Inside This Issue...

Transportation fatalities in the United States increased last year, according to preliminary figures released by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Fatalities from transportation accidents in the United States in 2005 totaled 45,636, up from 45,092 in 2004. Highway transportation accounts for the largest portion of fatalities and rose to 43,443 in 2005 from 42,836 in 2004. Motorcycle fatalities also increased to 4,553 in 2005 from 4,028 in 2004. Though buses, light trucks and vans, medium and heavy trucks, and pedestrian deaths also showed increases, passenger car fatalities fell from 19,192 in 2004 to 18,440 in 2005.

AAMVA is partnering with Car Talk (the nationally syndicated radio show on NPR) in 2007-2008 to help jurisdictions humorously communicate, via the Click and Clack animated characters, their Real ID changes for consumers. Participating agencies will receive, at no cost, the production and broadcasting in primetime television of a 30-second animated commercial starring Click and Clack. Please respond to the short survey above by Sept. 28, 2006. If you have questions, contact Jason King or call (703) 908-8287.
 

If you haven’t already done so, please respond to the following surveys. To learn more about using the new survey tool, visit our online tutorials. If you have any questions about using the new survey tool, contact Janice Dluzynski.

• Minnesota – CDL Disqualification Notifications (Ends 10/02/2006)
• AAMVA – Car Talk Partnership (Ends 9/28/2006)
• Connecticut – License Renewal-requiring SSN (Ends 10/09/2006)
• Quebec – Ignition Interlocks (Ends 10/11/2006)
• West Virginia - DUI Hearings (Ends 10/02/2006)
• West Virginia - Trailers (horse or car hauler) with living quarter (Ends 10/13/2006)

AAMVA is now accepting applications for its AAMVA/Nick Denice Memorial Fellowship Awards at the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University. This award is open to AAMVA members who are chief motor vehicle and law enforcement officials from the United States and Canada, AAMVA or IRP, Inc. Board of Directors members, and AAMVA International Standing Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs. The application deadline is Friday, Jan. 26, 2007. For more information, see AAMVA's Web site.

On Sept. 19, the House Rules Committee approved a closed rule (H Res 1015) governing floor debate on a bill (HR 4844) that would require anyone wanting to vote in federal elections to produce photo identification to receive a ballot. By 2010, proof of citizenship would be required in order to get an acceptable identification. The measure would mandate that all states require voters to provide identification in order to receive federal election ballots by November 2008. Currently, only some states require a photo identification to vote.

On Sept. 21, the House passed the Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2006 (HR 4830). The bill amends chapter 27 of Title 18, United States Code, to prohibit the unauthorized construction, financing or reckless permitting (on one's land) the construction or use of a tunnel or subterranean passageway between the United States and another country. 

Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-TN, reaffirmed last week that the Senate will leave town at the end of this week, barring an “unforeseen emergency,” and will return the week after the Nov. 7 elections for a lame-duck session. House GOP leaders had already confirmed that the House would recess after next week. According to Frist, between now and then the primary focus will be on completing conferences on two fiscal 2007 appropriations bills—Defense and Homeland Security.

On Sept. 21, the House passed HR 6094 with a vote of 328-95. The immigration bill authorizes the indefinite detention of illegal immigrants, bars gang members from being admitted to the United States, and allows certain gang members to be automatically eligible for deportation.

On Sept. 14, the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 1000, a resolution requiring the identification of the sponsors of earmarked spending projects and tax breaks in House bills and conference reports. The House also passed a prodecural rule that had the effect of passing H. Res. 1000 as well. The rules change takes effect immediately, so any new bills originated by House committees will be subject to the disclosure requirements. Any conference reports filed from this point on must have earmark disclosure as well, but the requirement only calls for the disclosure of earmarks inserted in a House-Senate conference committee for the first time. Any earmarks that were in the House-passed or Senate-passed versions of the bills are exempt.

Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) High Priority funds are generally provided by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to support, enrich, or evaluate state commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety programs. These funds will be allocated, at the discretion of FMCSA, to state agencies, local governments, and organizations representing government agencies or officials that use and train qualified officers and employees in coordination with state motor vehicle safety agencies. Section 4107 of SAFETEA-LU requires at least 90 percent of available funding be awarded to state or local government agencies. The federal share of these funds is established at 80 percent except that the federal share is established at 100 percent for public education activities. States and local governments are also eligible to apply for and receive New Entrant funds to conduct New Entrant Safety Audits as required by 49 CFR part 385, subpart D. The safety audit consists of a review of both the new entrant's safety management systems as well as a sample of required records to assess its compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, applicable Hazardous Materials Regulations, and related recordkeeping requirements. These funds will be administered at the discretion of FMCSA. The federal share of these funds is established at 100 percent.

On Sept. 14, the Senate introduced a resolution (S Res 572) with respect to raising awareness and enhancing the state of computer security in the United States, and supporting the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness Month. According to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, since February 2005 over 90,000,000 records containing personally-identifiable information have been breached, and the overall increase in serious data breaches in both the private and public sectors are threatening the security and well-being of the citizens of the United States. The National Cyber Security Alliance has designated October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month, which will provide an opportunity to educate the people of the United States about computer security. The resolution states that the Senate supports the goals and ideals of National Cyber Security Awareness Month and will work with federal agencies, national organizations, businesses, and educational institutions to encourage the development and implementation of existing and future computer security voluntary consensus standards, practices, and technologies in order to enhance the state of computer security in the United States. 

On Sept. 21, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) held a public meeting to hear testimony and learn more about the status, best practices and current issues associated with military and overseas voting. Commissioners heard presentations from federal, state and local officials and experts and  discussed voter information Web sites. A webcast of the meeting will be available at www.eac.gov. The meeting occurred two years to the day after EAC released a report entitled "Best Practices Report on Voting by Uniformed and Overseas Citizens." This report, as required by HAVA Section 242, was completed by EAC in consultation with the U.S. Defense Department and EAC's advisory boards and was distributed to the President, Congress and election officials. The report contains examples of how election officials from around the country can ensure the right to vote for all Americans, especially for those individuals who will be overseas during an election.