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DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES
NOTICE OF EMERGENCY RULEMAKING
The Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles (Director), pursuant to the authority set forth in Sections 1825 and 1826 of the Department of Motor Vehicles Establishment Act of 1998, effective March 26, 1999 (D.C. Law 12-175; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-904 and 50-905 (2009 Repl.)), Section 801 of the Motor Vehicle and Safe Driving Amendment Act of 2000, effective April 27, 2001 (D.C. Law 13-289; D.C. Official Code § 50-921 (2009 Repl.)), and Sections 6 and 7 of the District of Columbia Traffic Act of 1925, approved March 3, 1925 (43 Stat. 1121; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-2201.03 and 50-1401.01 (2009 Repl.)), hereby gives notice of the adoption, on an emergency basis, of the following rulemaking that amends Chapter 1 (Issuance of Driver’s Licenses) of Title 18 (Vehicles and Traffic) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR). The emergency rule extends the time period for waiver of the written or road test after a non-commercial driver’s license has expired and repeals the provision pertaining to an applicant who has points on his or her record.
Pursuant to Section 801 of the Motor Vehicle and Safe Driving Amendment Act of 2000, effective April 27, 2001 (D.C. Law 13-289; D.C. Official Code § 50-921 (2009 Repl.)), a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was transmitted to the D.C. Council on May 28, 2013 and was published in the D.C. Register on June 7, 2013 at 60 DCR 8676. Because the D.C. Council is scheduled to be on recess from July 15, 2013, through September 15, 2013, however, the proposed rules may not become final for several months.
This emergency rulemaking is necessitated by the immediate need to promote the public welfare by reducing the possible threat of individuals driving without valid driver’s licenses because of delays in obtaining an appointment for a road test.
This emergency rulemaking was adopted on June 6, 2013 and became effective immediately. This emergency rule will remain in effect until October 3, 2013, one hundred twenty (120) days from the date it became effective, unless earlier superseded by a notice of final rulemaking.
Title 18, VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC, of the DCMR is amended as follows:
Chapter 1, ISSUANCE OF DRIVER’S LICENSES, is amended as follows:
Section 104, EXAMINATION OF APPLICANTS FOR DRIVER'S LICENSES, is amended as follows:
Subsection 104.9 is amended to read as follows:
104.9 Except as provided in Section 111, the Director or his or her designee may waive the requirement that an applicant take a written test or road test in the following circumstances:
(a) The written test may be waived if the applicant presents a District driver’s license that has expired for three hundred sixty five (365) days or less or at any time successfully completes an online course as designated by the Department; and
(b) The road test, including the motorcycle road test in the case of a motorcycle endorsement holder, may be waived if the applicant presents a driver’s license issued by the District that has expired for five hundred and forty-five (545) days or less.
