New York Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Kathy Hochul are suing the federal government for canceling more than $73 million in highway funding.
On April 16, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced it was withholding the funding because the state had failed to revoke illegally issued non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses and commercial learner’s permits. DOT Secretary Sean Duffy called New York the “worst offender” in the United States after an audit of 200 sampled records found that 107 non-domiciled CDLs had been issued in violation of federal law.
“Here’s the truth: New York has always followed federal rules when issuing CDLs, something even the previous Trump administration verified year after year,” said Hochul. “Ripping away money that goes towards critical safety upgrades on our roads is reckless and it is illegal.”
James filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, seeking to overturn DOT’s decision and restore the funding. She noted that New York had previously been found compliant with federal law during DOT’s own reviews.
Federal highway dollars are used for road maintenance, safety improvements, and other infrastructure upgrades across the state.
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