Summary of, and preliminary comparison with, existing or proposed federal regulation
This rule-making implements the final federal regulations concerning, “Medical Certification Requirements as part of the CDL" at 73 FR 73096 (Dec. 1, 2008). The rulemaking is intended to ensure Wisconsin's conformity with federal regulations in
49 CFR Part 383 and
391, requiring drivers of commercial motor vehicles to certify their type of driving to the department and submit a copy of their federal medical certificate to the department. All states are required to comply with these regulations.
Comparison with rules in the following states
The four states bordering Wisconsin all have requirements in place similar to those proposed herein. Specifically, all four states: require all CDL holders to certify their commercial driving as 1 of 4 types specified in federal law; require those drivers certifying their driving as “non-excepted interstate" to provide and maintain on file with the state driver licensing authority a valid federal medical certification or medical variance; “downgrade" a CDL by removing all commercial driving privileges, for all commercial drivers that do not complete the self-certification or do not provide the federal medical certificate, by January 30, 2014; and reinstate the downgraded driver that self-certifies a driving type other than non-excepted interstate, or provides a federal medical certification or medical variance. Iowa alone allows a grace period of 60 days after federally required deadlines before downgrading a CDL for noncompliance.
Illinois. Illinois administrative code requires all CDL holders on or after January 30, 2012 to self-certify one of four types of driving before January 30, 2014. Failure to self-certify will result in cancellation of the CDL privileges, per. Drivers who certify their driving as non-excepted interstate driving must submit and maintain on file a medical examiner's certificate and, if appropriate, a medical variance issued by the federal motor carrier safety administration (FMCSA). The removal of privileges remains in effect until the driver provides valid federal medical certification or medical variance, or certifies that the driver is not engaged in non-excepted interstate driving. These provisions of Illinois law are found at 92 Ill. Admin. Code 1030.22.
Iowa. Iowa requires all CDL holders to self-certify the type of commercial diving as one of four types, not later than January 30, 2014. Drivers who certify their operations as non-excepted interstate must provide the department of transportation a valid federal medical examiner's certificate. Iowa law prevents the licensing of any applicant for initial or renewal of a CDL who does not self-certify their driving or does not provide a federal medical certificate. Iowa law requires the downgrade of any driver certified as non-excepted. Iowa deems a CDL expired upon the expiration of a federal medical certificate, and 60 days thereafter will entirely remove the commercial driving privileges if the driver does not provide an updated federal medical certificate or self-certifies a type of driving other than non-excepted interstate. Similarly, Iowa does not remove the driving privileges from a driver who fails to make that self-certification until 60 days after that deadline. Drivers that are downgraded may reinstate a CDL by providing a valid federal medical certification or medical variance, or by self-certifying as driving something other than non-excepted interstate. These provisions of Iowa law are found at Iowa Admin. Code 761-607.50(321), and Iowa Statute at 321.182 and Iowa Code Supplement at 321.188 and 321.207.
Michigan. Michigan requires all CDL holders to declare one of four types of driving, and requires driver's who certify their driving as “non-excepted interstate" to provide a valid federal medical examiner's certificate". Michigan will remove all commercial driving privileges from the driver license if a driver fails to certify the type of driving or fails to provide and maintain a valid medical examiner's certificate or maintain. Although the Department was unable to find Michigan statutes or administrative code provisions related to this, the Michigan Secretary of State's website includes FAQs that describe the process summarized above, at:
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-48296---F,00.html#5.1 under the heading “
Commercial Drivers — Self and Medical Certification". According to the Michigan Secretary of State website, “You will lose your privilege to operate a CMV if you fail to provide a self-certification to the Secretary of State's Office before your CDL expires or by January 30, 2014, whichever date comes first." and “If you self-certify as a non-excepted interstate driver, you must present a completed and signed Medical Examiner's Certificate, which is also known as a DOT Medical Card, to the Secretary of State to continue your CDL application."
