Bill Provides for Highway Fuel Tax Holiday 
On April 17, 2008, Senator John McCain introduced a bill (
S.2890) to amend the Internal Review Code of 1986 to provide for a highway fuel tax holiday. The bill was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
NASCIO Issues Brief on Data Governance
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) has issued Part I in a series of briefs on data governance. Data governance entails concepts, principles, and tools intended to enable appropriate management and use of the state’s investment in information.
The first brief (Part I) on data governance is an introduction that describes the basic concepts.
ICR on Driver's License and Tax Exemption Card Application
The Department of State (DOS) has submitted the information collection request (ICR) titled "U.S. Department of State Driver License and Tax Exemption Card Application" to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DOS is seeking public comments, which should be submitted to the OMB for up to 30 days from April 28, 2008.
View the Federal Register notice for more details.
Resolution to Promote Safe Operation of 15-passenger Vans
On April 30, the House will discuss a resolution to promote the safe operation of 15-passenger vans (
H.Res. 964). The House recognizes the need for awareness regarding the increased risks of driving 15-passenger vans and encourages any operator of such a vehicle or person who provides transportation on such a vehicle to provide adequate training for drivers and safety information, including the necessity for wearing seat belts, to passengers.
View the bill online.
House to Discuss Highway Corrections Bill
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) corrections bill (
HR 1195) will be taken up again in the House on April 30, 2008 at 10:00am. On April 17, the Senate passed the bill with changes.
Senate Bill Attempts to Protect Against SSN Fraud
A bill to require the commissioner of Social Security to issue uniform standards for the method for truncation of Social Security Numbers (SSN) in order to protect such numbers from being used in the perpetration of fraud or identity theft and to provide for a prohibition on the display to the general public on the Internet of SSNs by state and local governments, and for other purposes (
S 2915) has been read and referred to the Senate Judiciary as of April 24, 2008.
View the bill online for more details.
Environmental Impact Statement for New Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards
On March 28, 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced plans to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to address the potential environmental impacts of the agency’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy program for passenger cars and non-passenger vehicles ("light trucks"). Specifically, NHTSA announced its intent to prepare an EIS to consider the potential environmental impacts of new fuel economy standards for model year 2011-2015 passenger cars and light trucks that NHTSA is proposing pursuant to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. At the same time, NHTSA initiated the NEPA scoping process by inviting federal, state, and local agencies, Indian tribes, and the public to identify the environmental issues and reasonable alternatives to be examined in the EIS by providing public comments related to the scope of NHTSA’s NEPA analysis. A
supplemental notice in the April 28
Federal Register provides additional guidance for participating in the scoping process and additional information about the proposed standards and the alternatives NHTSA expects to consider in its NEPA analysis. The scoping process will culminate in the preparation and issuance of a Draft EIS, which will be made available for public comment. Interested persons are requested to submit their scoping comments as soon as possible. To ensure that NHTSA has an opportunity to consider scoping comments and to facilitate NHTSA’s prompt preparation of the Draft EIS, scoping comments should be received on or before May 28, 2008, although NHTSA will try to consider comments received after this date to the extent the NEPA and rulemaking schedules allow. More details are available in the
supplemental notice posted in the April 28
Federal Register.Hearing on Real ID Act and Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
On April 29 at 9:30am (ET), the Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia Subcommittee (Chairman Akaka, D-Hawaii) of Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold a hearing titled "The Impact of Implementation: A Review of the REAL ID Act (PL 109-13) and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative." The REAL ID Act is an effort to help prevent terrorism, reduce fraud and improve the reliability and accuracy of identification documentation issued by state governments by establishing standards and criteria for documents such as driver's licenses. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requires that everyone traveling by air outside of the United States is required to present a passport or other valid travel document to enter or re-enter the United States. Listen to this hearing online at
http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/ or
http://www.capitolhearings.org/ Contact Richard J. Kessler, Democratic Staff Director, at (202)224-4551 for more information.
