Inside This Issue...

Jurisdictions have differing processes for dealing with commercial drivers cited for having a blood alcohol content (BAC) of more than .04 while driving a commercial motor vehicle. In the upcoming Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) Modernization project, AAMVA wants to ensure it accurately captures the data necessary for all jurisdiction requirements. To help with this effort, please respond to the survey titled "Citation of CDL Holder for BAC > .04 in CMV."

A bill to improve consumer access to passenger vehicle loss data held by insurers was introduced in the House on June 21, 2007. The Passenger Vehicle Loss Discloser Act (HR 2811) was read twice and referred to the House Energy and Commerce, House Financial Services.

In the June 25, Federal Register the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced an amendment to the Model Specifications for Calibrating Units for Breath Alcohol Testers (Model Specifications). The amendment adopts an alternate test procedure for evaluating the accuracy of both wet bath and dry gas breath alcohol calibrating units infra-red spectroscopy, as proposed in the Federal Register on August 13, 1997 (62 FR 43416. Also published in the June 25 Federal Register notice is an updated Conforming Products List of Calibrating Units for Breath Alcohol Testers (CPL) of calibrating units that meet the Model Specifications. This updated CPL includes 22 new listings—8 wet bath units and 14 dry gas units. The amendments to the Model Specifications and the issuance of the CPL become effective on June 25, 2007. View the Federal Register notice for more details.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security announced on June 25, 2007 that a draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) at land and sea ports of entry is available for public review and comment. The draft PEA looks at the potential environmental impacts from changes to technology and operations to meet the requirements for standardized, secure travel documents under WHTI. The draft PEA will be available for public review and comment for a period of 30 days beginning on June 25, 2007. Copies of the draft PEA may be obtained by telephone request (202-344-1589) or by accessing the following Internet addresses: http://www.cbp.gov/travel and http://www.regulations.gov. View the Federal Register notice for more information about the PEA and submission details.

On June 21, 2007, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) testified before the Subcommittee on Social Security, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives. The testimony focused on describing the use of SSNs by government agencies, use of SSNs by the private sector, and vulnerabilities that remain to protecting SSNs. A number of federal laws and regulations require agencies at all levels of government to frequently collect and use SSNs for various purposes. In the private sector, certain entities, such as information resellers, collect SSNs from public sources, private sources, and their customers and use this information for identity verification purposes. In addition, banks, securities firms, telecommunication firms, and tax preparers engage in third-party contracting, and consequently sometimes share SSNs with their contractors for limited purposes. GAO determined that vulnerabilities persist in federal laws addressing SSN collection and use by private sector entities. In particular, they found variation in how different industries are covered by federal laws protecting individuals’ personal information. In the GAO's Internet resellers report, several resellers provided truncated SSNs showing the first five digits, while other information resellers and consumer reporting agencies truncate SSNs to show the last four digits. Because of the lack of SSN truncation standards, even truncated SSNs remain vulnerable to potential misuse by identity thieves and others. The GAO suggested that the Congress consider enacting standards for truncating SSNs or delegating authority to the Social Security Administration or some other governmental entity to do so. View the testimony on the GAO Web site at www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1023T.

Democrats are working on an amendment that would increase the number of green cards allocated for spouses and children of lawful permanent residents, which is meeting opposition from the Republicans. Democrats submitted two amendments addressing family reunification. One would more than double the number of green cards issued annually to parents of U.S. citizens (an increase from 40,000 to 90,000), and also increase from 30 days to 180 days the time that a parent of a U.S. citizen could spend in the country on a visa. Another amendment would give family ties more weight under the bill’s merit-based point system intended to award a larger number of green cards based on U.S. employment needs.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State (DOS) announced on June 20, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the land and sea portion of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Proposed rules require a passport or other secure document denoting citizenship and identity for all land and sea travel into the United States. The NPRM follows an Advance Notice of Public Rulemaking (ANPRM) for land and sea published in the Federal Register on Sept. 1, 2005, and a final rule for the Air Phase of WHTI that was published in the Federal Register on Nov. 24, 2006. WHTI requirements were implemented for all air travel on Jan. 23, 2007, and have shown compliance rates in excess of 99 percent since implementation.

