Inside This Issue...

As part of its continuing efforts to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving large trucks and buses, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is working with AAMVA to reduce fraud through the use of the Commercial Skills Test Information Management System (CSTIMS). This Internet-based tool provides a consistent way to track the scheduling and entry of test results for commercial skills tests by jurisdiction and third party examiners. CSTIMS enforces jurisdiction-defined rules to manage Commercial Driver's License skills testing and will alert various parties when circumstances are encountered that require investigation to determine if fraud may have occurred. Additionally, CSTIMS produces reports that can be reviewed for patterns of potential fraud. South Dakota is the second jurisdiction to begin piloting CSTIMS for day-to-day management of its commercial skills testers. CSTIMS is being used to track the scheduling and testing of 26 jurisdiction and third party testing organizations with approximately 31 examiners. AAMVA would like to thank Jane Schrank, driver licensing supervisor, and Stan Knox, training specialist, who were the primary individuals from the South Dakota Department of Public Safety involved in moving SD to this point. Jurisdictions with any questions about CSTIMS should contact AAMVA’s Systems Analysis Department: Walt Jackson at wjackson@aamva.org or (703) 908-2828, or Greg Sensiba at gsensiba@aamva.org or (703) 908-2822.

AAMVA has partnered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to conduct a study to investigate crash incidence for suspended and revoked drivers in the United States. Please take a few minutes to respond to this survey. Your responses will be used to help the research team better understand the current state policies and practices related to license suspension and to document current processes for recording, archiving and retrieving driver record data. The responses to this survey will also help in the selection of the four to six case-study states to be investigated as part of this study. Your participation will help to ensure the success of this important research. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. 

There are still five slots available for AAMVA's five-day course on Fraudulent Document Recognition Instructor Preparation, to be held from Aug. 21-25, 2006, at AAMVA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. This is the last time that this program will be offered at the low registration fee of $300 per person (travel and other expenses are the jurisdictions' responsibility). It is recommended that individuals who register for this "train-the-trainer" course have successfully completed the FDR Levels I/II training program. Interested parties should contact Linda Honig at (703) 908-5896, or lhonig@aamva.org up until June 29, or Shelly Jackson at (703) 908-5897 or sjackson@aamva.org between June 30-July 14.

The 20th World Congress of the International Traffic Medicine Association (ITMA 2006) will be held Oct. 16-18, 2006 at the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria conference center in Melbourne, Australia. The congress will be of interest to anyone involved in preventing, treating or interpreting traffic injuries. It includes medical, engineering, legal, educational, political, policing and public health issues. Early registration for the congress is now open at http://www.trafficmedicine.org. For more information, contact the ITMA 2006 Organizing Committee at (+613) 9887 8003 or trafficmed@vifm.org.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will hold a two-day public forum on motorcycle safety beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006 in Washington, D.C. NTSB will examine issues raised by a number of recent motorcycle accidents, including the June 12 motorcycle crash involving Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and the June 11 crash involving a motorcycle and a minivan in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, that killed five people. NTSB staff will lead technical panel discussions that examine each major aspect of motorcycle safety, and representatives from the motorcycle industry, government, and motorcycling organizations will be invited to give presentations highlighting their perspectives. Last year, 4,315 motorcyclists died in crashes and the rate of motorcycle fatalities has increased more than 25 percent since 1997. The forum will be held in Washington, D.C. at the NTSB's Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW. An agenda for the forum will be posted on NTSB's Web site when available. The general public will be able to observe the forum either in person or by webcast at www.ntsb.gov.

The Board of Directors of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) has announced the appointment of Robyn Robertson as President & CEO, effective July 1, 2006. She will replace Dr. Herb Simpson, who has led the organization for the past 31 years. Roberston is currently vice president, Operations, where she is responsible for all procedures and policies to improve the quality of TIRF’s products and services. A criminologist, she has held various positions in the federal government and lectured in the Criminology program at the University of Ottawa. She has been a member of the staff at TIRF for seven years and has worked on numerous projects in the area of impaired driving. TIRF, a national registered charity, aims to reduce deaths and injuries from road crashes through prevention measures and policies based on sound research.

The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) proposes to amend the regulations relating to the unlawful hiring or continued employment of unauthorized aliens. The amended regulation describes the legal obligations of an employer, under current immigration law, when the employer receives a no-match letter from the Social Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security. It also describes “safe-harbor” procedures that the employer can follow in response to such a letter and thereby be certain that DHS will not find that the employer had constructive knowledge that the employee referred to in the letter was an alien not authorized to work in the United States. The proposed rule adds two more examples of situations that may lead to a finding that an employer had such constructive knowledge to the current regulation’s definition of “knowing.” These additional examples involve an employer’s failure to take reasonable steps in response to either of two events: (1) The employer receives written notice from the Social Security Administration (SSA) that the combination of name and Social Security Number submitted to SSA for an employee does not match agency records; or (2) the employer receives written notice from the DHS that the immigration-status or employment-authorization documentation presented or referenced by the employee in completing Form I-9 was not assigned to the employee according to DHS records. Written comments must be submitted on or before Aug. 14, 2006. You may submit comments, identified by DHS Docket No. ICEB-2006-0004, via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov or directly to ICE by e-mail at rfs.regs@dhs.gov. Include the docket number in the subject line of the message.

