Report by Rick Schweitzer, NEFI Regulatory Counsel (rpschweitzer@rpslegal.com)
NEFI has joined 30 other trade associations of shippers and carriers of hazardous materials in a letter to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA). The letter asks AAMVA to ensure that each state adopt and implement a temporary extension of Hazardous Material Endorsements (HMEs) as permitted in a recent notice by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
On April 8, TSA published a notice that allows States to grant an extension of up to 180 days for an HME that expired or would otherwise expire between March 1, 2020 and the end date of this exemption, even if the HME holder was unable to initiate or complete the required background check before the expiration date.
However, individual States must still implement the temporary exemption for persons who obtained an HME in their State. NEFI’s coalition letter seeks AAMVA’s help to avoid a patchwork of State requirements facing drivers whose HME expires during the pandemic. Specifically, the letter urges AAMVA to “use the authority of their Departments, and that of the federal government, to encourage and support consistent adopting and implementation of the HME extension permitted by TSA as federal and state governments address the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In addition, the letter asks AAMVA to publish the HME State updates in a publicly accessible location on its website. NOTE: The AAMVA already publishes a similarstate-by-state list of temporary license, registration, and inspection changes.
Click here to read NEFI’s coalition letter to AAMVA.