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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 192 / Thursday, October 7, 2021 / Rules and Regulations C. Part 384
D. Part 390
E. Part 392
XI. Regulatory Analyses A. E.O. 12866 Regulatory Planning and Review, E.O. 13563 Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review, and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures B. Congressional Review Act C. Regulatory Flexibility Act Small Entities D. Assistance for Small Entities E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
F. Paperwork Reduction Act Collection of Information G. E.O. 13132 Federalism H. Privacy I. E.O. 13175 Indian Tribal Governments J. National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

I. Rulemaking Documents Availability of Rulemaking Documents To view any documents mentioned as being available in the docket, go to https www.regulations.gov/docket/
FMCSA-2017-0330/document and choose the document to review. To view comments, click this final rule, then click Browse Comments. If you do not have access to the internet, you may view the docket online by visiting Dockets Operations in Room W12140
on the ground floor of the DOT West Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington, DC 205900001, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call 202 3669317 or 202 366
9826 before visiting Dockets Operations.

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II. Executive Summary A. Purpose and Summary of the Regulatory Action The purpose of this final rule is to improve highway safety by ensuring that CLP or CDL holders with drug and alcohol program violations do not operate a CMV until they complete the return to duty RTD process and can lawfully resume driving. Currently, most SDLAs do not receive drug and alcohol program violation information about CDL or CLP holders licensed in their State. Therefore, these SDLAs are unaware when a CMV operator is subject to the driving prohibition set forth in 49 CFR 382.501a, and the CMV operator continues to hold a valid CDL or CLP despite the driving prohibition.1 The rule closes that knowledge gap by ensuring that all SDLAs are able to determine whether CMV drivers licensed in their State are subject to FMCSAs CMV driving 1 As discussed further below in section V.C., several States currently require motor carrier employers or their service agents to report positive test results and/or test refusals to the SDLA.

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prohibition. The rule facilitates enforcement of the driving prohibition by requiring that SDLAs deny certain commercial licensing transactions and remove the commercial driving privileges of individuals who are prohibited from operating a CMV and performing other safety-sensitive functions, due to drug and alcohol program violations. By requiring SDLAs to downgrade the drivers licensing status by removing the commercial driving privilege, the final rule will also permit all traffic safety enforcement officers to readily identify prohibited drivers by conducting a license check during a traffic stop or other roadside intervention.
In the final rule titled Commercial Drivers License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse 81 FR 87686 Dec. 5, 2016, FMCSA implemented the statutory requirement of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act MAP21, codified at 49 U.S.C.
31306a, to establish the Clearinghouse as a repository for driver-specific drug and alcohol program violation records, as well as RTD information. The 2016
final rule incorporated the statutory requirement, imposed by MAP21, codified at 49 U.S.C. 31311a24, that States check the Clearinghouse prior to renewing or issuing a CDL to avoid having Federal highway funds withheld under 49 U.S.C. 31314. The 2016 final rule did not otherwise address the SDLAs use of Clearinghouse information for CMV drivers licensed, or seeking to become licensed, in their State. This final rule establishes requirements for SDLAs to access and use information from the Clearinghouse indicating that CLP or CDL holders or applicants may not lawfully operate a CMV because they violated the drug and alcohol use and testing prohibitions in 49 CFR part 382, subpart B. The rule also makes certain clarifying and conforming changes to existing regulations, as described below.
B. Summary of Major Provisions Non-Issuance As noted above, the Clearinghouse regulations require that SDLAs check the drivers status by querying the Clearinghouse prior to issuing, renewing, transferring, or upgrading a CDL.2 The final rule provides that, if the reply to the query indicates the driver is prohibited from operating a CMV, the SDLA must deny the requested commercial licensing transaction, resulting in non-issuance. Drivers may 2 See 49 CFR 383.73b10; c10; d9; e8;
and f4.

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re-apply to complete the transaction after complying with the RTD
requirements set forth in 49 CFR part 40, subpart O, and a negative RTD test result has been reported to the Clearinghouse. As discussed further below, the rule extends the SDLAs query requirement to applicants seeking to obtain, renew, or upgrade a CLP.
Mandatory CDL Downgrade In addition to the non-issuance requirement, the rule requires that SDLAs initiate the process to remove the CLP or CDL privilege from the drivers license after receiving notification from FMCSA that, in accordance with 49 CFR 382.501a, an individual is prohibited from operating a CMV. Pursuant to 49 CFR 383.5, CDL
downgrade is defined to include removal of the commercial privilege; 3
the final rule requires the State to complete and record the CDL
downgrade on the CDLIS driver record within 60 days of notification. The CDL
downgrade requirement rests on the simple, but safety-critical, premise that drivers who cannot lawfully operate a CMV because they engaged in prohibited use of drugs or alcohol or refused a test should not hold a valid CDL or CLP.
There are two ways the SDLA will receive notification of the drivers prohibited status: 1 The SDLA pulls the information from the Clearinghouse by conducting a required query prior to a specified commercial licensing transaction; and 2 FMCSA pushes the information to the SDLA whenever a drug or alcohol program violation is reported to the Clearinghouse for a CLP
or CDL holder licensed in that State.
FMCSA will also push a notification to the SDLA when the driver complies with RTD requirements and is no longer prohibited by FMCSAs regulations 4
from operating a CMV. In addition, if FMCSA determines that a driver was erroneously identified as prohibited, the Agency will notify the SDLA that the individual is not prohibited from operating a CMV; the SDLA must promptly reinstate the commercial driving privilege to the drivers license, and expunge the driving record accordingly.
The final rule does not establish specific downgrade or reinstatement procedures. All States currently have established procedures to downgrade 3 In 49 CFR 383.5, CDL downgrade is defined, in part, as: 4 A State removes the CDL privilege from the driver license. The final rule amends this definition to include removal of the CLP privilege.
4 The impact of MAP21 and this rule on existing State requirements is discussed below in Section V.C.

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