Inside This Issue...

AAMVA and IRP, Inc. offices will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 22 and Friday, Nov. 23, 2007 in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday. Offices will reopen on Monday, Nov. 26, 2007 at 8:30 am (ET). The Week in Review will not be published the week of Nov. 26.  AAMVA wishes all a safe and happy holiday.

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Ohio – Name Search Software (Ends 11/23/2007)

The Senate submitted a bill on Nov. 14 with suggestions to enhance national security by restricting access of illegal aliens to driver’s licenses and state-issued identification documents. The bill would be called the “Prevention of Unsafe Licensing Act,” based on ideas that issuing driver’s licenses or other forms of documentation to individuals who are illegally present in the United States will enable illegal aliens, and possibly terrorists, to open bank accounts, transfer money out of the country, purchase weapons, and commit voter fraud. The bill brought in excerpts from the Real ID Act of 2005 for support. Click here to read the bill in full.

A full two-week recess is under way for the House, but not for the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled four pro forma sessions—days in which the Senate is gaveled open, conducts no business and then is gaveled to a close. The Congressional Record for those days will be mighty thin, but the purpose of the scheduling by Reid (D-NV), is defensive: Discourage President Bush from using a pocket veto on bills or making recess appointments for nominees who lack Senate confirmation. The Constitution allows presidents to fill without confirmation votes vacancies that “happen during the recess of the Senate.” An official receiving a recess appointment this year could serve through the end of the Senate’s 2008 session. A pocket veto occurs if the president allows a 10-day deadline for acting on a bill to pass while Congress is not in session. Congress has no opportunity to override such a veto. Pro forma sessions have been set for Nov. 20 at 9am; Nov. 23 at 10am; Nov. 27 at 9am; and Nov. 29 at 9:30am

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently announced that it has published an opportunity to apply for FY2008 Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) High Priority and New Entrant grant funding on the grants.gov Web site. FMCSA will initially consider funding of applications submitted by Jan. 5, 2008 by qualified applicants. If additional funding remains available, applications submitted after Jan. 5, 2008 will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Funds will not be available for allocation until such time as FY2008 appropriations legislation is passed and signed into law. Funding is subject to reductions resulting from obligation limitations or rescissions as specified in SAFETEA-LU or other legislation. All applicants must submit an electronic application package through grants.gov. To apply, the applicant must be registered with grants.gov. To register, visit the grants.gov Web site.

To further secure the personal information of all Missouri license holders, the Missouri Department of Revenue has begun assigning a system-generated license number to record holders who use their Social Security Number (SSN) as their license number. The license number assignment will occur in two phases. Phase 1 will include all non-commercial record holders without a PDPS or CDLIS pointer and is scheduled to be completed in November 2007. Phase 2 will include all record holders with a PDPS or CDLIS pointer and is scheduled to be completed in January 2008. The license in their possession reflecting the SSN as the license number will remain valid until time of renewal.

The Utah Department of Transportation received a national safety award for its work on a program to help schools develop safe routes for children to walk to class. The program is titled the Safe Neighborhood Access Program (SNAP) and allows a school to design a computerized map outlining safe walking routes for children. Utah law requires elementary and middle schools to create or update a "safe route" map each year, according to UDOT. The award was given by the Roadway Safety Foundation and the Federal Highway Administration. At least 11 other states were also awarded for safety efforts during the 2007 National Roadway Safety Awards Recognition Ceremony. Read more. 

As of Nov. 15, 2007, the UCR Board Of Directors requests that enforcement staff provide educational outreach to the motor carrier industry concerning the UCR Agreement and that enforcement not begin until such time as the UCR registration information has been successfully uploaded to SAFER, Query Central and ISS. Therefore, until further notice an educational period is in effect for the UCR Agreement. Visit www.safersys.org, and under the middle column “FMCSA Searches” click on “Unified Carrier Registration.” If the carrier is registered in the UCR Agreement, the screen to the right will indicate so and no further action is required roadside.  If the carrier is not registered in the UCR Agreement, the message “No data found for this query” will appear. When this message appears, please provide the driver with a UCR Agreement Notice. FMCSA is in the process of adding a 392.2 violation code (392.2 UCR Failure/Improper UCR Registration) into the Aspen software to indicate that a carrier is not in compliance with the UCR Agreement.

If a motor carrier operates a truck or bus in interstate or international commerce, then the  federal Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) Agreement applies. The UCR Agreement requires individuals and companies that operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate or international commerce to register their business with a base state and pay an annual fee based on the size of their fleet. A “Commercial Motor Vehicle” is defined as a self-propelled or towed vehicle used on the highways in commerce principally to transport passengers or cargo, if the vehicle: (a) has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 10,001 pounds, whichever is greater;
(b) is designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation;
(c) is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for compensation; or
(d) is used in transporting hazardous materials in a quantity requiring placarding. Carreirs must register immediately in order to operate in interstate commerce. Online registration is recommended.

After four and half years as assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, Fran Townsend resigned on Monday, Nov. 19 for undisclosed reasons. According to a White House statement, Townsend intends to stay on through the end of the year and the Bush administration hopes to name a replacement before then. Read the White House Press Release.

The fall 2007 issue of Move magazine is in the mail, but you can take a sneak peek with the new online format! Move subscribers and AAMVA members can click over to http://www.aamva.org/Publications/Move/ for a full PDF of the issues and supplementary articles that you won't find in the hard copy. Want to read about some of the notable work your colleagues are doing? Check out the Excellence department, where we salute the winner of the 2007 Martha Irwin Distinguished Service Award. Or, take a look at Projects and discover what steps are being taken to increase motor carrier seatbelt use. Wondering what life’s been like down in the Big Easy? Find out in the At Your Service department, where we discuss how the agencies coped with Katrina. Don't miss out on all the extras Move online has to offer!