You asked for an explanation of a new fee of $ 94 that is being imposed on anyone who drives a vehicle transporting hazardous materials. You wanted to know if this is a state or a federal fee and the reason for it.

The fee you mention is actually a combination of several fees. While it may be collected at the state level, it is mandated by federal law and regulations of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In 2001, the federal USA Patriot Act (P. L. 107-56) made significant changes to federal law, including several new requirements that applied to drivers of commercial vehicles transporting hazardous materials.

One of the new requirements is that anyone to whom a state issues or renews an endorsement to a commercial driver's license that allows transportation of hazardous materials must undergo a “security threat assessment” (49 U. S. C. 5103a). This involves fingerprinting and several database checks. The background checks consist of (1) a check of relevant criminal history databases, (2) in the case of an alien, a check of the federal database to determine status under immigration law, and (3) an intelligence-related background check that, among other things, looks at possible international criminal offenses or immigration offenses.

If the process results in a federal “Determination of No Security Threat,” the hazardous materials endorsement may be issued. However, TSA also maintains a process for applicants to challenge the security assessment and receive a hearing.

Security threat assessments have been required for new applicants since January 31, 2005. Those renewing endorsements or transferring them from one state to another were required to undergo the threat assessment as of May 31, 2005. TSA selected a contractor agent, Integrated Biometric Technologies, to collect and submit applicant information and fingerprints. States could either elect to use the TSA agent or administer the process themselves. Connecticut and 33 other states chose to use the TSA agent. The remaining states chose to collect the information themselves.

The $ 94 fee that is collected from applicants includes $ 38 for information collection and transmission, $ 34 for the threat assessment, and $ 22 for the Federal Bureau of Investigations to process the fingerprints and conduct the federal criminal history check. States that are administering the process themselves may charge more or less for the information collection and transmission portion of the process, but the threat assessment and FBI fees remain the same. When using the TSA agent, pre-payment may be made over the internet through the TSA website or it may be made on-site at the fingerprint collection location. The TSA agent's Connecticut location for collecting fingerprints is 2257 Silas Deane Highway in Rocky Hill.

JF: ro