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91_HJ0042
LRB9110393JMsb
1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is the most traveled state
3 in the United States of America for commercial vehicles, with
4 truckers nationwide driving more miles on the roads of this
5 State than any other; and
6 WHEREAS, The Office of the Secretary of State is charged
7 with the responsibility to ensure that all persons licensed
8 to drive commercial vehicles in Illinois are safe and well
9 qualified; and
10 WHEREAS, The Secretary of State issues or renews
11 commercial driver licenses to over 100,000 individuals in any
12 given year; and
13 WHEREAS, Testing the skills of commercial drivers
14 requires access to special types of vehicles in order to
15 ensure expertise in operating larger, more complicated
16 semi-trailers and trucks; and
17 WHEREAS, Many individuals are unable to access the type
18 of vehicle necessary to take a commercial driving test unless
19 that vehicle is provided by an employer; and
20 WHEREAS, Certain businesses in the State of Illinois have
21 shown a willingness to hire individuals and provide training
22 in the safe operation of commercial vehicles; and
23 WHEREAS, The Secretary of State has entered into a
24 partnership with many of these businesses to provide a
25 service known as "third party testing"; and
26 WHEREAS, The Secretary of State certifies individuals
27 employed by these businesses as safety officers who are
28 qualified to conduct the skills portion of the commercial
29 driving license test; and
30 WHEREAS, These safety officers certify to the Secretary
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1 of State any other employees of their company who have
2 successfully completed the skills portion of the commercial
3 driving license test; and
4 WHEREAS, The Secretary of State regularly audits all
5 safety officers and third party testing clients to ensure
6 their continued compliance with all relevant laws and
7 regulations related to safe driving and proper testing of
8 commercial drivers; and
9 WHEREAS, Because of third party testing, the Secretary of
10 State needs to conduct only the written portion of the
11 commercial drivers test for individuals who have been
12 certified by the third party testing entity, which saves time
13 and resources for the people of the State of Illinois; and
14 WHEREAS, Third party testing has proven an efficient
15 service that ensures that the safest possible drivers operate
16 trucks on Illinois roads, with 536 businesses successfully
17 testing over 10,000 applicants in any given year; and
18 WHEREAS, Despite the success of the third party testing
19 program, recent problems have given rise to concerns about
20 possible abuses of this process; and
21 WHEREAS, In response, Secretary of State Jesse White
22 convened a special panel, known as the "Highway Safety 2000
23 Sub-Committee on Third Party Testing", to fully investigate
24 this process and make recommendations for improvements in the
25 system; and
26 WHEREAS, That committee, comprised of representatives of
27 the General Assembly, the Office of the Secretary of State,
28 the Illinois Commerce Commission, the United States
29 Department of Transportation, the Illinois Department of
30 Transportation, the Midwest Truckers Association, the
31 Illinois Transportation Association, the Illinois Community
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1 College Board, and several third party testing entities from
2 within the State of Illinois, made the following
3 recommendations:
4 (1) Require commercial driver license applicants to hold
5 a valid instruction permit for a period of 2 weeks prior to
6 being skills tested by a third party;
7 (2) Require commercial driver license applicants to
8 obtain from the Secretary of State an instruction permit for
9 the specific vehicle classification in which they intend to
10 be licensed, and require that the applicant produce the
11 instruction permit before the skills test and certification
12 by a third party entity;
13 (3) Require a minimum training period for commercial
14 drivers who receive certification through a third party
15 entity;
16 (4) Require third party entities to notify the Secretary
17 of State of a driver's termination of employment if that
18 employment lasted less than 6 months; and
19 (5) Prohibit from participation any third party testing
20 entity that has received an "unsatisfactory" rating from the
21 United States Department of Transportation until it has
22 raised its rating to at least "satisfactory" or
23 "conditional"; and
24 WHEREAS, On the recommendation of the Highway Safety 2000
25 panel, Secretary of State White has already implemented these
26 changes as emergency administrative rule changes and
27 submitted a request for permanent change in policy to the
28 Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; therefore be it
29 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
30 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
31 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we recommend that the Joint
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1 Committee on Administrative Rules move swiftly in adopting
2 the proposed changes in the third party testing rules as
3 submitted by the Office of the Secretary of State; and be it
4 further
5 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be delivered to
6 the Secretary of State and to the Executive Director and each
7 member of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.