Agency Information Collection Activities; New Emergency Information Collection Request: Report by State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) on the Annual Number of Entry-Level Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Applicants and Related Data

G. Kelly Regal
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
April 6, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 65 (Monday, April 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18495-18496]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07808]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2015-0041]


Agency Information Collection Activities; New Emergency 
Information Collection Request: Report by State Driver Licensing 
Agencies (SDLAs) on the Annual Number of Entry-Level Commercial 
Driver's License (CDL) Applicants and Related Data

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 that the Information Collection Request (ICR) described below 
will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for 
emergency approval under 5 U.S.C. 1320.13. FMCSA requests approval of 
this ICR by 30 days from the publication of this notice. The purpose of 
this information collection is to inform the public of the Agency's 
development of a mandatory driver-training program primarily for 
individuals applying for their first commercial driver's license (CDL). 
FMCSA is not aware of any other source for this data. The Agency has 
attempted to obtain this information for many years. In its search, the 
Agency has explored several other avenues for finding this information. 
For example, the Agency considered asking various trade groups 
representing private and public truck driving schools for their 
cooperation, but soon realized that these entities generally did not 
have the desired information either. This ICR would allow State Driver 
Licensing Agencies (SDLAs) to furnish this critical data and thereby 
inform the design of the CDL driver training program to be proposed by 
the Agency for public comment. The Department of Transportation (DOT) 
and FMCSA will also use this data to inform future commercial-driving 
safety initiatives.

DATES: Please send your comments by May 6, 2015. OMB must receive your 
comments by this date in order to act quickly on the ICR.

ADDRESSES: All comments should reference Federal Docket Management 
System (FDMS) Docket Number FMCSA-2015-0041. Interested persons are 
invited to submit written comments on the proposed information 
collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget. Comments should be addressed to the attention 
of the Desk Officer, Department of Transportation/Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Administration, and sent via electronic mail to 
oira_submission@omb.eop.gov, or faxed to (202) 395-7245, or mailed to 
the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management 
and Budget, Docket Library, Room 10102, 725 17th Street NW., 
Washington, DC 20503.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert F. Schultz, Driver and Carrier 
Operations Division, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, West

[[Page 18496]]

Building 6th Floor, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. 
Telephone: 202-366-4325; email buz.schultz@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: Report by SDLAs on the Annual Number of Entry-Level CDL 
Applicants and Related Data.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-00XX.
    Type of Request: New information collection.
    Respondents: State Driver Licensing Agencies (SDLAs).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 51 respondents (a report from the 
SDLA of each State and the District of Columbia).
    Estimated Number of Responses: 51 responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 19 hours and 30 minutes.
    Form Number: MCSA-5894, ``Request for Data to State Driver 
Licensing Agencies''
    Expiration Date: N/A. This is a new information collection.
    Frequency of Response: One-time.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 995 hours (51 respondents x 19 hours 
and 30 minutes per respondent, rounded).

Background

    On July 6, 2012, the President signed legislation titled ``Moving 
Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21).'' Section 32304 of 
MAP-21 (49 U.S.C. 31305(c)) provides that the Secretary of 
Transportation must issue final regulations establishing minimum entry-
level training requirements for individuals before obtaining a CDL for 
the first time or prior to upgrading from one class of CDL to another. 
The Agency is required to develop instruction and behind-the-wheel 
training that will be effective in providing entry-level CDL drivers 
the knowledge and skills they need to operate a commercial motor 
vehicle safely.
    On September 18, 2014, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the 
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and Citizens for Reliable and 
Safe Highways sued FMCSA and DOT in the United States Court of Appeals 
for the District of Columbia Circuit (Case no. 14-1183). The plaintiffs 
petitioned for an order of mandamus compelling DOT to publish a final 
rule on entry-level driver training within 180 days. While as of this 
date the court has not ruled on the petition, the court could order 
that a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and final rule be drafted 
according to a highly expedited schedule. Obtaining this data would 
help address this urgent legal issue in a timely manner.
    FMCSA has taken numerous steps toward satisfying the section 32304 
mandate. The Agency has conducted two public listening sessions in 
conjunction with industry trade shows and engaged its Motor Carrier 
Safety Advisory Committee to provide recommendations to support the 
rulemaking. FMCSA learned that there is not agreement among 
stakeholders about how to satisfy the statutory mandate.
    Next, FMCSA commissioned a neutral convener to analyze the 
feasibility of conducting a negotiated rulemaking (Reg Neg) to develop 
the regulations (5 U.S.C. 581-590). Based upon the convener's 
recommendation, FMCSA, on December 10, 2014, published notice of its 
intent to establish an Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee 
(ELDTAC) to negotiate proposed regulations to implement section 32304. 
On February 12, 2015, the Agency published notice of the first meeting 
of the ELDTAC, which was held on February 26-27, 2015 (80 FR 7814). The 
FMCSA is currently engaged in regular negotiations with the ELDTAC 
expected to go through May 2015 with a target date for publication of 
an NPRM of October 15, 2015 (Id. at 7815).
    Despite these efforts and the urgent nature and schedule of the 
negotiations, FMCSA lacks certain data that is crucial to its efforts 
to satisfy the MAP-21 mandate--for example, the number of individuals 
who would require entry-level CDL driver training annually. Given that 
this rulemaking will likely be considered ``significant'' within the 
meaning of E. O. 12988, obtaining this data is crucial to developing an 
NPRM and the required cost-benefit analysis. The data, combined with 
other data in the Agency's possession, will also be central to the 
ability of ELDTAC to build consensus among the various stakeholders.
    The only known source of the number of individuals who obtain their 
first and upgraded CDL each year is the 50 States and the District of 
Columbia. The only way the Agency can obtain this information is by 
asking the SDLAs to report it to FMCSA.

Public Comments Invited

    The Agency requests emergency processing of this information 
request valid for 180 days (44 U.S.C. 3507(j)(2)) based on its 
determination as required under the Paperwork Reduction Act and its 
implementing regulations as follows: The information collection is 
``essential'' to FMCSA's safety mission: to reduce crashes, injuries, 
and fatalities involving large trucks and buses (44 U.S.C. 
3507(j)(1)(A)(ii), 5 CFR 1320.13(a)(1)(ii)). Expedited review is 
necessary to minimize public harm that is reasonably likely to result 
if normal clearance processes are followed resulting from the operation 
of trucks and motor coaches by individuals lacking appropriate driver 
training that would be required by this rulemaking (44 U.S.C. 
3507(j)(1)(B)(i), 5 CFR 1320.13(a)(2)(i)). In addition, use of the 
normal clearance process is reasonably likely to cause a ``court-
ordered deadline to be missed'' (44 U.S.C. 3507(j)(1)(B)(iii), 5 CFR 
1320.13(a)(2)(iii)). This ICR is narrowly focused and practical steps 
have been taken to obtain this information in the past, as described in 
this notice above to minimize its burden on the SDLAs it would apply to 
(5 CFR 1320.13(c)).
    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.

    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87 on March 31, 2015.
G. Kelly Regal,
Associate Administrator for Office of Research and Information 
Technology.
[FR Doc. 2015-07808 Filed 4-3-15; 8:45 am]
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