Bill Text: VA SB301 | 2022 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Commercial driver's license examinations; requirements for third party testers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2022-04-08 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0292) [SB301 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2022-SB301-Chaptered.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§46.2-332, 46.2-341.14:1, and 46.2-341.14:9 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§46.2-332. Fees.
A. The fee for each driver's license other than a commercial driver's license shall be $2.40 per year. This fee shall not apply to driver privilege cards or permits issued under §46.2-328.3. If the license is a commercial driver's license or seasonal restricted commercial driver's license, the fee shall be $6 per year. For any one or more driver's license endorsements or classifications, except a motorcycle classification, there shall be an additional fee of $1 per year; for a motorcycle classification, there shall be an additional fee of $2 per year. For any and all driver's license classifications, there shall be an additional fee of $1 per year. For any revalidation of a seasonal restricted commercial driver's license, the fee shall be $5. A fee of $10 shall be charged to extend the validity period of a driver's license pursuant to subsection B of §46.2-221.2.
A reexamination fee of $2 shall be charged for each
administration of the knowledge portion of the driver's license examination
taken by an applicant who is 18 years of age or older if taken more than once
within a 15-day period. The reexamination fee shall be charged each time the
examination is administered until the applicant successfully completes the
examination, if taken prior to the fifteenth day.
B. An applicant who is less younger than
18 years of age who does not successfully complete the knowledge portion of the
driver's license examination shall not be permitted to take the knowledge
portion more than once in 15 days.
C. A fee of $50 shall be charged each time an applicant for a commercial driver's license fails to keep a scheduled skills test appointment, unless such applicant cancels his appointment with the assigned driver's license examiner at least 24 hours in advance of the scheduled appointment. The Commissioner may, on a case-by-case basis, waive such fee for good cause shown. All such fees shall be paid by the Commissioner into the state treasury and set aside as a special fund to be used to meet the necessary expenses incurred by the Department.
D. If the applicant for a driver's license is an employee of the Commonwealth, or of any county, city, or town who drives a motorcycle or a commercial motor vehicle solely in the line of his duty, he shall be exempt from the additional fee otherwise assessable for a motorcycle classification or a commercial motor vehicle endorsement. The Commissioner may prescribe the forms as may be requisite for completion by persons claiming exemption from additional fees imposed by this section.
E. No additional fee above $2.40 per year shall be assessed for the driver's license or commercial driver's license required for the operation of a school bus.
Excluding the $2 reexamination fee, $1.50 F. One
dollar and 50 cents of all fees collected for each original or renewal
driver's license, other than a driver privilege card issued under §46.2-328.3,
shall be paid into the driver education fund of the state treasury and expended
as provided by law. Unexpended funds from the driver education fund shall be
retained in the fund and be available for expenditure in ensuing years as provided
therein.
G. All fees for motorcycle classifications shall be distributed as provided in §46.2-1191.
H. This section shall supersede conflicting provisions of this chapter.
§46.2-341.14:1. Requirements for third party testers.
A. Pursuant to §46.2-341.14, third party testers will be authorized to issue skills test certificates, which will be accepted by the Department as evidence of satisfaction of the skills test component of the commercial driver's license examination. Authority to issue skills test certificates will be granted only to third party testers certified by the Department.
B. To qualify for certification, a third party tester shall:
1. Make application to and enter into an agreement with the Department as provided in §46.2-341.14:3;
2. Maintain a place of business in the Commonwealth;
3. Have at least one certified third party examiner in his employ;
4. Ensure that all third party examiners in his employ are certified and comply with the requirements of §§46.2-341.14:2 and 46.2-341.14:7;
5. Permit the Department and the FMCSA of the U.S. Department of Transportation to conduct random examinations, inspections, and audits of its records, facilities, and operations that relate to the third party testing program without prior notice;
6. Maintain at the principal place of business a copy of the state certificate authorizing the third party tester to administer a commercial driver's license testing program and current third party agreement;
7. Maintain at a location in the Commonwealth, for a minimum of two years after a skills test is conducted, a record of each driver for whom the third party tester conducts a skills test, whether the driver passes or fails the test. Each such record shall include:
a. The complete name of the driver;
b. The driver's social security number or other driver's license number and the name of the state or jurisdiction that issued the license held by the driver at the time of the test;
c. The date the driver took the skills test;
d. The test score sheet or sheets showing the results of the skills test and a copy of the skills test certificate, if issued;
e. The name and certification number of the third party examiner conducting the skills test; and
f. Evidence of (i) the driver's employment with the
third party tester at the time the test was taken, or if unless
the third party tester is a school board governmental entity,
including a comprehensive community college in the Virginia Community College
System, that tests drivers who are trained but not employed by
the school board, that governmental entity, or a Class A driver training
school certified as a third party tester pursuant to §46.2-326. If the third
party tester is a governmental entity that tests drivers who are not employed
