Last week, Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., introduced the Non-Domiciled CDL Integrity Act, which would create stricter requirements regarding the issuance of commercial driver’s licenses.
Essentially, HR5688 would implement the U.S. Department of Transportation’s recent interim final rule, “Restoring Integrity to the Issuance of Non-Domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses,” into law.
“The Non-Domiciled CDL Integrity Act is a necessary response to the troubling findings of widespread non-compliance in state licensing agencies and a string of tragic, preventable crashes involving illegal immigrant drivers,” Rouzer said in a news release. “This legislation ensures only individuals with lawful immigration status and a legitimate reason to operate commercial vehicles in the U.S. are entrusted with CDLs. We’re closing dangerous loopholes and restoring accountability. We must never, under any circumstance, jeopardize public safety by allowing those here illegally to get behind the wheel of a big rig.”
On Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association issued a Call to Action, asking truck drivers to reach out to their lawmakers about supporting the bill.
“Rep. David Rouzer has introduced legislation that goes hand-in-hand with President Trump’s and DOT Secretary Sean Duffy’s plan to take non-domiciled CDLs off the road. HR5688, the Non-Domiciled CDL Integrity Act, would permanently enact the restrictions on non-domiciled CDLs that were announced by the Trump administration in September,” OOIDA wrote on its Fighting For Truckers website. “Contact your representative today and ask them to support this legislation to prevent unqualified individuals from ever getting a CDL.”
OOIDA has made it easy for truckers to contact their lawmakers about Rouzer’s bill. Go to FightingForTruckers.com to reach your representative about HR5688.
Interim final rule
On Sept. 26, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy held a news conference to announce that an interim final rule was being issued to address concerns about non-domiciled CDLs being issued to unqualified drivers.
“The process for issuing these licenses is absolutely 100% broken,” Duffy said. “It has become a threat to public safety, and it is a national emergency that requires action right now.”
“Through this interim final rule, FMCSA restores the integrity of the commercial driver’s license issuance process by significantly limiting the authority for state driver’s license agencies to issue and renew non-domiciled commercial learner’s permits (CLPs) and CDLs to individuals domiciled in a foreign jurisdiction,” the rule states. “This change strengthens the security of the CDL issuance process and enhances the safety of the commercial motor vehicle operations.”
According to the DOT, a recent audit into non-domiciled CDLs discovered systemic non-compliance across several states, including California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington and Texas. FMCSA said it discovered a “large number” of non-domiciled CDLs issued to drivers who were ineligible and whose licenses remained valid after their lawful presence in the U.S. expired.
As of Oct. 14, Rouzer’s bill had nine co-sponsors. LL
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