Commercial Driver's License: Oregon Department of Transportation; Application for Exemption

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
November 27, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 228 (Friday, November 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74199-74200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-30143]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2015-0397]


Commercial Driver's License: Oregon Department of Transportation; 
Application for Exemption

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

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA announces that it has received an application from the 
Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) for a limited exemption from 
the Agency's commercial learner's permit (CLP) requirement in 49 CFR 
383.25(c). The regulation provides that the CLP be valid for no more 
than 180 days from the date of issuance. The State of issuance may 
renew the CLP for an additional 180 days without requiring the CLP 
holder to retake the general and endorsement knowledge tests. ODOT 
proposes that it be allowed to extend the 180-day timeline to one year 
for CLPs issued to its drivers for multiple reasons. ODOT believes that 
there would be no impact on safety if the exemption is granted. FMCSA 
requests public comment on ODOT's application for exemption. In 
addition, because the issues concerning ODOT's request could be 
applicable to each State, FMCSA requests public comments whether the 
exemption, if granted, should apply to all State Driver's Licensing 
Agencies (SDLAs).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 28, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA FMCSA-2015-0397 using any of 
the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: 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., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251
    Each submission must include the Agency name and the docket number 
for this notice. Note that DOT posts all comments received without 
change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
included in a comment. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or visit Room W12-140 
on the ground level of the West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays. The on-line FDMS is available 24 hours each 
day, 365 days each year. If you want acknowledgment that we received 
your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or 
postcard or print the acknowledgement page that appears after 
submitting comments on-line.
    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.dot.gov/privacy.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information concerning this 
notice, contact Ms. Pearlie Robinson, FMCSA Driver and Carrier 
Operations Division; Office of Carrier, Driver and Vehicle Safety 
Standards; Telephone: 202-366-4325. Email: MCPSD@dot.gov. 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

    FMCSA encourages you to participate by submitting comments and 
related materials.

Submitting Comments

    If you submit a comment, please include the docket number for this 
notice (FMCSA-2015-0397), indicate the specific section of this 
document to which the comment applies, and provide a reason for 
suggestions or recommendations. 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 phone number in the body of 
your document so the Agency can contact you if it has questions 
regarding your submission.
    To submit your comment online, go to www.regulations.gov and put 
the docket number, ``FMCSA-2015-0397'' in the ``Keyword'' box, and 
click ``Search.'' When the new screen appears, click on ``Comment 
Now!'' button and type your comment into the text box in 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 grant or not grant this application 
based on your comments.

Viewing Comments and Documents

    To view comments, as well as documents mentioned in this preamble 
as being available in the docket, go to www.regulations.gov and insert 
the docket number, ``FMCSA-2015-0397'' in the ``Keyword'' box and click 
``Search.'' Next, click ``Open Docket Folder'' button and choose the 
document listed 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., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

II. Legal Basis

    FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315 to grant 
exemptions from certain parts of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Regulations. FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption request in 
the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The Agency must provide the 
public an opportunity to inspect the information relevant to the 
application, including any safety analyses that have been conducted. 
The Agency must also provide an opportunity for public comment on the 
request.

[[Page 74200]]

    The Agency reviews safety analyses and public comments submitted, 
and determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a 
level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the level that would be 
achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of 
the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR 
381.315(b)) with the reasons for denying or granting the application 
and, if granted, the name of the person or class of persons receiving 
the exemption, and the regulatory provision from which the exemption is 
granted. The notice must also specify the effective period and explain 
the terms and conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed 
(49 CFR 381.300(b)).

III. Request for Exemption

    ODOT requests an exemption from the Agency's CLP requirement in 49 
CFR 383.25(c). The regulation provides that the CLP be valid for no 
more than 180 days from the date of issuance. The State may renew the 
CLP for an additional 180 days without requiring the CLP holder to 
retake the general and endorsement knowledge tests. ODOT proposes that 
it be allowed to extend the 180-day timeline to one year for CLPs 
issued to its drivers.
    ODOT provided multiple reasons for regulatory relief from the CLP 
rule. First, ODOT believes that the 180-day time line required to renew 
the CLP adds nothing to the effectiveness of the rule itself, the 
purpose of which is to ``enhance safety by ensuring that only qualified 
drivers are allowed to operate commercial vehicles on our nation's 
highways'' (76 FR 26854, May 9, 2011). ODOT asserts that neither FMCSA 
staff nor the States were able to identify any highway safety 
enhancement arising from this requirement. ODOT states that it is 
unaware of any data suggesting that persons who have not renewed their 
CLP or obtained their CDL within six months pose less risk on the 
Nation's highways.
    Second, ODOT agrees that requiring CLP holders to retake the 
knowledge test after not obtaining a CDL within one year improves 
highway safety, but disagrees that the requirement for renewal at six 
months is needed. According to ODOT, if the exemption is granted, 
ODOT's CLP would have a validity period of one year with no renewal 
allowed. All applicable knowledge tests would be required before a new 
CDL could be issued, which would accomplish the objective of not 
allowing a person to have a CLP longer than one year without passing 
knowledge tests.
    The third reason for the request ODOT advises; is that Oregon's 
``Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) field offices have a very large 
volume of work to accomplish and, at best, limited resources with which 
to accomplish it. Adding the bureaucratic requirement for a CLP holder 
to visit a DMV office and pay a fee in order to get a second six months 
of CLP validity will add unnecessary workload to offices already 
stretched to the limit. ODOT is confident there would be no negative 
impact on safety if the exemption is granted.''
    According to ODOT, ``If this exemption is not granted, Oregon 
drivers with CLPs who have not passed the CDL skills test within six 
months of CLP issuance would have to go to a DMV office and pay for a 
renewal of the CLP. This would cause undue hardship to the drivers, 
from the perspectives of both their time and their pocketbooks. It 
would also cause undue hardship to our agency, where scarce resources 
would be used to process bureaucratic transactions that add nothing to 
highway safety.'' ODOT advises that it would not be able to change the 
validity period of the CLP until a statutory change can be made.
    In addition, because the issues concerning ODOT's request could be 
applicable in each State, FMCSA requests public comment on whether the 
exemption, if granted, should apply to all SDLAs.
    A copy of ODOT's application for exemption is available for review 
in the docket for this notice.

    Dated: November 6, 2015.
 Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015-30143 Filed 11-25-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P