MISCELLANEOUS MOTOR CARRIER PROVISIONS.

SEC. 104. MISCELLANEOUS MOTOR CARRIER PROVISIONS. (a) Grants to States.—Section 31102(b)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (O); (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (P) and inserting in lieu thereof “; and”; and 109 STAT. 919 (3) by adding at the end the following: “(Q) ensures that the State will cooperate in the enforcement of registration and financial responsibility requirements under sections 31140 and 31146, or regulations issued thereunder.” (b) Transport Vehicles for Off-Road, Competition Vehicles.—Section 31111(b)(1) of such title is amended— (1) by striking “or” at the end of subparagraph (C); (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (D) and inserting in lieu thereof a semicolon and “or”; and (3) by adding at the end thereof the following: “(E) imposes a limitation of less than 46 feet on the distance from the kingpin to the center of the rear axle on trailers used exclusively or primarily in connection with motorsports competition events.”. (c) Multiple Insurers.—Section 31138(c) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(3) A motor carrier may obtain the required amount of financial responsibility from more than one source provided the cumulative amount is equal to the minimum requirements of this section.”. (d) Minimum Financial Responsibility Requirements With Respect to Certain Transportation Service.—Section 31138(e) is amended— (1) by striking “or” at the end of paragraph (2); (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and inserting in lieu thereof “; or”; and (3) by adding at the end the following: “(4) providing transportation service within a transit service area under an agreement with a Federal, State, or local government funded, in whole or in part, with a grant under section 5307, 5310, or 5311, including transportation designed and carried out to meet the special needs of elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities; except that, in any case in which the transit service area is located in more than 1 State, the minimum level of financial responsibility for such motor vehicle will be at least the highest level required for any of such States.”. (e) Transporters of Property.—Section 31139(e) of such title is amended by adding at the end the following: “(3) A motor carrier may obtain the required amount of financial responsibility from more than one source provided the cumulative amount is equal to the minimum requirements of this section.”. (f) Commercial Motor Vehicle Defined.—Section 31132(1) of such title is amended— (1) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D); and (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(B) is designed or used to transport passengers for compensation, but excluding vehicles providing taxicab service and having a capacity of not more than 6 passengers and not operated on a regular route or between specified places; “(C) is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver, and is not used to transport passengers for compensation; or”. 109 STAT. 920 (g) Safety Fitness of Owners and Operators.—Section 31144 of such title is amended— (1) in the first sentence of subsection (a) by striking “In cooperation with the Interstate Commerce Commission, the” and inserting in lieu thereof “The”; (2) in such sentence by striking “sections 10922 and 10923” and inserting in lieu thereof “section 13902”; (3) in subsection (a)(1)(C) by striking “and the Commission”; and (4) by striking subsection (b) and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(b) Findings and Action on Registrations.—The Secretary shall find that a person seeking to register as a motor carrier is unfit if such person does not meet the safety fitness requirements established under subsection (a) and shall not register such person.”. (h) Self-Insurance Rules.—The Secretary of Transportation shall continue to enforce the rules and regulations of the Interstate Commerce Commission, as in effect on July 1, 1995, governing the qualifications for approval of a motor carrier as a self-insurer, until such time as the Secretary finds it in the public interest to revise such rules. The revised rules must provide for— (1) continued ability of motor carriers to qualify as self-insurers; and (2) the continued qualification of all carriers then so qualified under the terms and conditions set by the Interstate Commerce Commission or Secretary at the time of qualification.