Tennessee is taking steps to ensure that its CDL records comply with federal requirements.
On Jan. 8, the state announced that it would be sending a notice in the mail to 8,800 of Tennessee’s 150,000 CDL holders, asking them to provide proof of citizenship or lawful presence.
The announcement follows several actions by the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure that states revoke any non-domiciled CDLs deemed to be illegal. Recently, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced it was pulling $160 million in funding from California and threatened to withhold nearly $50 million from North Carolina.
“This action is designed to ensure that all CDL records meet today’s state and federal requirements and are in line with the presidential directive,” said Russell Shoup, assistant commissioner of Tennessee’s Driver Services Division. “Drivers whose files pre-date modern documentation rules will receive instructions on how to complete their records.”
Not every Tennessee CDL holder will receive a letter. However, the ones who do will need to make the necessary updates in person at a state driver’s services center.
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 federal lawsuit has put the rule’s effective date on hold, and FMCSA is now reviewing thousands of comments before it unveils a final rule.
In addition to California and North Carolina, the DOT has previously issued threats to Colorado, New York, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas and Washington over non-domiciled CDLs and English-proficiency regulations. LL
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