The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. (1) Aftercare--The second phase in treatment for alcohol, inhalant, and/or drug dependency. This phase usually follows inpatient treatment or intensive outpatient treatment, and may consist of weekly counseling sessions. The frequency and duration of these counseling sessions is designated by the treatment program's staff physician.
2. (2) Air blank--A reading by an evidential breath testing device (EBT) of ambient air containing no alcohol; in EBTs using gas chromatography technology, a reading of the device's internal standard.
3. (3) Alcohol--The intoxicating agent in beverage alcohol, ethyl alcohol, or other low molecular weight alcohols including methyl and isopropyl alcohol.
4. (4) Alcohol concentration--The alcohol in a volume of breath expressed in terms of grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath as indicated by an evidential breath test.
5. (5) Alcohol test--A scientifically recognized chemical test which establishes an individual's blood alcohol level or a breath test which establishes an individual's breath alcohol concentration.
6. (6) Alcoholic beverage--A beverage which contains alcohol.
7. (7) Breath alcohol technician (BAT)--An individual who instructs and assists individuals in the alcohol testing process and operates an evidential breath testing device (EBT).
8. (8) Chain of custody--Procedures to account for the integrity of each urine specimen by tracking its handling and storage from point of specimen collection to final disposition of the specimen, utilizing an approved department chain of custody form from time of collection to receipt by the laboratory, and upon receipt by the laboratory, an appropriate laboratory chain of custody form to account for the sample or sample aliquots within the laboratory.
9. (9) Chain of custody form--A form which, at a minimum, includes an entry documenting date and purpose each time a specimen or aliquot is handled or transferred and identifying every individual in the chain of custody.
10. (10) Collection container--A container into which the employee urinates to provide the urine sample used for a drug test.
11. (11) Collection site--A place designated by the department where individuals present themselves for the purpose of providing a specimen of urine to be analyzed for the presence of drugs.
12. (12) Collection site person--A specifically trained person who instructs and assists individuals at a collection site and who receives and makes a screening examination of the urine specimen provided by those individuals.
13. (13) Commercial driver--An employee who operates a commercial motor vehicle on a routine, intermittent, or occasional basis for the department.

14. (14) Commercial motor vehicle--A motor vehicle or combination of motor vehicles used to transport passengers or property if the motor vehicle:

    1. (A) has a gross combination weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds inclusive of a towed unit with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds;
    2. (B) has a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds;
    3. (C) is designed to transport 16 or more passengers, including the commercial driver; or
    4. (D) is used in the transportation of materials found to be hazardous for the purposes of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act and which require the motor vehicle to be placarded under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 C.F.R. Part 172, Subpart F).
15. (15) Conviction of a DUI/DWI--A conviction, probated sentence, appeal, or deferred adjudication of a conviction or probated sentence while on-duty or off-duty for driving a commercial or non-commercial vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs or while intoxicated (DUI/DWI).

16. (16) Crewmember--An individual who:

