State administrators would be granted a three-year delay to comply with the new Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse under a rule modification proposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
The Clearinghouse goes online on Jan. 6, 2020, to track drug and alcohol violations recorded by commercial drivers across the country. The latest proposal would give state license administrators a delay until Jan. 6, 2023, to develop necessary policies and information technology capabilities.
The Clearinghouse will offer access to data that law enforcement, state licensing agencies and carriers can use to check driver histories. The delay was requested by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA).
As currently written, states are required to “request information from the Clearinghouse before completing certain commercial driver’s license (CDL) transactions,” FMCSA stated in a notice of proposed rulemaking.
“This proposal would, however, allow States the option to voluntarily request Clearinghouse information beginning on January 6, 2020. The compliance date of January 6, 2020, would remain in place for all other requirements set forth in the Clearinghouse final rule.”
FMCSA wrote that the delay will permit state agencies “to allocate their information technology, training and other resources accordingly. In the Agency’s judgment, it would be premature to implement the States’ query requirement before addressing the questions and concerns raised by AAMVA in its 2017 petition for reconsideration.”
FMCSA said it will issue a new proposed rule addressing AAMVA concerns by March 1, 2020.
