Following reports from multiple news outlets that California plans to reissue 17,000 non-domiciled CDLs, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles provided a statement to Land Line.
“Commercial drivers are an important part of our economy – our supply chains don’t move and our communities don’t stay connected without them,” a spokesperson for the California agency said. “DMV stands ready to resume issuing commercial driver’s licenses, including corrected licenses to eligible drivers. Given, we are in compliance with federal regulations and state law, this delay by the federal government not only hurts our trucking industry, but it also leaves eligible drivers in the cold without any resolution during this holiday season. We are hopeful the federal government will do the right thing and allow California to reissue these commercial driver’s licenses promptly.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation and California have often been at odds over the use of non-domiciled CDLs, as well as what meets federal English-language proficiency standards.
The DOT has been working for months to pull back the non-domiciled CDL process in the United States. In late September, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued an emergency interim final rule that would pull non-domiciled CDLs from nearly 200,000 individuals. The agency said the “broken” system allowed thousands of unqualified people to receive CDLs. However, a lawsuit has put the rule’s effective date on hold, and FMCSA is now reviewing thousands of comments before it unveils a final rule.
Considering that the rule is not in effect, California appears to see an opening to reissue non-domiciled CDLs that it believes comply with current regulations. Additionally, California argues that its CDL holders are involved in fatal crashes at a rate “far below the national average.”
According to California, the state DMV met with FMCSA officials on Dec. 18 to discuss the steps for the agency to review the state’s steps to achieve compliance.
The development comes just a week after DOT Secretary Sean Duffy said California cooperated to pull 17,000 “unlawful” non-domiciled CDLs. LL
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