The Land and Sea NPRM is currently available at www.dhs.gov and will soon be published in the Federal Register. Once published, citizens wishing to comment on the proposed rule, including the economic assessment, may access the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for submitting comments. Submissions must include the agency name and docket number "USCBP 2007-0004."  For more information, visit www.dhs.gov or www.travel.state.gov.

Effective, Aug. 25, 2007, as part of its implementation of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA), the Social Security Administration (SSA) will add a new Verification Response Code to its Social Security Number (SSN) verification programs. Currently, motor vehicle agenicies use SSA’s online Social Security On-Line Verification (SSOLV) and batch Enumeration Verification System (EVS) applications to verify SSNs with SSA.

SSOLV will be modified to include a new SSA response code #7 to indicate that the person’s SSN, Name, and DOB verified, but SSA’s files show questionable activity was associated with the account. EVS will be modified to include a new SSA response code #6 to indicate that the person’s SSN, Name, DOB, and gender verified, but SSA’s files show questionable activity was associated with the account. For both verification applications, the person must contact their local SSA office for assistance and resolution. The official definition to be associated with this response from SSA is "SSN did not verify; other reason".

Jurisdictions are asked to notify AAMVA’s Operations Department (opsdept@aamva.org, 1-888-AAMVA80, Option 3) by July 6 if this SSOLV/EVS change and proposed August 25 implementation date would pose a problem, and if so, recommend an alternate implementation date.

On June 21, the Senate passed H.R. 6, which is an Act to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers from price gouging, to increase the energy efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to improve the energy performance of the federal government, and for other purposes. The bill passed with with a vote of 65-27. View the bill online.

The AAMVA Board of Directors recently approved model legislation, drafted and proposed by the Altered Height (Raised) Vehicle Working Group, to assist jurisdictions who have an interest in refining current statutes or introducing new standards for regulating the excessive ride height of raised vehicles equipped with aftermarket body/suspension lift kits and/or oversize replacement tires. This proposed legislation was reviewed and approved by the AAMVA Legal Services Discipline as required by the International Standing Committee Administrative procedures. Member jurisdictions are encouraged to adopt this legislation, which will reduce fatalities and serious injuries. For more information, contact Selden Fritschner at (703) 908-5855 or Dan Filiatrault, Chair of the Altered Height Working Group.

AAMVA is pleased to announce its new schedule for Motor Carrier Safety Information Act (MCSIA) training. The following classes are now included in this schedule:

• MCSIA Impacts (July 10)
• Documentation Usage (July 12)
• CDLIS A (July 17)
• CDLIS B (July 19)
• CDLIS C (July 24)
• 10-Year History Check & DLN Survey (July 26)
• ACD Codes (July 31)
• PDPS A (Aug. 2)
• PDPS B (Aug. 7)
• UNI Basics (Aug. 9)
• UNI Advanced A (Aug. 14)
• UNI Advanced B (Aug. 16)

All classes run from 2:00-4:00 PM (EDT) and are presented via WebEx. There is no charge for these classes; however, there are a limited number of WebEx connections available for each class. Visit the MCSIA Training section in the Education & Training area of AAMVA's Web site for up-to-date scheduling information. To register for these classes, e-mail trainer@aamva.org, and identify your jurisdiction's Training Coordinator. Additionally, you can contact Richard Ross or Tim Rowe for more information.

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

• Nebraska – Uniforms for Driver Licensing Staff (Ends 07/06/2007)
• AAMVA – State Police Headquarters (Ends 07/13/2007)

The deadline for submitting nominations for the 2007 Martha Irwin Distinguished Service Award for Highway Safety is July 1. The AAMVA Martha Irwin Distinguished Service Award for Safety is presented annually to a member law enforcement jurisdiction, or an individual or organization whose primary function is directly associated with highway and traffic safety efforts.

Nomination Guidelines

• AAMVA member jurisdiction organizations and their employees, whose primary function is motor vehicle or highway safety, are eligible.
• Nominees will be recognized for actions and programs undertaken after Jan. 1, 1998.
• Interested jurisdictional members are encouraged to submit nominations to their chief motor vehicle or chief law enforcement administrator who will then submit one nominee per jurisdictional agency to AAMVA headquarters.

The nomination forms can be downloaded from the AAMVA Web site. For more information, contact Selden Fritschner at (703) 908-5855 or e-mail sfritschner@aamva.org.

• FDR Instructor Certification Course: Aug. 13-17, 2007; registration deadline July 27 (prerequisite: FDR Level II Course)