    1. (A) is on board a vessel acting under the authority of a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner's document whether or not the individual is a member of the vessel's crew;
    2. (B) is engaged or employed on board a vessel owned in the United States that is required by law or regulation to engage, employ, or be operated by an individual holding a license, certificate of registry, or merchant mariner's document;
    3. (C) occupies a position, or performs the duties and functions of a position, required by the vessel's Certificate of Inspection;
    4. (D) performs the duties and functions of patrolmen or watchmen; or
    5. (E) is specifically assigned the duties of warning, mustering, or controlling the movement of passengers during emergencies.
17. (17) Dangerous chemical or material--A flammable, combustible, toxic, or corrosive chemical or material which has the potential to cause serious bodily harm to the traveling public and other employees if handled improperly.
18. (18) Dangerous drug--A narcotic drug, controlled substance, and marijuana as defined in the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, 21 U.S.C. §802.
19. (19) Department--The Texas Department of Transportation.
20. (20) DHHS guidelines--Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Drug Testing Programs of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (53 FedReg 11970; April 11, 1988).
21. (21) Directly involved--Involvement in a serious accident or a serious marine accident on a department ferry, in which the involved employee's order, action, or failure to act is determined to be, or cannot be ruled out as, a causative factor in the events leading to or causing that accident.
22. (22) District--One of 25 geographical areas, managed by a district engineer, in which the department conducts its primary work activities.
23. (23) District engineer--The chief administrative officer in charge of a district of the department.
24. (24) Division--An organizational unit in the department's Austin headquarters.
25. (25) Division director--The chief administrative officer of a division of the department.
26. (26) Drive for the department--Driving a vehicle, including an employee's personal vehicle, when driven during the course and scope of employment, or operating motor-driven equipment, including but not limited to rollers, tractors, graders, ferries, and aircraft for the department, notwithstanding ownership of the vehicle or equipment and the frequency of driving or operating duties.
27. (27) Drug test--A scientifically recognized chemical test administered in accordance with DHHS guidelines and which analyzes an individual's urine for evidence of marijuana, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine (PCP), and amphetamines. This test consists of laboratory testing in two parts, an initial test and a confirmatory test, respectively conducted with portions of the same original specimen.
28. (28) DUI/DWI Policy and Driving Requirements Policy Statement of Notification--A department form signed by employees which acknowledges their awareness of the DUI/DWI policy and Driving Requirements policy.
29. (29) Employee--A person employed by the department in a full-time, part-time, temporary, project, or seasonal position. This does not include a temporary employee under contract to the department.
30. (30) Employee Assistance Program (EAP)--A program designed to assist employees and their immediate family members in dealing with emotional and personal problems, including alcohol, inhalant, and drug abuse, affecting or potentially affecting the employee's work performance and safety.
31. (31) Employee Assistant Program counselors--Licensed physicians (Medical Doctors or Doctors of Osteopathy), or licensed or certified psychologists (Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists or other regulating board), social workers (Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners or other regulating board), employee assistance professionals (Employee Assistance Professionals Association, Inc. or other regulating board), or addiction counselors (certified by the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors Certification Commission or by the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium/Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse or other regulating board) with knowledge of and clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of alcohol and drug-related disorders.
32. (32) Evidential breath testing device (EBT)--A device approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the evidential testing of breath and placed on NHTSA's "Conforming Products List of Evidential Breath Measurement Devices" (CPL).
33. (33) Final applicant--A person who is given a conditional offer of initial employment, or a department employee who is conditionally approved for a transfer or promotion.
34. (34) Human Resources Division--An organizational unit in the department's Austin headquarters which oversees human resource functions for the department.
35. (35) Impaired performance--The inability to perform assigned duties or to perform those duties in a safe and effective manner.
36. (36) Inappropriate use of an inhalant--The use of an inhalant in a manner other than that for which it was intended and which causes or is known to cause intoxication.
37. (37) Incident--An action or situation that raises a reasonable suspicion of drug or alcohol misuse.
38. (38) Inhalant--A breathable chemical that produces mind-altering vapors, including but not limited to volatile solvents, aerosols, nitrites, and anesthetics.
39. (39) Investigation--The collection and analysis of information.
40. (40) Laboratory--A laboratory certified to meet the standards of the DHHS guidelines.
41. (41) Mandatory referral--A referral to the EAP which requires an employee to report to the EAP and successfully complete treatment or be terminated from employment with the department.
42. (42) Medical review officer (MRO)--A licensed physician (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy) responsible for receiving laboratory results generated by the department's program who has knowledge of substance abuse disorders, and appropriate medical training to interpret and evaluate an individual's confirmed positive test result together with his or her medical history and any other relevant biomedical information.
43. (43) Office director--The chief administrative officer of a specialized organizational unit of the department that is headquartered in Austin.
44. (44) Operation of a vessel--To navigate, steer, direct, manage, or sail a vessel, or to control, monitor, or maintain the vessel's main or auxiliary equipment or systems, including determining the vessel's position, piloting, directing the vessel along a desired trackline, keeping account of the vessel's progress through the water, ordering or executing changes in course, rudder position or speed, and maintaining a lookout; controlling, operating, monitoring, maintaining, or testing the vessel's propulsion and steering systems, electric power generators, bilge, ballast, fire, and cargo pumps, deck machinery including winches, windlasses, and lifting equipment, lifesaving equipment and appliances, firefighting systems and equipment, and navigation and communication equipment; and mooring, anchoring, and line handling, loading or discharging of cargo or fuel, assembling or disassembling of tows, and maintaining the vessel's stability or watertight integrity.
45. (45) Possession of alcohol or dangerous drugs--Having alcohol or dangerous drugs in an area under an employee's effective control.
46. (46) Program--The department's substance abuse program.
47. (47) Safety sensitive position--A full-time, part-time, temporary, project, or seasonal position which requires the performance of activities that are assigned and performed at least four times within a 12-month period which if performed with inattentiveness, errors in judgement, diminished coordination, dexterity, or composure could clearly result in mistakes that could present a real and imminent threat to the personal health and safety of other employees or the public, and which are performed with such independence that it cannot be reasonably assumed that those mistakes could be prevented by a supervisor or another employee, including activities having one or more of the following characteristics: a direct, immediate relationship to safety and intimately related to the prevention of harm to the traveling public or other employees; fraught with extraordinary peril such that a single alcohol or drug-related lapse by an employee could have irreversible and calamitous consequences; and performed in an extraordinarily hazardous setting such that careless performance carries with it the attendant risk of catastrophic consequences.

