Inside This Issue...

Check out AAMVA's "Knowledge Center" where AAMVA has pulled together resources to assist with your grant research.

• E-mail Alerts: Sign up to receive e-mail alerts when federal grant opportunities become available by going to the Grants.gov web site.
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In observance of the Columbus Day holiday, the AAMVA and IRP, Inc. offices will be closed on Monday, Oct. 9. 2006. The Week in Review will be published that week on Tuesday, Oct. 10. The AAMVA and IRP, Inc. offices will reopen on Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 8:30 am EDT.

AAMVA welcomes back the fall workshop Nov. 14-16, 2006 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The fall workshop returns to the AAMVA meeting track with a focus on motor carrier issues, law enforcement and technology. Planned by representatives from across committees and discipline areas, the new collaborative format will focus on improving highway safety and motor vehicle administration. Topics include federal issues and rulemaking, funding and grants, credentials, roadside access, document fraud, highway safety enforcement campaigns and much more. Representatives from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also will be conducting interactive sessions with participants. FMCSA has qualified this workshop for use of MCSAP funding. The cut-off date for booking a room at the Hilton Minneapolis hotel is Oct. 23. Be sure to get your reservation in soon! For more details and to register online, visit the Events section of AAMVA's Web site.

If you haven’t already done so, please respond to the following surveys.

• Pennsylvania - Secret Shopper Program (Ends 10/20/2006)
• Idaho - License Plate Validation Decal (Ends 10/20/2006)
• Connecticut - License Renewal - requiring SSN (Ends 10/09/2006)
• Connecticut – License Renewal – acquiring SSNs (Ends 10/10/2006)

To learn more about using the new survey tool, please visit our online tutorials. If you have any questions about using the new survey tool, please contact Janice Dluzynski.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has forwarded an information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for an extension of a currently approved information collection. FHWA published a Federal Register Notice with a 60-day public comment period on this information collection on June 26, 2006. The information collection, titled Truck Parking Initiative, addresses the shortage of long-term truck parking on the National Highway System (NHS). Submit comments for the extension by Oct. 23, 2006. All comments should include the Docket number FHWA-2006-25842 and should be sent to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC, 20503, Attention DOT Desk Officer.

Congress has enacted a continuing resolution to fund programs through Nov. 17 for the annual spending bills that were not passed by the start of the new fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2006. Only two of the 11 fiscal 2007 appropriations bills made their way to President Bush before Congress recessed. The stopgap legislation is contained in the fiscal 2007 Defense appropriations conference report (HR 5631) and will fund programs covered by all appropriations bills not yet enacted, therefore excluding the Defense (HR 5631) and Homeland Security (HR 5441) spending measures. The stopgap measure sets spending for programs at the fiscal 2006 rate, the House-passed level for fiscal 2007 or the Senate-passed level, whichever is lowest. AAMVA's two legislative priorities--delaying the implementation of the UCR until 2008 and seeking $4.4 million for NMVTIS--were not resolved before Congress adjourned to go home and campaign. AAMVA will have to wait until Congress returns on Nov. 13 to get these issues included in the appropriations bills.

On Sept. 25, the Senate passed a bill (S 3689) that would reauthorize the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Passed by voice vote, the bill would authorize $164 million over two years for the agency and would authorize the Transportation Department’s inspector general to investigate the contractors involved in Boston’s “Big Dig” tunnel project, as well as the authorities who oversaw the project, primarily the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the Federal Highway Administration. The measure would allow the agency to enter into non-competitive contracts to expedite any investigation and would direct the NTSB to set up a system to address the needs of families of passengers who are on board any Amtrak train that is involved in a fatal accident. The House version of the bill (HR 5076), approved on April 5, 2006 by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, would reauthorize the NTSB at $286.4 million over three years.

On Sept. 29, Congress cleared a $34.8 billion Homeland Security appropriations bill that aggressively addresses border security. The House adopted the conference report on a 412-6 vote, and the Senate later cleared the bill (HR 5441) on a voice vote. The bill’s spending total exceeds Bush’s request by about $2.7 billion and is larger than the amount either chamber initially approved. The legislation provides $31.9 billion in discretionary funding and $1.8 billion in emergency appropriations for border security.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently completed deployment of e-Passport readers at San Francisco International Airport. This is the first in a series of deployments that will continue at U.S. airports through the next few weeks to meet the Oct. 26, 2006 congressional deadline (mandated by the U.S. Border Security Act of 2002) requiring U.S. ports of entry to compare and authenticate data in e-Passports issued by Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries. An e-Passport securely identifies the individual, defends against identity theft, protects privacy and makes it difficult for individuals to cross borders using fraudulent documents. The e-Passport includes the international e-Passport symbol on the cover and contains a contactless chip with the passport holder’s biographic information and a biometric identifier, as well as a critical security feature that prevents the unauthorized reading of data stored on the chip. When applying to enter the United States, travelers who have a valid machine-readable passport with a digital photograph do not need to obtain a new e-Passport until the existing passport expires, if the digital photograph passport was issued before Oct. 26, 2006. The inspection process at a U.S. port of entry does not change for an e-Passport holder.

