The Transportation Security Administration is postponing and changing its Interim Final Rule that had established standards, including fingerprinting, for those applying for, renewing, or transferring a hazardous materials endorsement for a Commercial Driver's License.
According to the TSA website, the agency will add a new definition and move the start of the fingerprint-based record check to April 1, 2004, from the original deadline of November 3, 2003. If a State is unable to collect this information by April 1, 2004, it must submit a request for extension to TSA on or before April 1, 2004.
The move comes as no surprise to most industry observers who doubted TSA could arrange in such a short time with states how to fingerprint the nation's more than 1 million hazmat endorsed CDL drivers.
TSA would not supply further details, and officials said more information will be posted in the Federal Register.
