
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 49USC31311]

 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
             SUBTITLE VI--MOTOR VEHICLE AND DRIVER PROGRAMS
 
                           PART B--COMMERCIAL
 
             CHAPTER 313--COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS
 
Sec. 31311. Requirements for State participation

    (a) General.--To avoid having amounts withheld from apportionment 
under section 31314 of this title, a State shall comply with the 
following requirements:
        (1) The State shall adopt and carry out a program for testing 
    and ensuring the fitness of individuals to operate commercial motor 
    vehicles consistent with the minimum standards prescribed by the 
    Secretary of Transportation under section 31305(a) of this title.
        (2) The State may issue a commercial driver's license to an 
    individual only if the individual passes written and driving tests 
    for the operation of a commercial motor vehicle that comply with the 
    minimum standards.
        (3) The State shall have in effect and enforce a law providing 
    that an individual with a blood alcohol concentration level at or 
    above the level established by section 31310(a) of this title when 
    operating a commercial motor vehicle is deemed to be driving under 
    the influence of alcohol.
        (4) The State shall authorize an individual to operate a 
    commercial motor vehicle only by issuing a commercial driver's 
    license containing the information described in section 31308(3) of 
    this title.
        (5) At least 60 days before issuing a commercial driver's 
    license (or a shorter period the Secretary prescribes by 
    regulation), the State shall notify the Secretary or the operator of 
    the information system under section 31309 of this title, as the 
    case may be, of the proposed issuance of the license and other 
    information the Secretary may require to ensure identification of 
    the individual applying for the license.
        (6) Before issuing a commercial driver's license to an 
    individual or renewing such a license, the State shall request from 
    any other State that has issued a driver's license to the individual 
    all information about the driving record of the individual.
        (7) Not later than 30 days after issuing a commercial driver's 
    license, the State shall notify the Secretary or the operator of the 
    information system under section 31309 of this title, as the case 
    may be, of the issuance.
        (8) Not later than 10 days after disqualifying the holder of a 
    commercial driver's license from operating a commercial motor 
    vehicle (or after revoking, suspending, or canceling the license) 
    for at least 60 days, the State shall notify the Secretary or the 
    operator of the information system under section 31309 of this 
    title, as the case may be, and the State that issued the license, of 
    the disqualification, revocation, suspension, or cancellation, and 
    the violation that resulted in the disqualification, revocation, 
    suspension, or cancellation shall be recorded.
        (9) If an individual violates a State or local law on motor 
    vehicle traffic control (except a parking violation) and the 
    individual--
            (A) has a commercial driver's license issued by another 
        State; or
            (B) is operating a commercial vehicle without a commercial 
        driver's license and has a driver's license issued by another 
        State,

    the State in which the violation occurred shall notify a State 
    official designated by the issuing State of the violations not later 
    than 10 days after the date the individual is found to have 
    committed the violation.
        (10)(A) The State may not issue a commercial driver's license to 
    an individual during a period in which the individual is 
    disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle or the 
    individual's driver's license is revoked, suspended, or canceled.
        (B) The State may not issue a special license or permit 
    (including a provisional or temporary license) to an individual who 
    holds a commercial driver's license that permits the individual to 
    drive a commercial motor vehicle during a period in which--
            (i) the individual is disqualified from operating a 
        commercial motor vehicle; or
            (ii) the individual's driver's license is revoked, 
        suspended, or canceled.

        (11) The State may issue a commercial driver's license to an 
    individual who has a commercial driver's license issued by another 
    State only if the individual first returns the driver's license 
    issued by the other State.
        (12) The State may issue a commercial driver's license only to 
    an individual who operates or will operate a commercial motor 
    vehicle and is domiciled in the State, except that, under 
    regulations the Secretary shall prescribe, the State may issue a 
    commercial driver's license to an individual who operates or will 
    operate a commercial motor vehicle and is not domiciled in a State 
    that issues commercial drivers' licenses.
        (13) The State shall impose penalties consistent with this 
    chapter that the State considers appropriate and the Secretary 
    approves for an individual operating a commercial motor vehicle.

