Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information Collection: State Commercial Driver's License Program Plan

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
November 13, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 219 (Thursday, November 13, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67540-67541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26850]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2014-0133]


Agency Information Collection Activities; New Information 
Collection: State Commercial Driver's License Program Plan

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

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its 
review and approval and invites public comment. The FMCSA requests 
approval of a new ICR titled, ``State Commercial Driver's License 
Program Plan.'' as a result of requirements from Section 32305 of the 
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), Public Law 
112-141, dated July 6, 2012. The Act requires States to submit a plan 
to the Secretary describing the actions the State will take to address 
any deficiencies in the State's commercial driver's license (CDL) 
program, as identified by the Secretary in the most recent audit of the 
program. This ICR is needed to ensure that the States are complying 
with notification and recordkeeping requirements for information 
related to testing, licensing, violations, convictions and 
disqualifications and that the information is accurate, complete and 
transmitted and recorded within certain time periods as required by the 
Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 (CMVSA), as amended.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before January 12, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2014-0133 using any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Services; 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, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information on the exemption process, see the Public 
Participation heading below. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading 
below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov, and follow the 
online instructions for accessing the dockets, or go to the street 
address listed above.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement for the Federal Docket Management System 
published in the Federal Register on January 17, 2008 (73 FR 3316), or 
you may visit http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdfE8-794.pdf.
    Public Participation: The Federal eRulemaking Portal is available 
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can obtain electronic 
submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the ``help'' section 
of the Federal eRulemaking Portal Web site. If you want us to notify 
you that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed, 
stamped envelope or postcard, or print the acknowledgement page that 
appears after submitting comments online. Comments received after the 
comment closing date will be included in the docket and will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Michael Gordon, Office of State 
Programs, Commercial Driver's License Division (MC-ESL),, Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety Administration, West Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 304-549-2651; email 
michael.gordon2@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: The FMCSA is responsible for compliance and oversight 
of State Drivers Licensing Agencies (SDLAs). SDLAs are required to 
comply with the requirements of 49 CFR Part 384, titled ``State 
Compliance with Commercial Driver's License Program.'' Section 32305 of 
MAP-21 amends 49 U. S.C. 31311 by adding paragraph (d) State Commercial 
Driver's License Program Plan requirements. In paragraph (d)(1), a 
State shall submit a plan to the Secretary of Transportation for 
complying with the requirements under this section during the period 
beginning on the date the plan is submitted and ending on September 30, 
2016. In paragraph (d)(2), a plan submitted by a State under paragraph 
(d)(1) shall identify--(A) the actions that the State will take to 
address any deficiencies in the State's Commercial Driver's License 
Program, as identified by the Secretary in the most recent audit of the 
program; and (B) other actions that the State will take to comply with 
the requirements under subsection (a). Paragraph (d)(3) establishes the 
following: ``(A) Implementation Schedule--A plan submitted by a State 
under paragraph (d)(1) shall include a schedule for the implementation 
of the actions identified under paragraph (d)(2). In establishing the 
schedule, the State shall prioritize actions to address any 
deficiencies highlighted by the Secretary as critical in the most 
recent audit of the program. (B) Deadline for Compliance with the 
requirements.--A plan submitted by a State under paragraph (1) shall 
include assurances that the State will take the necessary actions to 
comply with the requirements of subsection (a) not later than September 
30, 2015.
    This collection of information supports the DOT strategic goal of 
safety by requiring the States to assure that drivers of CMVs are 
properly licensed according to all applicable Federal requirements
    States will be required to complete a Commercial Driver's License 
Program Plan using a spreadsheet or pdf document that will be provided 
by FMCSA to each SDLA. The plan will be completed by the State and 
provided to FMCSA's CDL Division via the Automated Compliance Review 
System (ACRS), for review and concurrence. FMCSA may reject a State's 
Commercial Driver's License Program Plan if it is determined to be 
deficient by not adequately addressing the State's deficiencies, and/or 
assurances. Within the plan, the State will identify any deficiencies 
from the most recent audit and will be required to provide detailed 
information to demonstrate how the State will obtain compliance with 
Section 32305(a) of MAP-21 by September 30, 2015 and remain in 
compliance through September 30, 2016. This will enable FMCSA to 
determine a State's level of compliance with the CDL requirements. 
Previous to

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MAP-21, there was no requirement for a SDLA to submit a Commercial 
Driver's License Program Plan.
    The spreadsheet was developed by FMCSA. The spreadsheet will be 
sent to each SDLA. The SDLA will complete the spreadsheet and send 
directly to FMCSA via electronic transmission. FMCSA will then review 
each plan to assess each State's level of compliance with the CDL 
requirements. The spreadsheets will then be uploaded into FMCSA's 
Automated Compliance Review System (ACRS). Appropriate feedback will be 
provided from MC-ESL to each State after review.
    Title: State Commercial Driver's License Program Plan.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-00XX.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Respondents: State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 51 State respondents.
    Estimated Time per Response: 40 hours per SDLA.
    Expiration Date: New collection.
    Frequency of Response: One-time effort.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 2,040 hours.
    FMCSA estimates that each SDLA would need approximately 40 hours to 
complete the State Commercial Driver's License Program Plan and submit 
it to FMCSA. The Program Plan is completed on a one-time basis as 
required by section 32305 of MAP-21. There is no continuing information 
collection function associated with submitting this Program Plan. The 
Program Plan asks for information which is readily available to the 
filer.
    For the purposes of the CDL program, the District of Columbia is 
considered a State. Therefore, there are 51 State responses with an 
estimated 40 hours per response to complete and submit the Program Plan 
to FMCSA.
    The FMCSA estimates the SDLAs total annual burden is 2,040 hours 
(51 responses x 40 hours = 2,040 hours).
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) Whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) 
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA to enhance the 
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. The agency will summarize or include your 
comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.

    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87 on: November 4, 2014.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology and Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014-26850 Filed 11-12-14; 8:45 am]
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