The Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) is urging its state executives to contact their state agencies with authority over hazmat endorsements for commercial driver licenses to make them aware of the problems in the new federal driver background check rules. "The agencies must be made aware of the huge impact on our industry if this deadline is not met. State agencies may need to put more pressure on the federal agencies to delay this requirement until they are able to develop an appropriate fingerprint program," PMAA notes.
Under the new rules recently published by both the Transportation Security Agency and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), states are required to adopt a fingerprint-based background check system for new hazmat drivers by November 3, 2003. By April 29, 2004, drivers who are renewing their endorsement will have to undergo a fingerprint-based background check. PMAA is concerned that most state agencies will fail to meet this deadline.