FMCSA Issues New Drug/Alcohol Requirements for State Licensing Agencies
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Last week, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) finalized a new rule requiring state driver's licensing agencies (SDLAs) to take specific actions for drivers who have violated FMCSA’s drug and alcohol regulations. The new rule now requires the SDLAs to use information from FMCSA’s Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse to disallow issuing, renewing, upgrading or transferring a commercial driver’s license (CDL) or commercial learner’s permit (CLP) for those drivers with drug/alcohol program violations. The requirement also simultaneously directs the SDLAs to “remove the CLP or CDL privilege from the driver's license of an individual subject to the CMV driving prohibition, which would result in a downgrade of the license until the driver complies with return-to-duty (RTD) requirements.” Lastly, as an incentive for the SDLAs to follow the mandates, the rule also states that SDLAs failing to comply with these new requirements could lose out on future federal funding.
While the effective date for the new rule is November 8, 2021, the compliance date for SDLA's is November 18, 2024.
Click here to review the new rule. For more information, contact Kevin Walgenbach at kwalgenbach@nrmca.org.