The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has published an interim rule that amends Department of Homeland Security regulations to provide that employers and recruiters or referrers for a fee who are required to complete and retain Forms I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, may sign and retain these forms electronically. This interim rule implements statutory changes to the Form I-9 retention requirements by establishing standards for electronic signatures and the electronic retention of the Form I-9. The rule took effect June 15, 2006. Written comments must be submitted on or before Aug. 14, 2006. You may submit comments, identified by docket number BICE 2345-05 or DHS-2005-0046, via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is extending the comment period for a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) and request for comments, which was published on April 25, 2006 at 71 FR 23877. The original comment period is set to close on June 26, 2006. The extension is based on concern expressed by the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD) that the June 26 closing date does not provide sufficient time for discussion of the issues in committee and a subsequent comprehensive response to the docket. The closing date for comments is changed to July 21, 2006. Mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, submit electronically at http://dmses.dot.gov/submit, or fax comments to (202) 493-2251. All comments should include the docket number FHWA-2005-23182.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is seeking public input on a  preliminary list of elements to be excluded from exemptions of the Interstate Highway System from consideration as historic property under the provisions of section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and section 4(f) of the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. This list is available at www.environment.fhwa.dot.gov/histpres/index.asp. This notice contains a link to and the process for interested members of the public to comment on the preliminary list of elements to be excluded from the respective exemptions of the Interstate Highway System from consideration as historic property under the authorities cited above. Comments received from the public will be factored into development of a final list of exceptional elements of the Interstate System. Comments must be received on or before July 17, 2006. Mail or hand deliver comments to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, submit electronically at http://dms.dot.gov, or fax comments to (202) 493-2251. All comments should include the docket number FHWA-2006-24902.

On June 14, Congress passed legislation (H Con Res 372) that recognizes the 50th Anniversary of the Interstate Highway System. On June 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 to establish a 41,000-mile National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, known as the “Interstate Highway System,” and the Highway Revenue Act of 1956 to create a Highway Trust Fund. The text of the bill states that "this anniversary provides an occasion to both honor one of the largest public works achievements of all time and reflect on how it can remain effective in the years ahead..." In addition to recognizing the anniversary of the highway system, the bill recognizes the achievements of the Federal Highway Administration (and its predecessor, the Bureau of Public Roads), the state Departments of Transportation, and the highway construction industry for their contributions to the construction of the Interstate Highway System and the quality of life of the citizens of the United States. The legislation encourages citizens, communities, government agencies, and other organizations to promote and participate in celebratory and educational activities marking this historic milestone.

A bill (HR 5560) introduced in the House of Representatives would amend title 49 of the United States Code by limiting fees imposed in connection with background checks for the issuance of licenses to operate a motor vehicle transporting a hazardous material, and for other purposes. The act, which may be cited as the “Professional Driver Background Check Efficiency Act of 2006," cites that the total amount of a fee imposed upon a person to cover costs, including administrative and other costs, associated with carrying out a background records check under this section, shall not exceed $50.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has provided its final report providing a brief response, including a description of further action the agency intends to take, to the public’s participation in the department’s review of its existing regulations and its current regulatory agenda. For access to the docket to read background documents or comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 am and 5 pm, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. You can access the docket for this notice by inserting the last five digits of the docket number (OST-2005-20112) into the DMS “quick search” function.

This grant program is geared at states that do not have a statewide donor registry, and those states that do have a statewide donor registry that does not have enrollment capability through the motor vehicle licensing offices. The program enables states to develop and implement, in collaboration with all organ procurement organizations with service areas in that state and representatives of the eye and tissue banks in that state, a statewide registry of residents who wish to be an organ and tissue donor. The application deadline is July 24, 2006. Visits www.grants.gov for more information. Or, contact Venus Walker, Healthcare Systems Bureau, HRSA, at (301) 443-7578 or vwalker@hrsa.gov.

The House of Representatives has passed the fiscal 2007 appropriations bill (HR 5576) for the U.S. Department of Transportation and other agencies by a vote of 406-22. With the exception of an extra $214 million for Amtrak added by amendment on June 13, no significant changes were made to the funding levels at DOT that were recommended in the bill. The following transportation-related amendments were agreed to during House consideration of the bill: to decrease Secretary of Transportation salaries and expenses by $1000 and add funding to the IRS; to increase funding for Amtrak by $214 million and offset the new spending with $626 million in cuts; to transfer $70 thousand from the Office of the Secretary of Transportation to the Federal Railroad Administration’s Safety and Operations account for FRA to hire an employee to tabulate school bus grade crossing data; to increase funding for NHTSA Operations and Research by $6.7 million to direct the Office of Fuel Economy in order to best assess how to encourage automakers to manufacture more fuel-efficient cars and trucks; to prohibit the use of funds from being made available to demolish or restrict use of the interchange located at Exit 131 of Interstate Route 40 and State Route 16 in Catawba County, North Carolina; to prohibit the use of funds in the bill to eliminate, consolidate, or plan to consolidate a terminal radar control center in a high-threat urban area; and, to prohibit the use of funds in the bill to implement a proposed Transportation Department regulation redefining the phrase “actual control” of a U.S. domestic airline for purposes of foreign investment.