WASHINGTON -- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is falling behind on its own timetable for issuing major rulemakings of concern to the bus industry.

Work on medical certification, the Unified Registration System, and new entrant safety audits has been set back several months due to higher priorities and the need for further analysis, according to the agency.

The relevant rulemakings include:

Medical certification requirements as part of the commercial driver's license. The final rule requiring that medical certification be made part of the driver's licensing and renewal process was to be published in April. It is now scheduled for August publication.

Unified Registration System. The long-awaited rulemaking that would replace three current identification and registration systems with one online federal system is in the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking stage. According to FMCSA, the rule is being amended in compliance with federal laws adopted three years ago. The comment period was scheduled to end on Sept. 28, 2007, but the supplemental rule will not be published until July 30, 2008, with comments being accepted until Nov. 1, 2008. This regulation is seriously behind its legal deadline of Jan. 1, 1998.

New entrant safety assurance process. Also in final rule status, this regulation would stiffen the requirements for passing the new entrant safety audit. The rule was slated for publication in March 2008 but will not be ready until September.

Duane DeBruyne, spokesman for the agency, says the delays are due to the comprehensiveness of the rulings and the obligation to craft revisions that will ensure the best final product.

Others speculate FMCSA has more on its plate than it can handle. The agency has been under court order to revise the hours-of-service rule for truckers, a task that was completed in December. In addition, the controversial Mexican cross-border trucking program is accused of robbing the agency of time that could be spent on other projects, although FMCSA Director John Hill denies this.

Whatever the reason for the delays, the November election and the time needed for a new administration to get up and running will probably mean the situation is going to get worse before it gets better. Regulations that are not completed by November will most certainly be delayed until after the new administration is in place.

Any new administration is bound to have its own set of priorities that may or may not conflict with the priorities of an agency. With FMCSA, the situation is exacerbated because this particular agency has no history outside of the Bush administration.

This will be the FMCSA's first transition. Whether the new president is a Republican or a Democrat, an agency led entirely by Bush appointees may be on uncertain terrain in a new policy setting.