Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved Information Collection: Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse Publication: Federal Register Agency: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Byline: Thomas P. Keane Date: 21 February 2023 Subjects: American Government , Driver Licensing, Safety

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10635-10636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03506]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2022-0093]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Renewal of an Approved 
Information Collection: Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol 
Clearinghouse

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department 
of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FMCSA 
announces its plan to submit the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
described below to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review 
and approval. The FMCSA requests to renew an ICR titled, ``Commercial 
Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.'' The Agency's final 
rule, published December 5, 2016, titled ``Commercial Driver's License 
Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse'' (Clearinghouse) established the 
regulatory requirements for the Clearinghouse. The compliance date of 
the final rule was January 6, 2020. FMCSA began collecting data as 
authorized users began registering in the Clearinghouse in September 
2019. This ICR renewal is needed to support the continuation of the 
querying and reporting requirements to address the problem of 
commercial driver's license (CDL) and commercial learner's permit (CLP) 
holders who test positive for the use of controlled substances or the 
misuse of alcohol and then continue to perform safety sensitive 
functions, including driving a commercial motor vehicle (CMV), without 
completing the required return-to-duty (RTD) process.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be received on or before March 23, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this information 
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for 
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Price, Chief, Drug and Alcohol 
Programs Division, DOT, FMCSA, 6th Floor, West Building, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001; 202-366-2995; 
bryan.price@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title: Commercial Driver's License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.
    OMB Control Number: 2126-0057.
    Type of Request: Renewal of a currently approved information 
collection.
    Respondents: Motor carriers (employers), drivers, medical review 
officers (MROs), substance abuse professionals (SAPs), consortia/third-
party administrators (C/TPAs), and State Driver Licensing Agencies 
(SDLAs).
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,439,839. (This number is an 
update from 10,289,839 respondents stated in the 60-day FR.)
    Estimated Time per Response: Varies; 10 to 20 minutes.
    Expiration Date: February 28, 2023.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion.
    A user's role will determine the frequency of the response in the 
Clearinghouse.
     Employers, or C/TPAs acting on behalf of an employer: at a 
minimum, employers are required to query the Clearinghouse for each 
driver they currently employ at least once a year. Employers must query 
the Clearinghouse for all prospective employees, as needed. In 
addition, employers report to the Clearinghouse alcohol confirmation 
tests with a concentration of 0.04 or higher, refusal to test 
(alcohol), refusal to test (drug) that is not determined by an MRO, and 
actual knowledge of violations, negative RTD testing, and completion of 
the follow-up testing plan. Employer reporting must be completed by the 
close of the third business day following the date they obtained the 
information on a driver.
     MROs: verified positive, adulterated, or substituted drug 
test result and refusals to tests (drug) must be entered to the 
Clearinghouse on occasion, but no later than 2 business days after 
making a determination or verification.
     SAPs: must enter the initial assessment date and the date 
the driver successfully complied with RTD requirements. SAPs are 
required to enter this information on occasion by the close of business 
day following the date of the initial assessment or completion of the 
RTD process.
     SDLAs may query the Clearinghouse prior to specified 
licensing transactions to determine whether drivers are listed in the 
``prohibited status.''.
     Drivers provide general consent to employer queries 
outside of the Clearinghouse.

[[Page 10636]]

