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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 123 / Wednesday, June 30, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
conforming changes to the regulations.
FMCSA does not make any other substantive changes to the requirements established by the ELDT final rule, or to the length of the delay established in the interim final rule.
C. Costs and Benefits In the interim rule, the Agency estimated annualized cost savings of $179 million and $196 million at 3
percent and 7 percent discount rates, respectively, over a 4-year period from 2020 through 2023. The full regulatory analyses may be found in the interim rule located in the public docket for this rulemaking FMCSA200727748
1474. Because the interim rule was effective upon publication, the Agency treats the interim rule as the baseline for this analysis. Therefore, this final rule will not result in any incremental impacts relative to that baseline, as it merely finalizes the 2-year extension of the interim rule.
III. Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Symbols AAMVA American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators ANPRM Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking BTW Behind the Wheel CDL Commercial Drivers License CDLIS Commercial Drivers License Information System CFR Code of Federal Regulations CMV Commercial Motor Vehicle CMVSA Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act DOT U.S. Department of Transportation ELDT Entry-Level Driver Training E.O. Executive Order FMCSA Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FMCSRs Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations FR Federal Register FRFA Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis IT Information Technology NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking OMB Office of Management and Budget PIA Privacy Impact Assessment PII Personally Identifiable Information PRA Paperwork Reduction Act RIA Regulatory Impact Analysis RIN Regulation Identifier Number SDLA State Driver Licensing Agency SORN Systems of Records Notice Section symbol TPR Training Provider Registry U.S.C. United States Code jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with RULES

IV. Legal Basis The legal basis of the ELDT final rule, set forth at 81 FR 8873888739, also serves as the legal basis for this final rule. A summary of the statutory authorities identified in that discussion follows.

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FMCSAs authority to amend the ELDT final rule by extending the compliance date, and making other necessary clarifying and conforming changes, is derived from several concurrent statutory sources. The Motor Carrier Act of 1935, as amended, codified at 49 U.S.C. 31502b, authorizes the Secretary of Transportation the Secretary to prescribe requirements for the safety of motor carrier operations. The rule also relies on the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984, as amended, codified at 49 U.S.C.
31136a1 and 2, requiring the Secretary to establish regulations to ensure that CMVs are operated safely, and that responsibilities placed on CMV
drivers do not impair their ability to safely operate CMVs. The rule does not address medical standards for drivers or physical effects related to CMV driving 49 U.S.C. 31136a3 and 4. The Agency does not anticipate that drivers will be coerced as a result of this rule 49 U.S.C. 311365. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986
CMVSA, as amended, codified in 49
U.S.C. chapter 313, established the CDL
program and required the Secretary to promulgate implementing regulations, including minimum standards for testing and ensuring the fitness of an individual operating a commercial motor vehicle 49 U.S.C. 31305a. The specific statutory provision underlying the ELDT final rule, enacted as part of The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act and codified at 49
U.S.C. 31305c, required the Secretary to establish minimum entry-level driver training standards for certain individuals required to hold a CDL.
The Administrator of FMCSA is delegated authority under 49 CFR 1.87
to carry out the functions vested in the Secretary by 49 U.S.C. chapters 311, 313, and 315, as they relate to CMV
operators, programs, and safety.
V. Regulatory History A. 2016 ELDT Final Rule The ELDT final rule established minimum training standards for individuals applying for a Class A or Class B CDL for the first time;
individuals upgrading their CDL to a Class B or Class A; and individuals obtaining the following endorsements for the first time: Hazardous materials H, passenger P, and school bus S.
The ELDT final rule also defined curriculum standards for theory and behind-the-wheel BTW instruction for Class A and B CDLs and the P and S
endorsements, and theory instruction requirements for the H endorsement. In addition, the ELDT final rule required
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that SDLAs verify ELDT completion before allowing the applicant to take a skills test for a Class A or Class B CDL, or a P or S endorsement; or a knowledge test prior to obtaining the H
endorsement.
The ELDT final rule also established the TPR, an online database which would allow ELDT providers to electronically register with FMCSA and certify that individual driver-trainees completed the required training. The rule set forth eligibility requirements for training providers to be listed on the TPR, including a certification, under penalty of perjury, that their training programs meet those requirements. The ELDT final rule, when fully implemented, will require training providers to register with the TPR, and thereafter electronically upload driverspecific ELDT information to the TPR, which FMCSA will then verify before transmitting to the SDLA. The process is designed to deliver a finished product i.e., verified driver-specific ELDT
information to the end user, the SDLA, for their review prior to administering the CDL skills test or issuing the CDL
credential.
B. NPRM To Extend Partially the ELDT
Compliance Date On July 18, 2019, FMCSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking NPRM titled Partial Extension of Compliance Date for Entry-Level Driver Training 84 FR 34324. That NPRM
proposed delaying, from February 7, 2020, to February 7, 2022, two provisions from the ELDT final rule published on December 8, 2016 81 FR
88732: The requirement that training providers upload driver-specific training certification information to the TPR, and the requirement that SDLAs confirm driver applicants are in compliance with the ELDT requirements prior to administering a skills test for a Class A or Class B CDL, or a P or S
endorsement, or prior to administering the knowledge test to obtain the H
endorsement. In the NPRM, FMCSA
explained that the proposed delay was necessary to allow both the Agency and SDLAs to complete the requisite IT
infrastructure to accommodate the two requirements. The NPRM, which did not propose extending the compliance date for any other ELDT requirement, also proposed several clarifying and conforming changes to the ELDT final rule. FMCSA received 56 comments on the NPRM. No public meeting was requested and none was held.
C. Interim Final Rule On February 4, 2020, FMCSA
published in the Federal Register an
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