Inside This Issue...

Daniel Inouye, chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, submitted a favorable report on the Identity Theft Prevention Act (S. 1178) and recommended passage of the bill. S. 1178 would bolster data security procedures for covered entities that collect, dispose, maintain, sell, or transfer sensitive personal information. S. 1178 would prohibit (with limited exceptions) the sale or purchase of consumers’ Social Security Numbers (SSNs). This provision would prohibit employers, educational institutions, and others from using SSNs for any employee benefit plan, card, or tag that is provided by employers, educational institutions, and others, for the purpose of identification. The use of SSNs as identifiers on state driver’s licenses would be prohibited as well. S. 1178 also would require federal agencies to develop, implement, maintain, and enforce a written program for the security of sensitive personal information and to notify affected individuals in the event of a breach of security that creates a reasonable risk of identity theft. These requirements would be enforced by the inspector general of the respective federal agency. View the entire text of the legislation online.

In January 2008, the Washington State Department of Licensing will begin issuing a new Enhanced Driver's License and Identification card (EDL/ID). The EDL/ID provides travelers with a low cost, convenient alternate travel document to a passport for entry at land and sea ports between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean. The EDL/ID has similar security features to a U.S. passport, such as embedded Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and a Machine Readable Zone (MRZ). The RFID is required by the federal government to facilitate rapid identification checks at the border. The MRZ can be scanned when the RFID reader is not available at the border crossing station. The RFID tag will only have a unique reference number and will not contain personal information about the applicant. Washington State is first in the nation to create a viable solution to the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), requiring people traveling into the U.S. to present a valid passport. The requirement for air travel went into effect in January 2007, and for land and sea border crossing, the passport requirement will start in early 2008. The EDL/ID is designed to improve security and facilitate border management to address the WHTI requirements and maintain trade and tourism across our borders. More information about the EDL/ID program is available on the Washington State Department of Licensing Web site or by calling (360) 902-3611.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) received positive marks from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for satisfying congressional mandates and GAO recommendations to keep sensitive information safe. Under the 2007 Homeland Security spending bill (PL 109-295), the department is required to revise policies to review sensitive security information (SSI) requests in a timely manner, establish criteria for releasing information that is no longer sensitive, and gather common examples of 16 categories of sensitive information to help standardize the judgment process. As of Nov. 30, DHS has made all the necessary adjustments to meet the legislative mandates via the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) SSI Office. TSA made other policy changes to follow up on recommendations made by the GAO in a June 2005 report.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a final rule in the Dec. 4 issue of the Federal Register for Safety Standards on Cargo Carrying Capacity. In this final rule, NHTSA addressed the problem of motor home and recreation vehicle (RV) trailer overloading by amending the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) on tire selection and rims. The final rule requires manufacturers of all motor homes and RV trailers to provide information to consumers in a label that informs the consumer about the vehicle’s load carrying capacity. The rule also requires the size of tires on motor homes and RV trailers be the same as the size of the tires listed on the tire information label. Regulatory relief will be provided for dealers from a labeling requirement in the safety standard on tire selection and rims for light vehicles. The effective date for this final rule is June 2, 2008. Optional immediate compliance is available as of Dec. 4, 2007. Petitions for reconsideration of the final rule must be received no later than Jan. 18, 2008. Find more details in the Federal Register notice.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has amended the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108 on lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment by reorganizing the regulatory text so that it provides a more straightforward and logical presentation of the applicable regulatory requirements, which includes the agency’s interpretation of the existing requirements. It also greatly reduces the need to consult relevant third-party standards by including applicable requirements directly into the main body of Standard No. 108, rather than incorporating such provisions by reference. The final rule amends 49 CFR Part 564, Replaceable Light Source Information, by adding a newly created Appendix C, which relocates figures addressing sealed beam headlamps that currently reside in FMVSS No. 108 and a relevant Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard there. The final rule is effective Sept. 1, 2008 with voluntary early compliance permitted immediately. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of Sept. 1, 2008. Petitions for reconsideration of this final rule must be received not later than Jan. 18, 2008. View the Federal Register notice for more details.

The U.S. House of Representatives has released its vote schedule for the year 2008. The calendar is available on Majority Leader Steny Horner's Web site.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has published an opportunity to apply for FY 2008 Commercial Vehicle Information Systems and Networks (CVISN) Deployment grant funding on the grants.gov Web site (www.grants.gov). FMCSA will initially consider funding of applications submitted by qualified applicants on or before April 15, 2008. If additional funding remains available, applications submitted after April 15, 2008 will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Funds will not be available for allocation until such time as the FY 2008 U.S. Department of Transportation appropriations legislation is passed and signed into law. Funding is subject to reductions resulting from obligation limitations or rescissions as specified in Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Efficiency Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) or other legislation. Find out more on Grants.gov.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is adding a new Subpart K to 23 CFR part 630 to supplement existing regulations that govern work zone safety and mobility in highway and street work zones to include conditions for the appropriate use of, and expenditure of funds for, uniformed law enforcement officers, positive protective measures between workers and motorized traffic, and installation and maintenance of temporary traffic control devices during construction, utility, and maintenance operations. These regulations are intended to decrease the likelihood of fatalities and injuries to road users, and to workers who are exposed to motorized traffic while working on federal-aid highway projects. The regulations are issued in accordance with section 1110 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Public Law 109-59, 119 Stat. 1227, codified at 23 U.S.C. 109(e) and 112(g). The effective date of the final rule is Dec. 4, 2008. View the Federal Register notice for more details.

AAMVA has received an update stating that there has been some movement in getting Unified Carrier Registration (UCR) payment information uploaded into the Safety and Fitness Electronic Record System (SAFER). Most states are using the Indiana UCR Web site. The states of Alabama, Iowa, North Dakota, Illinois, Maine, and Virginia have their own UCR registration systems. UCR payment information from all of those states was uploaded into SAFER on or about Nov. 15, 2007. However, please be aware that such uploads are not occurring on a regular daily or even weekly basis, so the data is not current. States are encouraged to continue to provide an educational outreach to the motor carrier industry concerning the UCR Agreement. To assist you in this regard, the UCR-NCSTS Industry Notice (Nov. 15, 2007) and the UCR State Contact List have been posted to AAMVA's Web site in the Motor Carrier Services area.

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

• Tennessee – Driver's License Information (Ends 12/20/2007)
• Vermont – Deny Renewal of Registration (Ends 1/07/2007)

Help us reflect on our 75 years of service and security! Sign the AAMVA online guest book and share your fondest AAMVA memories and even submit your favorite photo for the photo gallery! The guest book and photo gallery will be publicized on the AAMVA Web site. While you are visiting AAMVA 75 online, read the blogs submitted by previous AAMVA Chairs of the Board. Submit your memory today!