New York State is $73 million poorer as of yesterday thanks to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy making good on a threat to withhold federal funds because of how the state handles issuing some commercial driver’s licenses.
At least one trucking advocacy organization is praising the feds’ move.
On Thursday Duffy announced the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is withholding over $73 million from the state for not revoking non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses. Duffy maintains the state issued some of these licenses illegally.
In a statement announcing the FMCSA’s move, the DOT cited results of an audit last December its said found “the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) had been routinely issuing CDLs to foreign drivers illegally. The federal audit exposed a 53% failure rate in the records sampled, indicating a total collapse in the administration of New York’s non-domiciled CDL program. ”
The DOT also said that out of 200 records it reviewed, 107 were issued in violation of federal law — a failure rate of over 53%. The agencxyc also said the New York DMV’s systems defaulted to issuing 8-year licenses to foreign drivers for non-REAL ID licenses, regardless of when their legal status expired.
In total, the $73,502,543 being withheld by the FMCSA represents 4% of New York’s National Highway Performance Program and Surface Transportation Program Block Grant funds.
“FMCSA’s mission is safety,” said FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs. “That means ensuring that every commercial driver on the road is properly vetted and qualified. New York’s continued refusal to fix these failures undermines that mission, and we will not allow federal dollars to support a system that falls short of the law.”
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association praised the federal government’s action.
“The days of exploiting cheap labor on the basis of false ‘driver shortage’ claims are over,” said OOIDA President Sean Spencer. “OOIDA and truckers across America applaud Secretary Duffy and FMCSA Administrator Barrs for responding to our concerns by taking substantial actions to crack down on the irresponsible issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, particularly in New York.
“For too long, loopholes in this program have allowed unqualified drivers onto our highways, putting professional truckers and the motoring public at risk. These enforcement actions will remove bad actors from the road and restore accountability to the system. Today’s action is an important step toward safer highways and a stronger, more professional trucking industry.”
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