HCS HB 702 -- COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S LICENSE

SPONSOR:  Crawford (Schlottach)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass federal mandate" by the
Committee on Transportation and Motor Vehicles by a vote of 20 to
0.

This substitute makes numerous modifications to the Commercial
Driver's License Law in order to comply with the rules of the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

OFFENSES

(1)  Courts must forward to the Department of Revenue, within
seven days, a record of any guilty conviction involving a moving
traffic violation.  The Director of the Department of Revenue
will be required to enter any conviction information into the
appropriate computer systems and transmit the conviction
information as required by federal requirements; and

(2)  Commercial driver's license holders will not be allowed
limited driving privileges for the purpose of operating a
commercial motor vehicle if their driving privileges are
suspended, revoked, canceled, denied, or disqualified.

TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS

The substitute adds to the list of serious traffic violations the
following:

(1)  Driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial
driver's license;

(2)  Driving a commercial vehicle without a commercial driver's
license in possession; and

(3)  Driving a commercial vehicle without the proper commercial
driver's license class or endorsement.

STATE RECORD CHECKS

(1)  Applicants for a commercial driver's license must disclose
the names of all states which have issued them a commercial
driver's license during the previous 10-year period;

(2)  The department director is required before the initial
issuance of a commercial driver's license and for the first
renewal to obtain driving record information from any state
licensing system in which the person has been issued a license;
and

(3)  A commercial driver's license driving record must contain a
complete history of the driver, including information and
convictions from previous states of licensure.

RECORD KEEPING

The department director will be required to adopt the federal
requirements for record keeping.

DISQUALIFICATION

The department director is required to disqualify any driver the
U. S. Secretary of Transportation has determined to constitute an
imminent hazard.

A person will be disqualified from operating a commercial motor
vehicle for a period of not less than one year if convicted of a
first violation of:

(1)  Driving any motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or
a controlled substance;

(2)  Driving a commercial motor vehicle which causes a fatality
due to negligent operation of the vehicle;

(3)  Leaving the scene of an accident involving any type of
vehicle; or

(4)  Using any type of vehicle in the commission of a felony.

OUT-OF-SERVICE ORDER

Any driver who violates an out-of-service order is subject to a
civil penalty not to exceed an amount as determined by the U. S.
Secretary of Transportation.

SCHOOL BUS ENDORSEMENT

Any individual who operates a school bus must meet the
requirements for and be issued a school bus endorsement as
required by the U. S. Secretary of Transportation.

SENTENCING

No federal, state, county, municipal, or local court can defer
imposition of judgment, suspend imposition of sentence, or allow
an individual who possesses or is required to possess a
commercial driver's license to enter into a diversion program
that will prevent a conviction for any violation of any traffic
law from appearing on the driver's record maintained by the
department director.

The substitute has an effective date of September 30, 2005.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Net Cost to Highway Fund of $0 FY 2004,
$82,080 in FY 2005, and $0 in FY 2006.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the Motor Carrier Safety
Improvement Act, signed into law December 9, 1999, requires the
U. S. Secretary of Transportation to create complying
regulations.  The Federal Motor Carrier Administration was the
agency delegated by the secretary to create the complying
regulations.  In July 2002, it published the final rule and
regulations.  Under this final rule, the state has until
September 30, 2005, to comply with the requirements of the
legislation or be penalized 5% of it federal highway apportioned
funds for the first year (approximately $22 million) and 10%
(approximately $44 million) for each subsequent year of
noncompliance.  The bill addresses the issues in the final rule
and brings the state into compliance with federal requirements.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Schlottach;
Department of Revenue; Missouri Motor Carriers Association;
Missouri Safety Council; and Federal Motor Carriers Division,
United States Department of Transportation.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Robert Triplett, Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated July 25, 2003 at 10:12 am