administration (TSA) has determined that the applicant does not pose a 
security risk warranting denial of such endorsement. To determine 
applicability, a CDL renewal, transfer, or upgrade was also considered 
a new issuance and fell within the scope of these requirements if it 
involved a hazardous materials endorsement. The IFR implemented FMCSA's 
part of the requirements of section 1012 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which 
limited the issuance of hazardous materials licenses. Because FMCSA 
shares with TSA the responsibility for implementing section 1012, TSA 
concurrently published an IFR containing regulations governing the 
security risk determination process in 49 CFR parts 1570 and 1572 (May 
5, 2003, 68 FR 23852). No public meeting was requested and none was 
held. The IFR became effective upon publication on May 5, 2003.
    On April 29, 2005, FMCSA published an IFR titled ``Limitations on 
the Issuance of Commercial Driver's Licenses with a Hazardous Materials 
Endorsement'' (70 FR 22268). That rule was issued as an IFR because it 
related to the 2003 IFR. In the preamble, FMCSA wrote that the 2005 IFR 
would be subsumed into the 2003 IFR when that rulemaking was finalized. 
FMCSA's 2003 IFR provided a specific date on which States became 
subject to the new requirement. The 2005 IFR amended the FMCSRs to 
cross-reference the TSA's compliance date as the date when FMCSA's 
companion requirements also became applicable (70 FR 22268). Consistent 
with the TSA regulations, FMCSA also reduced the amount of advance 
notice that States must provide to drivers that a security threat 
assessment will be performed when they renew a hazardous materials 
endorsement.
    FMCSA solicited comments to the 2003 IFR. The Agency received over 
50 comments. No comment period was included with the 2005 IFR.
    On October 5, 2018, Congress enacted the FAA Reauthorization Act of 
2018 (Pub. L. 115-254). Under Sec. 1977, a CMV driver who wants to 
obtain a hazardous materials endorsement on a commercial driver's 
license is an ``applicable individual who is subject to credentialing 
or background investigation''. Section 1978 exempted individuals who 
hold a valid transportation security card (TSC, or TWIC as implemented 
by TSA) issued under section 70105 of Title 46. FMCSA intends to 
incorporate this exemption when finalizing the IFRs, subject to TSA

[[Page 62505]]

requirements on the issuance of the HME.

Comments Requested

    Considering the passage of time since the publication of the IFRs, 
and because some items may not have been touched on during the initial 
notice and comment, FMCSA is re-opening the comment period. At the end 
of the comment period, FMCSA will consider all issues under its 
authority and may change the IFR based on the comments. FMCSA may issue 
a final rule at any time after the close of the comment period.

    Issued on: November 23, 2018.
Raymond P. Martinez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2018-26250 Filed 12-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P