A new security law that requires background checks on hazardous materials drivers is creating headaches for state licensing agencies – but officials are moving quickly to unclog the system.

The law, signed last week by President Bush, says that states cannot issue or renew a hazmat CDL unless the Secretary of Transportation certifies that the driver is not a security risk. The DOT certification must be based on a background check conducted by the Department of Justice, including criminal and immigration records, as well as international police files, if necessary.
This new requirement, imposed in reaction to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, has stymied state licensing offices, according to sources familiar with the situtation. The law does not define a “security risk,” and in any case states are not equipped to quickly process the background checks.
Moreover, the law creates problems for trucking companies that haul hazmat. Timothy P. Lynch, president of the Motor Freight Carriers Assn., said that companies could find themselves losing drivers during the license renewal process, depending on the interpretation of “security risk.” All drivers employed by MFCA members – the major unionized, LTL trucking companies – have hazmat endorsements on their CDLs, he said.
Even Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen and a frequent trucking safety critic, called the rule "arbitrary and unfair," according to the Associated Press, with no provisions that would allow a truck driver to appeal a decision denying them a hazmat license.
To manage the situation, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is telling states that they should continue processing licenses in the usual way, while it prepares a rule to implement the law.
“We will be consulting with the states and other interested parties in the development of the regulations to implement this new provision,” said agency assistant administrator Julie Anna Cirillo in a memo to state licensing officials.
Meanwhile, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is considering legislation to correct the situation, according to a notice from the American Assn. of Motor Vehicle Administrators.