     Drivers must provide their specific consent to pre-
employment queries electronically through the Clearinghouse.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 1,761,149.
    Background: Agency regulations at 49 Code of Federal Regulations 
(CFR) part 382 apply to persons and employers of such persons who 
operate CMVs in commerce in the United States and who are subject to 
the CDL requirements in 49 CFR part 383 or the equivalent CDL 
requirements for Canadian and Mexican drivers operating in the U.S. (49 
CFR 382.103(a)). Part 382 requires that employers conduct pre-
employment drug testing; random, post-accident, and reasonable 
suspicion drug and alcohol testing; and RTD testing and follow-up 
testing for those drivers who test positive or otherwise violate DOT 
drug and alcohol program requirements. Motor carrier employers are 
prohibited from allowing an employee to perform safety-sensitive 
functions, which include operating a CMV, if the employee tests 
positive on a DOT drug or alcohol test, refuses to take a required 
test, or otherwise violates FMCSA's drug and alcohol testing 
regulations.
    Section 32402 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century 
Act requires that the Secretary of Transportation establish, operate, 
and maintain a national clearinghouse for records relating to alcohol 
and controlled substances testing of CMV operators to improve 
compliance with the DOT's alcohol and controlled substances testing 
program and to enhance the safety of our roadways by reducing crashes 
and injuries involving the misuse of alcohol or use of controlled 
substances by operators of CMVs. As noted above, FMCSA published a 
final rule on December 5, 2016, with an effective date of January 4, 
2017, and a compliance date of January 6, 2020, to implement the 
requirements of the Clearinghouse. In September 2019 FMCSA first began 
collecting data in September 2019 relating to authorized users' 
registration in the Clearinghouse. On January 6, 2020, FMCSA began 
collecting data related to drivers' drug and alcohol program violations 
and associated return to duty process, as well as allowing queries 
conducted by employers on CDL or CLP holders.
    The Clearinghouse functions as a repository for records relating to 
the positive test results and test refusals of CMV operators and 
violations by such operators of prohibitions set forth in Part 382, 
Subpart B, of title 49, CFR. An employer utilizes the Clearinghouse to 
determine whether current and prospective employees have incurred a 
drug or alcohol program violation that would prohibit them from 
performing safety-sensitive functions, including operating a CMV.
    The Clearinghouse provides FMCSA and employers the necessary tools 
to identify drivers who are prohibited from operating a CMV and ensure 
that such drivers receive the required evaluation and treatment before 
resuming safety-sensitive functions. Specifically, information 
maintained in the Clearinghouse will ensure that drivers who commit a 
drug or alcohol program violation while working for one employer and 
attempt to find work with another employer, can no longer conceal their 
drug and alcohol violations merely by moving on to the next job or the 
next state. Drug and alcohol violation records maintained in the 
Clearinghouse will follow the driver regardless of how many times he or 
she changes employers, seeks employment, or applies for a CDL in a 
different State.
    The information in the Clearinghouse is used by FMCSA and its State 
partners for enforcement purposes:
     Ensure employers are meeting their pre-employment 
investigation and reporting requirements.
     Place drivers out of service if drivers are found to be 
operating a CMV without completing the RTD process.
     Ensure MROs and SAPs meet their reporting requirements.
    Only authorized users, including employers and their service 
agents, Federal and State enforcement personnel, and SDLAs may register 
and access the Clearinghouse for designated purposes. State enforcement 
personnel may also receive the driver's eligibility status to operate a 
CMV, based on Clearinghouse information, when they check Query Central, 
the Commercial Driver's License Information System, or The National Law 
Enforcement Telecommunications System for driver information. FMCSA 
will share a driver's drug and alcohol violation information with the 
National Transportation Safety Board when it is investigating a crash 
involving that driver.
    Drivers may access their own information, but not information of 
other drivers. The Clearinghouse meets all relevant Federal security 
standards and FMCSA continuously monitors compliance with applicable 
security regulations.
    On November 4, 2022, FMCSA published a Federal Register notice 
announcing its plan to renew this ICR (87 FR 66769). The Agency 
received three anonymous comments in response to this ICR renewal but 
none of the submitted comments are relevant to the subject matter of 
the ICR.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including: (1) whether the proposed 
collection is necessary for the performance of FMCSA's functions; (2) 
the accuracy of the estimated burden; (3) ways for FMCSA to enhance the 
quality, usefulness, and clarity of the collected information; and (4) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information.
    Issued under the authority of 49 CFR 1.87.

Thomas P. Keane,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research and Registration.
[FR Doc. 2023-03506 Filed 2-17-23; 8:45 am]
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