On Sept. 30, the Senate cleared a measure that would strengthen port security. The conference report (HR 4954) would authorize $400 million annually from fiscal 2007 through 2011 for local port security grants, $443 million for the container security initiative, and $212 million for the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism over the life of the measure. It also would require the 22 largest U.S. ports to scan all incoming containers for radiological weapons by the end of next year. In addition, the bill includes CDL anti-fraud provisions requiring CDL holders entering ports with a hazardous material endorsement to get a background check.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requests public comment on the merits of a petition for rulemaking filed by the Truck Manufacturers Association. This trade association, whose members include all of the major North American manufacturers of medium and heavy-duty trucks, has petitioned FMCSA to amend the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to eliminate turbochargers from the list of equipment considered to be noise dissipative devices. The association contends that virtually all trucks are now equipped with turbochargers. Hence, these trucks cannot be cited for failure to meet the visual exhaust system inspection requirements of FMCSA’s safety regulations if they have no muffler. Comments must be received on or before Oct. 25, 2006. You may submit comments identified by DOT DMS Docket No. FMCSA-2006-24065 using the DOT electronic site at http://dms.dot.gov or the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.

On Sept. 30, the Senate confirmed Mary E. Peters to be the next Transportation secretary. Peters would replace Norman Y. Mineta, the nation’s longest-serving Transportation secretary who stepped down almost three months ago. Prior to her nomination, Peters headed the Federal Highway Administration from 2001 to 2005 and the Arizona Department of Transportation from 1998 to 2001. Since November 2005, she has been the national director for transportation policy and consulting at the architectural, engineering and consulting firm HDR Inc. She would be the second woman to serve as transportation secretary.

On Sept. 29, the House passed by voice vote HR 6233, a bill that makes corrections to the highway bill (SAFETEA-LU). The bulk of H.R. 6233 is section 105, which makes changes to 218 of the high priority projects in Sec. 1702 of the SAFETEA-LU law. Section 110 also makes changes in 18 transportation improvement projects in Sec. 1934 of SAFETEA-LU and adds three new projects (two in Arizona, one in Alabama). Due to objections by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), who chairs the Banking Committee and controls the transit portions of the bill, the Senate did not pass the bill, which will have to wait until the lame-duck session after the elections. The Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) extension was included in that bill but did not go through due to the objection and will take place after the elections.

On July 27, 2006, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) published a notice announcing its intent to conduct a series of open meetings throughout the United States, in cooperation with appropriate state agencies, to consider issues related to the safety of private highway-rail grade crossings. The first meeting was held Aug. 30, 2006, in Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and subsequent meetings will be held Sept. 27, 2006, in Raleigh, North Carolina; Oct. 26, 2006, in San Francisco, California; and Dec. 6, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana. FRA intends to solicit oral statements from private crossing owners, railroads and other interested parties on issues related to the safety of private highway-rail grade crossings, which includes current practices concerning the responsibility for safety at private grade crossings, the adequacy of warning devices, and the relative merits of a more uniform approach to improving safety. FRA has also opened a public docket on these issues so interested parties may submit written comments for public review and consideration. Persons wishing to participate in future meetings are requested to provide their names, organizational affiliation, and contact information to Michelle Silva, Docket Clerk, FRA, 1120 Vermont Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20590 (202-493-6030). Additional public meetings will be announced over the next three months. For more information, see the initial notice in the Federal Register. 

The following courses are tentatively scheduled to be held at AAMVA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia (requires minimum of 10 registrations). Please contact lhonig@aamva.org or (703) 908-5896 for information.

• Fraudulent Document Identification:
• October 23-26:  FDR Level II (4 days)
• November 6-9:  FDR Level II (4 days)
• December 4-8:  FDR Instructor Certification (Prerequisite: FDR Level II)
• Vehicle Document Examiner Certification:
• October 30 & 31:  VDEC (2 days)