48. (48) Serious accident--Any accident that occurs while performing a safety sensitive function or driving a commercial motor vehicle and which results in:

    1. (A) a death or an injury to a person, other than an employee directly involved in the accident, requiring professional medical treatment beyond first-aid;
    2. (B) an injury to an employee directly involved in an accident requiring professional medical treatment beyond first-aid who is unable to return to work the day following the injury to perform regular duties;
    3. (C) damage to a vehicle which causes it to be inoperable; or
    4. (D) receipt of a citation under state or local law for a moving traffic violation arising from the accident.

49. (49) Serious marine accident--Any reportable marine accident which results in:

    1. (A) a death or an injury to a person other than an employee directly involved in the accident requiring professional medical treatment beyond first aid;
    2. (B) an injury to an employee directly involved in an accident requiring professional medical treatment beyond first-aid who is unable to return to work to perform regular duties;
    3. (C) damage to property in excess of $100,000;
    4. (D) actual or constructive total loss of any ferry subject to Coast Guard inspection under 46 U.S.C. §3301, or not subject to Coast Guard inspection if 100 gross tons or more;
    5. (E) a discharge of oil of 10,000 gallons or more into navigable waters of the United States; or
    6. (F) a discharge of a reportable quantity of a hazardous substance into navigable waters or the environment of the United States.
50. (50) Specimen bottle--A bottle, after being labeled and sealed, used to transmit a urine sample to the laboratory.
51. (51) Substance control officer--An employee who administers the Substance Abuse Program.
52. (52) Successful completion of treatment--Completion of a treatment program, the composition and length of which is to be prescribed by the EAP counselor or the treatment program's staff physician, which may include aftercare. This includes compliance with all EAP treatment recommendations and requirements and passing all required drug and alcohol tests while in treatment.
53. (53) Treatment--Medical and/or psychological treatment for alcohol, inhalant, and/or drug dependency, which may consist of inpatient treatment followed by aftercare, intensive outpatient treatment followed by aftercare, or educational and/or counseling sessions.
54. (54) United States Department of Transportation (DOT)--The cabinet level department of the United States government administering regulations requiring alcohol or drug testing (14 C.F.R. Parts 61, 63, 65, 121, and 135; 49 C.F.R. Parts 199, 219, 382, 653, and 654), in accordance with 49 C.F.R. Part 40.
55. (55) Use of alcohol or a dangerous drug--The consumption of a beverage, mixture, or preparation, including a medication, containing alcohol or the taking of a dangerous drug (whether orally, by inhalation, or by injection), or being under the influence of alcohol or a dangerous drug.
56. (56) Workplace--All department offices, construction sites, temporary laboratory sites, maintenance sites, ferries, and any other location where an employee performs assigned duties.

Source Note:The provisions of this §4.31 adopted to be effective October 27, 1995, 20 TexReg 8461; amended to be effective December 13, 1998, 23 TexReg 12452.