Transportation Safety Planning Working Group Releases Strategic Action Plan
The Transportation Safety Planning Working Group (TSPWG) has released its Strategic Action Plan for 2008. TSPWG meets regularly to coordinate highway safety planning programs and successes in program planning. The TSPWG provides a highway safety Web site geared to state planners but relevant to all agencies and groups. The group is coordinated through the National Academy of Sciences, specifically the Transportation Research Board. Through the TSPWG meetings, there will be opportunities to support additional research on suspended and revoked drivers as well as other opportunities at the state level. View the
TSPWG Strategic Plan online.
Apply for Innovations in American Government Award
Harvard University invites you to apply for the $100,000 Innovations in American Government Award, given annually to programs that serve as the best examples of creative and effective government. All levels of government are eligible to apply. For more details, visit
www.innovationsaward.harvard.edu. Applications are due Sept. 30, 2008.
Application Deadline Approaches for Election Data Grants
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is accepting applications for its Election Data Collection Grant Program. The program will award five grants worth $2 million each to five different states to collect precinct-level data for the November 2008 presidential election. Applications are due by 4:00pm (EDT) on April 28, 2008, and may be submitted by mail or electronically. To view the grant announcement, application instructions, eligibility requirements, and restrictions, go to
www.eac.gov/grants or
www.submitgrant.net.
EAC's Next Public Meeting: April 30, 2008
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) will hold its next public meeting on April 30, 2008 at their offices in Washington, D.C. from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Topics will include: briefing on Help America Vote Act (HAVA) State Plans; update to Michigan state instructions on the national voter registration form; modification to EAC Advisory Opinion 07-003-A: Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funding; fact-gathering hearing regarding Iowa's audit appeal. A webcast of the meeting will be available two days later. For more information and to view the agenda,
click here. For information on last week's public meeting in Minneapolis and to view the webcast,
click here.
ICR on Motorcycle Helmet Labels Sent to OMB
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has forwarded an Information Collection Request (ICR) regarding motorcycle helmet labels to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The
Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on Feb. 1, 2008 [73 FR 6554]. The docket number is NHTSA-2008-0023. The agency received three comments that were within the scope of this collection item. One comment recommended doing away with motorcycle helmet labels and two other comments suggested that collection of this information by NHTSA was unnecessary. The agency does not agree that motorcycle helmet labels or the information collection should be eliminated. These labels provide consumers with the assurance that the helmet meets FMVSS No. 218 minimum performance requirements. Assurance that a helmet meets FMVSS No. 218 is important to consumers because the standard specifies minimum performance requirements that are designed to reduce deaths and injuries to motorcyclists. The agency believes that it is important for consumers to be able to distinguish between helmets that meet FMVSS No. 218 requirements and those that do not. Comments must be submitted on or before May 27, 2008. More details are available in the
April 24 Federal Register notice.
Highway Safety Improvement Program NPRM
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to revise Part 924 to incorporate changes to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) that resulted from the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), as well as to reflect changes in the overall program that have evolved since 23 CFR part 924 was originally written. Comments must be received on or before June 23, 2008. For submission details and background information, view the
April 24 Federal Register notice.
Improved Reporting and Performance Measures Would Enhance Evaluation of High-Visibility Campaigns
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report concluding that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has fully implemented the high-visibility enforcement (HVE) program by developing and disseminating advertising, coordinating with states on media and enforcement activities, and annually evaluating the effectiveness of the two HVE campaigns; however, NHTSA’s evaluations have shortcomings that limit the agency’s ability to determine the effectiveness of the campaigns. Officials in selected states reported that NHTSA’s coordination efforts provided the support and interaction needed to conduct HVE campaigns. GAO recommends that the Secretary of Transportation direct NHTSA to establish a minimum set of reporting requirements for states to report HVE activities that are federally funded and include additional performance measures in campaign evaluations. View the
entire report online.