        (14) The State shall allow an individual to operate a commercial 
    motor vehicle in the State if--
            (A) the individual has a commercial driver's license issued 
        by another State under the minimum standards prescribed by the 
        Secretary under section 31305(a) of this title;
            (B) the license is not revoked, suspended, or canceled; and
            (C) the individual is not disqualified from operating a 
        commercial motor vehicle.

        (15) The State shall disqualify an individual from operating a 
    commercial motor vehicle for the same reasons and time periods for 
    which the Secretary shall disqualify the individual under 
    subsections (b)-(e), (g)(1)(A), and (g)(2) of section 31310.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ See References in Text note below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        (16)(A) Before issuing a commercial driver's license to an 
    individual, the State shall request the Secretary for information 
    from the National Driver Register maintained under chapter 303 of 
    this title (after the Secretary decides the Register is operational) 
    on whether the individual--
            (i) has been disqualified from operating a motor vehicle 
        (except a commercial motor vehicle);
            (ii) has had a license (except a license authorizing the 
        individual to operate a commercial motor vehicle) revoked, 
        suspended, or canceled for cause in the 3-year period ending on 
        the date of application for the commercial driver's license; or
            (iii) has been convicted of an offense specified in section 
        30304(a)(3) of this title.

        (B) The State shall give full weight and consideration to that 
    information in deciding whether to issue the individual a commercial 
    driver's license.
        (17) The State shall adopt and enforce regulations prescribed by 
    the Secretary under section 31310(h) \1\ of this title.
        (18) The State shall maintain, as part of its driver information 
    system, a record of each violation of a State or local motor vehicle 
    traffic control law while operating a motor vehicle (except a 
    parking violation) for each individual who holds a commercial 
    driver's license. The record shall be available upon request to the 
    individual, the Secretary, employers, prospective employers, State 
    licensing and law enforcement agencies, and their authorized agents.
        (19) The State shall--
            (A) record in the driving record of an individual who has a 
        commercial driver's license issued by the State; and
            (B) make available to all authorized persons and 
        governmental entities having access to such record,

    all information the State receives under paragraph (9) with respect 
    to the individual and every violation by the individual involving a 
    motor vehicle (including a commercial motor vehicle) of a State or 
    local law on traffic control (except a parking violation), not later 
    than 10 days after the date of receipt of such information or the 
    date of such violation, as the case may be. The State may not allow 
    information regarding such violations to be withheld or masked in 
    any way from the record of an individual possessing a commercial 
    driver's license.
        (20) The State shall revoke, suspend, or cancel the commercial 
    driver's license of an individual in accordance with regulations 
    issued by the Secretary to carry out section 31310(g).

    (b) State Satisfaction of Requirements.--A State may satisfy the 
requirements of subsection (a) of this section that the State disqualify 
an individual from operating a commercial motor vehicle by revoking, 
suspending, or canceling the driver's license issued to the individual.
    (c) Notification.--Not later than 30 days after being notified by a 
State of the proposed issuance of a commercial driver's license to an 
individual, the Secretary or the operator of the information system 
under section 31309 of this title, as the case may be, shall notify the 
State whether the individual has a commercial driver's license issued by 
another State or has been disqualified from operating a commercial motor 
vehicle by another State or the Secretary.

(Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1023; Pub. L. 104-
88, title IV, Sec. 403(c), Dec. 29, 1995, 109 Stat. 956; Pub. L. 105-
178, title IV, Sec. 4011(e), June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 408; Pub. L. 106-
159, title II, Sec. 202, Dec. 9, 1999, 113 Stat. 1760.)

