(a) Motor carriers and drivers shall comply with the controlled substances and alcohol use, transportation, and testing requirements of the United States Secretary of Transportation as set forth in Part 382 (commencing with Section 382.101) of, and Sections 392.4 and 392.5 of, Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(b) (1) A motor carrier shall make available for inspection, upon the request of an authorized employee of the department, copies of all results and other records pertaining to controlled substances and alcohol use and testing conducted pursuant to federal law, as specified in subdivision (a), including those records contained in individual driver qualification files.

(2) For the purposes of complying with the return-to-duty alcohol or controlled substances test requirements, or both, of Section 382.309 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations and the followup alcohol or controlled substances test requirements, or both, of Section 382.311 of that title, the department may use those test results to monitor drivers who are motor carriers.

(3) Evidence derived from a positive test result in the possession of a motor carrier shall not be admissible in a criminal prosecution concerning unlawful possession, sale, or distribution of controlled substances.

(c) A drug or alcohol testing consortium, as defined in Section 382.107 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, shall mail a copy of all drug and alcohol positive test result summaries to the department within three days of the test. This requirement applies only to drug and alcohol positive tests of those drivers employed by motor carriers who operate terminals within this state.

(d) A transit agency receiving federal financial assistance under Section 3, 9, or 18 of the Federal Transit Act, or under Section 103(e)(4) of Title 23 of the United States Code, shall comply with the controlled substances and alcohol use and testing requirements of the United States Secretary of Transportation as set forth in Part 655 (commencing with Section 655.1) of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(e) The owner-operator shall notify all other motor carriers with whom he or she is under contract when the owner-operator has met the requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 15242. Notwithstanding subdivision (i), a violation of this subdivision is an infraction.

(f) Except as provided in Section 382.301 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, an applicant for employment as a commercial driver or an owner-operator seeking to provide transportation services and meeting the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 34624, may not be placed on duty by a motor carrier until a preemployment test for controlled substances and alcohol use meeting the requirements of the federal regulations referenced in subdivision (a) have been completed and a negative test result has been reported.

(g) An applicant for employment as a commercial driver or an owner-operator, seeking to provide transportation services and meeting the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 34624, may not be placed on duty by a motor carrier until the motor carrier has completed a full investigation of the driver’s employment history meeting the requirements of the federal regulations cited under subdivision (a). Every motor carrier, whether making or receiving inquiries concerning a driver’s history, shall document all activities it has taken to comply with this subdivision.

(h) A motor carrier that utilizes a preemployment screening service to review applications is in compliance with the employer duties under subdivisions (e) and (f) if the preemployment screening services that are provided satisfy the requirements of state and federal law and the motor carrier abides by any findings that would, under federal law, disqualify an applicant from operating a commercial vehicle.

(i) It is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for six months and a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both the imprisonment and fine, for a person to willfully violate this section. As used in this subdivision, “willfully” has the same meaning as defined in Section 7 of the Penal Code.

(j) This section does not apply to a peace officer, as defined in Section 830.1 or 830.2 of the Penal Code, who is authorized to drive vehicles described in Section 34500, or to a firefighter, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 15250.6, who is authorized to operate firefighting equipment as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 15250.6, if that peace officer or firefighter is participating in a substance abuse detection program within the scope of his or her employment.

(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 451, Sec. 59. (SB 491) Effective January 1, 2016.)