The agency will formally announce this week a plan to form a ânegotiated rulemakingâ or âreg negâ committee made up of regulators, carriers, licensing agencies, training organizations, enforcement groups, labor unions, safety groups and others.
Itâs also seeking nominations for the committee and hopes to have about 20 members. Committee members will serve a two-year term, FMCSA says. Nominations should be emailed to [email protected]. Click here to read more on what should be included in the nomination request.
This weekâs announcement builds on the agencyâs toe-dipping measure in August, in which it said it was considering a âreg negâ to produce the driver training rule, which is required by 2012âs MAP-21 highway funding law.
The agency scrapped last September a proposed entry-level driver training rule that had been in the works since 2007, citing âsubstantive issuesâ that it said made proceeding with the rule âinappropriate.â
The purpose of the negotiated rulemaking, FMCSA says in its notice, is to develop training standards for drivers, find the right balance of behind-the-wheel training and classroom instruction and gather data to determine the cost and benefits of training, among other goals.
FMCSA says it expects the committee to meet from February to June 2015 for one to two days every two to three weeks.