                                          Historical and Revision Notes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
           Revised  Section                    Source (U.S. Code)              
 Source (Statutes at Large)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
31311.................................  49 App.:2708.                    Oct. 2
7, 1986, Pub. L. 99-570, Sec.
                                                                          12009
, 100 Stat. 3207-179; Dec. 18,
                                                                          1991,
 Pub. L. 102-240, Sec.  4009(b),
                                                                          105 S
tat. 2156.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------

    Subsection (a)(15) is substituted for 49 App.:2708(a)(15)-(19) for 
consistency with section 31310(b)-(e) of the revised title and to avoid 
repeating the language restated in section 31310(b)-(e).
    In subsection (b), the words ``in accordance with the requirements 
of such subsection'' are omitted as surplus.

                       References in Text

    Subsections (g) and (h) of section 31310 referred to in subsec. 
(a)(15), (17), were redesignated subsections (i) and (j), respectively, 
of section 31310 by Pub. L. 106-159, title II, Sec. 201(b)(1), Dec. 9, 
1999, 113 Stat. 1759.


                               Amendments

    1999--Subsec. (a)(6). Pub. L. 106-159, Sec. 202(a), inserted ``or 
renewing such a license'' after ``to an individual'' and struck out 
``commercial'' after ``has issued a''.
    Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 106-159, Sec. 202(b), inserted ``, and the 
violation that resulted in the disqualification, revocation, suspension, 
or cancellation shall be recorded'' before the period at end.
    Subsec. (a)(9). Pub. L. 106-159, Sec. 202(c), amended par. (9) 
generally. Prior to amendment, par. (9) read as follows: ``If an 
individual operating a commercial motor vehicle violates a State or 
local law on motor vehicle traffic control (except a parking violation) 
and the individual has a driver's license issued by another State, the 
State in which the violation occurred shall notify a State official 
designated by the issuing State of the violation not later than 10 days 
after the date the individual is found to have committed the 
violation.''
    Subsec. (a)(10). Pub. L. 106-159, Sec. 202(d), designated existing 
provisions as subpar. (A) and added subpar. (B).
    Subsec. (a)(13). Pub. L. 106-159, Sec. 202(e), inserted ``consistent 
with this chapter that'' after ``penalties'', substituted ``vehicle.'' 
for ``vehicle when the individual--'', and struck out pars. (A) to (C) 
which read as follows:
        ``(A) does not have a commercial driver's license;
        ``(B) has a driver's license revoked, suspended, or canceled; or
        ``(C) is disqualified from operating a commercial motor 
    vehicle.''
    Subsec. (a)(18) to (20). Pub. L. 106-159, Sec. 202(f)-(h), added 
pars. (18) to (20).
    1998--Subsec. (a)(15). Pub. L. 105-178, Sec. 4011(e)(1), substituted 
``subsections (b)-(e), (g)(1)(A), and (g)(2) of section 31310'' for 
``section 31310(b)-(e) of this title''.
    Subsec. (a)(17), (18). Pub. L. 105-178, Sec. 4011(e)(2), (3), 
redesignated par. (18) as (17) and struck out former par. (17) which 
read as follows: ``The State shall adopt and enforce regulations 
prescribed by the Secretary under section 31310(g)(1)(A) and (2) of this 
title.''
    1995--Subsec. (a)(18). Pub. L. 104-88 added par. (18).


                    Effective Date of 1995 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 104-88 effective Jan. 1, 1996, see section 2 of 
Pub. L. 104-88, set out as an Effective Date note under section 701 of 
this title.


             State-to-State Notification of Violations Data

    Pub. L. 106-159, title II, Sec. 221, Dec. 9, 1999, 113 Stat. 1769, 
provided that:
    ``(a) Development.--In cooperation with the States, the Secretary 
shall develop a uniform system to support the electronic transmission of 
data State-to-State on convictions for all motor vehicle traffic control 
law violations by individuals possessing a commercial drivers' licenses 
as required by paragraphs (9) and (19) of section 31311(a) of title 49, 
United States Code.
    ``(b) Status Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act [Dec. 9, 1999], the Secretary shall transmit to 
the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and 
the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives a report on the status of the implementation of this 
section.''

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 31107, 31314 of this title.