"Governing" Accepting Nominations for Public Officials of the Year
Each year for the past 14 years,
Governing has honored individual state and local government officials for outstanding accomplishment by naming them
Public Officials of the Year. Elected, appointed and career officials from any branch of state or local government are eligible.
Governing readers and visitors to
Governing.com are invited to nominate individuals who have had a notable positive impact on their department or agency, community or state. Nominations for the 2008 awards must be submitted via a Web-based form (
www.governing.com/poy/nomination.htm) by June 2. All nominations are evaluated by a selection committee, which, after painstaking research, chooses the winners. The
Public Officials of the Year are honored at an awards banquet in the fall, and their profiles appear in the November issue of
Governing.
CDL Third Party Testing Anti-Fraud Webinar
On May 7, 2008, from 1pm to 2pm (EDT) the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Office of Analysis, Research and Technology (ART) will host an online forum featuring the results of a cooperative effort between FMCSA and AAMVA that was initiated in September 2003. The purpose of the project was to develop software for state motor vehicle agencies to use to assist in preventing and detecting potential fraud by third party testers during the testing portion of the Commercial Drivers Licensing process. The webinar will describe the background, history, pilot test results, current utilization, and the next steps to be taken to meet the ultimate project goal of national deployment by 2011. Quon Kwan, ART Technology Division, and Greg Sensiba, AAMVA, will present the study results and answer participants’ questions. To register, go to
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/art-webinars-future.asp, and click on the heading "CDL Third Party Testing Anti-Fraud." Registration is also available via the FMCSA ART Web site at
www.fmcsa.dot.gov/art. This webinar is open to all interested parties, including carriers and their safety managers, FMCSA headquarters and field staff, and state partners. Register no later than 5pm (EDT) on Tuesday, May 6. Confirmation notices will be e-mailed within 24 hours of registration and will contain relevant information for participation. For technical questions on the webinar or special accommodations, contact the conference coordinator at
Kirse.Kelly@dot.gov or (202) 385-2375.
Jim Poe Elected as the New IRP, Inc. Chair of the Board
Effective immediately, Jim Poe (Indiana, Region III) will serve as the Chair of the IRP, Inc. Board of Directors (Board). The Board held a special election after the resignation of both the Chair and the Vice Chair. Poe will serve as Chair until the next election, which will be held at the first Board meeting after the Annual Meeting, as dictated by the Plan. Poe has dedicated over 30 years' service to the state of Indiana, where he currently serves as Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Revenue's Motor Carrier Services Division. Poe is an active volunteer of both IRP and IFTA and has received many honors. He has chaired and served on the Board of Trustees for IRP and IFTA and other committees. In 2005, Poe was recognized as the first person to receive the Richard Reeves IRP Leadership Award for his dedication to fair and equitable approach to motor carrier taxation and registration. He also received the Penske Award for Dedication to Service, on behalf of the Motor Carrier Services division. In 2006 Poe was honored with one of the first Governor's Public Service Achievement Awards.
We Need to Hear from You by May 14!
Are you getting the information you need? Are you getting it in the format you want? Let AAMVA know if the association is communicating with you effectively. Participate in a brief survey to help AAMVA assess its communications efforts. It will only take a few moments and can be accessed through the member online survey tool. The survey closes on May 14, so share your candid responses today!
New Entries in REAL ID FAQ Database
There are a few new items in the REAL ID FAQ database on the subjects of name truncation, use of pass cards to establish identity, and grants. You can find these entries by going to the database and performing a free text search. The questions in this database are from jurisdictions and the answers have been supplied by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This online tool allows you to: search by topic/section of the rule; search using free text; run reports. A user guide and tutorial are also available online.
Note: This database is available to AAMVA members only. Please contact Janice Dluzynski
via e-mail or at (703)908-5842 if you have any questions about using this database.
Share Information with Other Jurisdictions
If you haven’t already done so, please respond to the following surveys:
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