by that governmental entity, the third party tester shall maintain evidence
that (a) the driver was employed by a school board at the time of the
test and (b) the third party tester trained the driver in accordance with the
Virginia School Bus Driver Training Curriculum Guide, or (ii) the student's
enrollment governmental entity or enrolled in a commercial driver
training course offered by a community college or Class A driver training
school at the time the test was taken. If the testing entity is a Class
A driver training school certified as a third party tester pursuant to §
46.2-326.1, the third party tester shall maintain evidence that the driver was
a student enrolled in that Class A driver training school at the time the test
was taken. If the driver was trained or employed by a school board, the third
party tester shall maintain evidence that the driver was trained in accordance
with the Virginia School Bus Driver Training Curriculum Guide;
8. Maintain at a location in the Commonwealth a record of each third party examiner in the employ of the third party tester. Each record shall include:
a. Name and social security number;
b. Evidence of the third party examiner's certification by the Department;
c. A copy of the third party examiner's current training and driving record, which must be updated annually;
d. Evidence that the third party examiner is an employee of the third party tester; and
e. If the third party tester is a school board, a copy of the third party examiner's certification of instruction issued by the Department of Education;
9. Retain the records required in subdivision 8 for at least two years after the third party examiner leaves the employ of the third party tester;
10. Ensure that skills tests are conducted, and that skills test certificates are issued in accordance with the requirements of §§ 46.2-341.14:8 and 46.2-341.14:9 and the instructions provided by the Department;
11. Maintain compliance with all applicable provisions of this article and the third party tester agreement executed pursuant to § 46.2-341.14:3; and
12. Maintain a copy of the third party tester's road test route or routes approved by the Department.
C. In addition to the requirements listed in subsection B, all third party testers who are not governmental entities, including a comprehensive community college in the Virginia Community College System, shall:
1. Be engaged in a business involving the use of commercial motor vehicles, which business has been in operation in the Commonwealth for a minimum of one year;
2. For employers that are testing their own employees, employ at least 50 drivers of commercial motor vehicles licensed in the Commonwealth during the 12-month period preceding the application, including part-time and seasonal drivers. This requirement may be waived by the Department pursuant to §46.2-341.14:10;
3. If subject to the FMCSA regulations as a motor carrier and rated by the U.S. Department of Transportation, maintain a rating of "satisfactory";
4. Comply with the Virginia Motor Carrier Safety Regulations; and
5. Initiate and maintain a bond in the amount of $5,000 to pay for retesting drivers in the event that the third party tester or one or more of its examiners are involved in fraudulent activities related to conducting knowledge or skills testing for applicants.
D. (For effective date, see Acts 2019, c. 750, cl. 3, as
amended by Acts 2020, c. 546) Certified third party testers are authorized to
provide entry-level driver training to individuals in their employ or
applicants for employment any individual to whom the third party tester
would be permitted to administer a skills test pursuant to this article. If
a certified third party tester elects to provide entry-level driver training,
the third party tester shall (i) employ and utilize third party instructors, as
defined in §46.2-341.4, to provide all training and instruction to entry-level
driver trainees; (ii) develop an entry-level driver training curriculum that
complies with requirements prescribed by the Department and submit such
curriculum to the Department for approval; (iii) upon notification by the
Department that curriculum requirements have been updated, certify, in a format
prescribed by the Department, that the third party tester has added the new
topics to the course curriculum; and (iv) comply with the requirements provided
in §§46.2-1708 through 46.2-1710. Notwithstanding the provisions of §
46.2-1708, no third party tester or third party instructor shall be required to
be licensed by the Department. A certified third party tester may not provide
entry-level driver training to driver trainees until such tester has been
issued a unique training provider number and appears on the federal Training
Provider Registry.
§46.2-341.14:9. The skills test certificate; validity of results.
A. The Department will accept a skills test certificate issued in accordance with this section as satisfaction of the skills test component of the commercial driver's license examination.
B. Skills test certificates may be issued only to drivers
who are employees of the third party tester who issues the certificate, except
as otherwise provided herein. In the case of school boards certified as third
party testers, certificates may be issued to employees and to other drivers who
have been trained by the school board in accordance with the Virginia School
Bus Driver Training Curriculum Guide. For comprehensive community colleges in
the Virginia Community College System that are certified as third party
testers, certificates may be issued to students who are enrolled in a
commercial driver training course offered by such community college at the time
of the test.
C. Skills test certificates may be issued only to
drivers who have passed the skills test conducted in accordance with this
chapter and the instructions issued by the Department.
D. C. A skills test certificate will be accepted
by the Department only if it is:
1. Issued by a third party tester certified by the Department in accordance with this article;
2. In a format prescribed by the Department, completed in its entirety, without alteration; and
3. Submitted to the Department within 60 days of the date
of the skills test; and
4. Signed by the third party examiner who conducted the
skills test.
D. The results of the skills test shall be valid for six months following the completion of the test.