Minnesota. Minnesota statutes require CDL applicants to self-certify one of four types of driving and, if required by federal law (i.e. certifies as a non-exempt interstate driver) to provide and maintain with the driver licensing authority a valid federal medical examiner's certificate. Minnesota downgrades the commercial driving privileges of any driver who has certified himself or herself as being required by federal law to provide a federal medical examiner's certificate, unless within 30 days following written notice to the driver that the medical examiner's certificate is expired, the driver self-certifies as not engaged in non-exempt interstate driving, or provides the required a federal medical examiner's certificate or medical waiver. Minnesota accomplishes the downgrade by removing the commercial driving privileges from the person's driver license. These provisions are found at Minnesota Statutes Annot. 171.162. Minnesota administrative rules allow a downgraded CDL driver to reinstate commercial driving privileges within one year or less by submitting a valid federal medical certificate or by self-certifying as driving in something other than non-excepted interstate driving. However, if the commercial driving privileges are downgraded for more than one year the CDL driver must apply as a new CDL applicant and retake the knowledge and driving skills tests. These provisions are found at Minnesota Admin. Code 7421.0800.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies used and how the related findings support the regulatory approach chosen
Wisconsin considered several options for implementing this federal rule: require all commercial drivers, regardless of their tier of operation, to keep a current FedMed Card on record with the department; require that certification or provision of FedMed Cards could only be done in DMV service centers, or only online; require downgraded drivers to appear at service centers to reinstate or repeat some or all of the CDL licensing process. The current approach was selected because it is the most flexible and driver-friendly, yet still meets the letter and spirit of the federal requirements.
Analysis and supporting documentation used to determine effect on small businesses
This rule-making will have a minor fiscal impact on independent truckers and small trucking companies. The new burdens placed on drivers include having to declare a type of operation to the department and, for drivers that declare themselves to be engaged in non-excepted interstate travel, to file and maintain a FedMed Card with the department. FMCSA estimates that 74% of all CDL holders are engaged in non-excepted interstate commerce. Neither the federal regulations nor this rulemaking change the requirements that drivers engaged in non-excepted interstate commerce maintain a FedMed Card on their person when driving a CMV in interstate commerce, so the burden of this rule is largely a reporting burden. However, this rule will simplify the process of drivers providing proof of a FedMed Card, as the federal regulations will make this information available to all employers, drivers and states through a national database, CDLIS. The department has minimized the driver's compliance costs in a variety of ways.
Effect on Small Business
The department has attempted to identify flexible and business-friendly methods of implementing and enforcing this rule, and has included them in this rule. The department expects the long-term effect on small business to be relatively minor. The requirements of self-certifying a CDL driver's tier of operation, and of Tier 1 drivers maintaining valid FedMed Cards with the department, will be jointly enforced by the Division of State Patrol (through implementation of the federal motor carriers safety regulations) and by DMV. Commercial drivers and trucking companies will need to ensure that they and their drivers have certified their tier of operation, and that Tier 1 drivers have a current FedMed Card on file with the department. FedMed requirements remain unchanged. There is no fee: to certify a tier of operation; to change a certification at any time to another tier of operation; to provide a FedMed Card; to verify one's own tier of operation or the expiration of a FedMed Card, or; to reinstate a CDL after being downgraded. Employers and drivers can check a driver's status online or through employer notification, for no charge. Both drivers and employers are notified 60 days before expiration of a FedMed Card, upon expiration and, if the driver does not provide a new, valid FedMed card or declare a tier of driving other than “non-excepted interstate", upon downgrade. The department has been providing outreach to individual drivers and to trucking companies to inform them of these new requirements, and will continue to do so.
Fiscal Effect
This rule imposes costs in three ways. First, applicants for a CDL are now required to self-certify the type of driving in which they intend to engage. The department estimates that this part of the application process can be completed in less than 1 minute.
Next, the rule requires current CDL holders to self-certify the type of driving in which they intend to engage. Because certification by existing drivers will not be done in conjunctions with a CDL application, the department estimates this will take approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete.
