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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 192 / Thursday, October 7, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
of a specified traffic violation, while drivers are disqualified under 383.52
only if they are determined to constitute an imminent hazard, as defined in 383.5. While drug and alcohol program violations raise obvious safety concerns, drivers subject to the CMV
driving prohibition do not meet either of these disqualification criteria. Moreover, under the drug and alcohol program requirements set forth in 49 CFR parts 40 and 382, a driver is eligible to resume safety-sensitive functions following completion of RTD requirements. The purpose of the RTD requirements is rehabilitative, not punitive. FMCSA
believes that disqualifying drivers for a pre-determined period of time, regardless of their RTD status, is inconsistent with this principle.

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Meaning of the Term CDL Downgrade The NPRM proposed that, for individuals subject to the CMV driving prohibition, SDLAs downgrade the drivers license i.e., remove the commercial driving privilege by changing the commercial status on the CDLIS driver record from licensed to eligible for CDL holders, and changing the permit status from licensed to eligible for CLP holders.
These designations, currently set forth in the AAMVA CDLIS State Procedures Manual 17 AAMVA CDLIS Manual, describe how the State currently records the downgrade on the CDLIS driver record of individuals whose medical certification status changes from certified to not certified, as required by 49 CFR 383.73o4. In order to further clarify the meaning of the term downgrade, as used in the NPRM, FMCSA proposed to amend the current definition of CDL downgrade, set forth in 49 CFR 383.5, and to add a new definition of CLP downgrade, incorporating the AAMVA CDLIS
Manual procedures described above.
Comments: As noted previously, both the Texas DPS and the NSTA stated their preference for enforcement action on the license, such as suspension, revocation, or cancellation of the CDL, over a downgrade. Texas noted that the act of downgrading a CMV driver does not have the same impact as suspending, revoking, or disqualifying the CDL, and that an enforcement action, recorded in the driver history, would allow for proper tracking and enforcement roadside. The NSTA said that a downgrade results in additional steps for the SDLAs, and leaves room for 17 AAMVA CDLIS Procedures Manual, Release 5.3.3 Dec. 2015, at 95; AAMVA CDLIS Technical Specifications Manual, Release 5.3.3 Dec. 2015, at pp. 66970, 683.

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error as a result. AAMVA urged FMCSA to clarify what is to appear on the driver record, observing that States should not be left to interpret what the prohibited designation means in terms of eligibility.
FMCSA Response: As set forth in 49
CFR 383.5, the term CDL downgrade means, among other things, the States removal of the CDL privilege from the drivers license. In the NPRM, FMCSA
intended to clarify how SDLAs would accomplish the downgrade by proposing that AAMVAs CDLIS procedures, described above, be incorporated into the regulatory definition of downgrade.
We did not, however, intend to convey that changing the commercial license or permit status from licensed to eligible would be the only action States could take to remove the CLP or CDL privilege from the drivers license.
Accordingly, to avoid confusion on this issue, FMCSA does not incorporate the proposed definitions of CDL downgrade and CLP downgrade in the regulatory text of this final rule. The final rule does, however, clarify that the term CDL
downgrade also includes the removal of the CLP privilege.
As explained in the NPRM, and discussed above in Section V.C., Impact of MAP21 on State Laws, MAP21
excepts from Federal preemption State licensing actions relating to a drivers CDL, or driving record, due to violations of FMCSAs drug and alcohol program.18 The final rule requires that the SDLA downgrade the drivers license of CLP or CDL holders who are subject to the CMV driving prohibition, as proposed; this is a minimum requirement. FMCSA anticipates that States will record the downgrade by changing the commercial status on the CDLIS driver record from licensed to eligible, consistent with current practice for medical certification downgrades required by 49 CFR
383.73o4.19 The Agency notes that States may, at their discretion, suspend, revoke, cancel, or otherwise remove the CLP or CDL from the license, relying on existing State procedures to record the action on the CDLIS driver record. In the Agencys judgment, this approach is consistent with the preemption exception in MAP21, discussed above, 18 82 FR 23670, 2367923680. MAP21 excepts from Federal preemption State requirements relating to an action taken with respect to a commercial motor vehicle operators commercial driving license or driving record due to a verified positive test result, a test refusal, or other violations of 49 CFR part 382, subpart B 49 U.S.C.
31306al3.
19 AAMVA CDLIS State Procedures Manual, Release 5.3.3 Dec. 2015, at 95; AAMVA CDLIS
Technical Specifications Manual, Release 5.3.3
Dec. 2015, at pp. 66970; 683.

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while also maintaining a uniform outcome across the country, i.e., the States removal of the commercial driving privilege from the drivers license of CMV operators subject to the prohibition. Regardless of how the State removes the commercial privilege, the CDLIS driver record must show that the driver does not hold a valid CLP or CDL.
The State must record the downgrade, or other discretionary licensing action, on the CDLIS driver record within 60
days of receiving notice of the drivers prohibited status.
Integration of Clearinghouse and Medical Fitness Requirements Comments: AAMVA observed that the Agencys citation of 49 U.S.C. 31305a, which requires the Secretary to prescribe minimum standards for testing and fitness of CMV drivers, implies that Clearinghouse program requirements are directly linked to medical fitness requirements rather than any new or additional requirements.
AAMVA further stated: . . . from a policy standpoint, if drug and alcohol testing failures are to be comprehensively considered as part of medical fitness it seems those programs should also be contracted as a single, comprehensive source for making medical fitness determinations by external entities including SDLAs emphasis in original.
FMCSA Response: Because fitness,20
as the term is used in 49 U.S.C.
31305a, is not defined in statute, FMCSA interprets the term according to its plain meaning. For example, the Oxford Dictionary defines fitness as, alternatively, the condition of being physically fit and healthy, or the quality of being suitable to fulfill a particular role or task. The Agencys reference to 49 U.S.C. 31305a simply reflects that CLP or CDL holders or applicants who are subject to the prohibition in 49 CFR 382.501a are not fit to operate a CMV. FMCSA did not, therefore, intend to imply a direct link between its drug and alcohol program requirements in 49 CFR part 382 and medical certification requirements in 49 CFR part 391, subpart E. The two sets of regulatory requirements each have distinct purposes and underlying statutory authorities. These programs have always been administered separately, and the NPRM did not propose to change that.
20 The Oxford Dictionary, available at https
www.lexico.com/definition/fitness accessed Jan.
14, 2021.

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