04/03/2012 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS

        HB 345-WAIVE CDL SKILL TEST FOR CERTAIN VETERANS                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
9:43:51 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN  announced that the  next order of business  was HOUSE                                                               
BILL  NO. 345,  "An Act  relating to  regulations adopted  by the                                                               
Department  of   Administration  waiving  the   commercial  motor                                                               
vehicle  driving skills  test for  certain drivers  with military                                                               
commercial motor vehicle experience."                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:44:15 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DAN SADDLER, Alaska State Legislature, presented                                                                 
HB 345 as sponsor.  He paraphrased the sponsor statement, which                                                                 
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     HB  345  allows  the  state  of  Alaska  to  waive  the                                                                    
     commercial  driver's  license   road  skills  test  for                                                                    
     Alaska  military  personnel  who earned  their  driving                                                                    
     experience operating  commercial-grade vehicles  in the                                                                    
     armed services.                                                                                                            
     The  modern U.S.  military is  a  highly mobile  force,                                                                    
     depending on skilled drivers operating  a wide range of                                                                    
     vehicles,  under  often   harsh  conditions.  Impending                                                                    
     budget  cuts and  troop  reductions  mean thousands  of                                                                    
     Alaska  service members,  including active  duty, Guard                                                                    
     and Reserve, will soon be  hanging up their uniforms to                                                                    
     seek civilian jobs.                                                                                                        
     In Alaska,  where many  trades and  occupations involve                                                                    
     transportation of  goods and people  across challenging                                                                    
     landscapes, a  commercial driver's  license (CDL)  is a                                                                    
     valuable credential that can  offer a significant boost                                                                    
     to  those seeking  to enter  the  civilian work  force,                                                                    
     whether in  tourism, commercial  fishing, construction,                                                                    
     oil field services or other industries.                                                                                    
     HB  345   seeks  to  help  returning   Alaska  military                                                                    
     personnel   find  good   jobs,  and   to  help   Alaska                                                                    
     businesses find  qualified and  credentialed employees,                                                                    
     by  acknowledging that  many  military drivers  already                                                                    
     possess  the skills  they need  to be  safe, productive                                                                    
     civilian drivers.                                                                                                          
     HB  345 directs  the  Department  of Administration  to                                                                    
     adopt  regulations  in  accordance with  Federal  Motor                                                                    
     Carrier Safety Administration  guidelines, allowing the                                                                    
     Alaska  Division of  Motor Vehicles  to waive  the road                                                                    
     test in accordance with federal law.                                                                                       
     To be eligible  for a waiver, a driver  must have spent                                                                    
     the  last  two  years  or  more  driving  the  kind  of                                                                    
     equipment he  expects to  use in  a civilian  job, must                                                                    
     have worked  in the past  90 days as a  military driver                                                                    
     and must  meet federal exemption  requirements outlined                                                                    
     in CFR  383.77. He/she  also cannot  have ever  had any                                                                    
     license suspended  or revoked, had more  than one minor                                                                    
     traffic  violation,  been   convicted  of  any  driving                                                                    
     offense involving  drugs or alcohol, or  been convicted                                                                    
     for   any  serious   traffic  violation   involving  an                                                                    
     accident.                                                                                                                  
     Alaskans  who  honed  their  driving  skills  while  in                                                                    
     service to  our nation deserve to  have that experience                                                                    
     validated and honored in the  civilian world. HB 345 is                                                                    
     an  important tool  to help  them  get the  credentials                                                                    
     they  need to  land  good civilian  jobs,  and to  help                                                                    
     Alaska employers hire skilled and motivated employees.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:46:23 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SADDLER, in  response  to Representative  Keller,                                                               
said those  who would  qualify under  HB 345  would have  to have                                                               
operated a commercial vehicle while in the military.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
9:47:16 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
AVES  THOMPSON, Executive  Director, Alaska  Trucking Association                                                               
(ATA), testified  in support of  HB 345.   He stated that  one of                                                               
the pressing problems in the  industry today is finding qualified                                                               
commercial vehicle  drivers.  He  said a lot  of time is  used in                                                               
training.    He related  that  in-depth  knowledge is  needed  by                                                               
drivers of commercial vehicles.   He said sometimes the operating                                                               
skills of commercial vehicle drivers  can save the lives of those                                                               
drivers or  the lives  of others.   He  stated that  the industry                                                               
supports the return  of veterans and welcomes  the opportunity to                                                               
do something that  would both support them and the  industry.  He                                                               
urged the committee to support the proposed legislation.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:49:12 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
WHITNEY   BREWSTER,  Director,   Division   of  Motor   Vehicles,                                                               
Department  of  Administration,  noted  that  the  Federal  Motor                                                               
Carrier   Safety   Administration   (FMCSA)   finalized   federal                                                               
regulations which allow states to  adopt programs that substitute                                                               
the  required [commercial]  driving  skills for  those that  have                                                               
recent military  commercial motor  vehicle experience.   She said                                                               
the  division would  build into  its regulation  the requirements                                                               
under HB  345, which are:   the individual  is or was  within the                                                               
last 90 days regularly employed  in a military position requiring                                                               
operation of a  commercial motor vehicle; and  the individual was                                                               
also operating  a vehicle representative of  the commercial motor                                                               
vehicle the driver  applicant operates or expects  to operate for                                                               
at least the  two years immediately preceding  discharge from the                                                               
military.    She said  the  regulation  the division  promulgates                                                               
would include the requirements under  [federal regulation] 49 CFR                                                               
383.77.  She  said there are many states that  have implemented a                                                               
similar    program,     including    Washington,    Pennsylvania,                                                               
Connecticut, New York,  and Nevada.  She told  the committee that                                                               
FMCSA  is urging  states to  adopt programs  that will  allow for                                                               
this waiver  and is working  closely with the U.S.  Department of                                                               
Defense (DoD), as well as  with the American Association of Motor                                                               
Vehicle Administrators  (AAMVA), to  make implementation  of this                                                               
program easier across the country.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
9:51:21 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN,  after ascertaining  that there was  no one  else who                                                               
wished to testify, closed public testimony.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
9:51:29 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  BREWSTER, in  response to  Representative Seaton,  confirmed                                                               
that the division  has the authority to  adopt the aforementioned                                                               
regulations.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
9:52:16 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  JOHANSEN said  he  worked with  a  crew of  truck                                                               
drivers in past,  and the best drivers were those  who had driven                                                               
in  the military.    He  thanked the  bill  sponsor for  bringing                                                               
forward HB 345.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
9:52:51 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR LYNN  remarked upon the thoroughness  of military technical                                                               
schools.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
9:53:04 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  KELLER  relayed  that  he used  to  run  a  truck                                                               
driving school and has a commercial driver's license.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
9:53:30 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER  moved to  report HB  345 out  of committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
notes.  There being no objection,  HB 345 was reported out of the                                                               
House State Affairs Standing Committee.