Last, drivers who certify that they engage in non-excepted interstate commerce will be required to file proof of their FedMed Card with the Department, and to refile proof at least once every 2 years when the FedMed card expires. The department believes this can be done in conjunction with the self-certification process, or separately, in no more than 5 minutes per driver.
In December 2012, there were 299,221 CDLs issued by this state, of which 235,808 were valid and 63,413 were withdrawn or expired. Assuming for purposes of estimating the greatest impact that each of 299,221 CDL holders will comply, and that each driver spends 5 minutes complying with the self-certification requirements of this rule, the aggregate compliance time will be 24,935 hours. CDLs are valid for 8 years, so assuming an even rate of CDL issuance and renewals, the aggregate compliance time may be 3,116 hours per year statewide. FMCSA estimates that 74% of CDL holders engage in non-excepted interstate commerce [See, 71 FR 66743 (Nov 16, 2006)]. If that is correct, as many as 221,423 drivers will also be required to file FedMed Cards with the department. If compliance takes 5 minutes to file a FedMed Card, the aggregate time spent on initial compliance may be 18,451 hours. The FedMed Card is generally valid for 2 years, but drivers with specific medical conditions may require more frequent medical fitness certification (for example, a FedMed Card for a driver with the following diagnoses is valid for one year: high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and vision exemption or waiver programs). Assuming that each FedMed Card is valid for 2 years, the aggregate annual time spent on compliance may be 9,226 hours. Taken together, the aggregate time spent to self-certify (3,116 hours) and file FedMed Cards (9,226 hours) could be 12,342 hours annually.
This rule requires the department to enter the self-certification on the CDLIS driving record of each driver. If each record entry can be completed in 2 minutes, the aggregate time to enter may be 1,246 hours, or 0.6 FTE. This figure assumes only one entry per driver every 8 years, which will increase if drivers change their self-certified type of driving during the 8-year CDL duration.
The rule also requires the department to enter a record on CDLIS for each FedMed Card it receives. If each record entry can be completed in 2 minutes, the aggregate time to complete those entries is 7,977 hours every two years, or 3,989 hours per year, or 1.9 FTE.
In all, it appears the department will require 2.5 FTE annually to complete the work required by this rule.
The department will incur ongoing costs to provide written notices to drivers that: 1) a FedMed card will expire within 60 days; 2) that a FedMed Card has expired; and 3) that a CDL is downgraded. It is unknown how many of the estimated 239,336 non-excepted interstate drivers will require such notices from the department, but these notices could be required for each driver every 2 years to coincide with the valid period of a FedMed Card. If 10% of all estimated 221,423 drivers required to file FedMed Cards require all 3 notices every 2 years the department will mail 33,213 notices per year as result of this rule. If half of those drivers have employers on file, mailing those notices to employers will require an additional 16,606 mailed notices.
Anticipated Costs Incurred by Private Sector
See the discussion above for the anticipated time required to comply with this rule. The department has identified flexible and business-friendly methods of implementing and enforcing this rule. As with small businesses, the department expects compliance with this rule to take no more than 10 minutes per driver, at no charge by the department, so overall costs incurred by the private sector are believed to be minimal per driver, and are the consequence of federal regulations. All commercial drivers and trucking companies will need to ensure that they and their drivers have certified their tier of operation and that Tier 1 drivers have a current FedMed Card on file with the department. FedMed Card requirements remain unchanged. There is no charge by the department to a driver to certify a tier of operation, to change one's tier of operation at any time, to provide a FedMed Card, to verify a tier of operation or the expiration of a FedMed Card, or to reinstate a CDL after being downgraded. Drivers and employers can verify a driver's status online or through employer notification, free of charge. Both drivers and employers are notified 60 days before expiration, upon expiration and upon downgrade. The department is also providing outreach to individual drivers and to trucking companies.
Agency Contact Person
Alison Lebwohl
Bureau of Driver Services Section, Division of Motor Vehicles
Wisconsin Department of Transportation
4802 Sheboygan Avenue, Room 809
P. O. Box 7995
Madison, WI 53707-7995
Phone: (608) 266-0054
