SAFETY REGULATION.

SEC. 4008. SAFETY REGULATION. (a) Commercial Motor Vehicle Defined.— Section 31132(1) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A)— (A) by inserting “or gross vehicle weight” after “rating”; and (B) by inserting “, whichever is greater” after “pounds”; and (2) in subparagraph (B) by striking “passengers” and all that follows through the semicolon at the end and inserting “more than 8 passengers (including the driver) for compensation;”. (b) Application of Regulations to Certain Commercial Motor Vehicles.— Effective on the last day of the 1-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, regulations prescribed under section 31136 of title 49, United States Code, shall apply to operators of commercial motor vehicles described in section 31132(1)(B) of such title (as amended by subsection (a)) to the extent that those regulations did not apply to those operators on the day before such effective date, except to the extent that the Secretary determines, through a rulemaking proceeding, that it is appropriate to exempt such operators of commercial motor vehicles from the application of those regulations. (c) Repeal of Review Panel.— Section 31134, and the item relating to such section in the analysis for chapter 311, are repealed. (d) Repeal of Submission to Review Panel.— Section 31140, and the item relating to such section in the analysis for chapter 311, are repealed. (e) Review Procedure.— Section 31141 is amended— (1) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and inserting the following: “(b) Submission of Regulation.— A State receiving funds made available under section 31104 that enacts a State law or issues a regulation on commercial motor vehicle safety shall submit a copy of the law or regulation to the Secretary immediately after the enactment or issuance. “(c) Review and Decisions by Secretary.— “(1) Review.— The Secretary shall review State laws and regulations on commercial motor vehicle safety. The Secretary shall decide whether the State law or regulation— “(A) has the same effect as a regulation prescribed by the Secretary under section 31136; “(B) is less stringent than such regulation; or “(C) is additional to or more stringent than such regulation. “(2) Regulations with same effect.— If the Secretary decides a State law or regulation has the same effect as a regulation prescribed by the Secretary under section 31136 of this title, the State law or regulation may be enforced. “(3) Less stringent regulations.— If the Secretary decides a State law or regulation is less stringent than a 112 STAT. 405regulation prescribed by the Secretary under section 31136 of this title, the State law or regulation may not be enforced. “(4) Additional or more stringent regulations.— If the Secretary decides a State law or regulation is additional to or more stringent than a regulation prescribed by the Secretary under section 31136 of this title, the State law or regulation may be enforced unless the Secretary also decides that— “(A) the State law or regulation has no safety benefit; “(B) the State law or regulation is incompatible with the regulation prescribed by the Secretary; or “(C) enforcement of the State law or regulation would cause an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce. “(5) Consideration of effect on interstate commerce.— In deciding under paragraph (4) whether a State law or regulation will cause an unreasonable burden on interstate commerce, the Secretary may consider the effect on interstate commerce of implementation of that law or regulation with the implementation of all similar laws and regulations of other States.” ; (2) by striking subsection (e); and (3) by redesignating subsections (f),(g), and (h) as subsections (e), (f), and (g), respectively. (f) Inspection of Safety Equipment.— Section 31142(a) is amended by striking “part 393 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations” and inserting “the regulations issued under section 31136”. (g) Protection of States Participating in State Groups.— Section 31142(c)(1)(C) is amended to read as follows: “(C) prevent a State from participating in the activities of a voluntary group of States enforcing a program for inspection of commercial motor vehicles; or” .