Bill would cement FMCSA’s emergency CDL rule

Following some high-profile crashes, the Trump administration took action to fix what it called a “broken” system regarding non-domiciled CDLs.

On Sept. 26, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was issuing an emergency interim final rule to prevent unqualified drivers from operating 80,000-pound trucks on the nation’s highways.

“We have a government system designed to keep families on the road safe, but that system has been compromised,” Duffy said. “I’m talking about non-domiciled commercial driver’s licenses that are issued across the country. In plain English, this is a license to operate a massive 80,000-pound truck that is being issued to foreign drivers who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. The process for issuing these licenses is absolutely 100% broken. It has become a threat to public safety, and it is a national emergency that requires action right now.”

The rule drastically reduces the number of foreign drivers who could be eligible for a CDL. For instance, an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) would no longer be enough to obtain a non-domiciled CDL. Additionally, asylum seekers, asylees, refugees and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients would be excluded from eligibility. The majority of current non-domiciled CDL-holders possessed an EAD. FMCSA estimated that the changes would take about 194,000 current non-domiciled CDL holders out of the trucking industry.

While the emergency rule remains open to public comment through Nov. 28, it took effect immediately.

But that doesn’t mean the rule will remain in effect forever. It is already being challenged in court, and the next administration could reverse the rule.

That’s where the Non-Domiciled CDL Integrity Act comes in.

HR5688, which was introduced by Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., would simply make the Trump administration’s emergency interim final rule law. Doing so would make any attempts to change course much more difficult.

“If you don’t make it permanent law … you could have a new administration come in and repeal every executive order and every rule and regulation regardless of its merits,” Rouzer said on a recent episode of Trucking with OOIDA. “And we saw that four years ago when President Biden came in. He repealed many of the rules and regulations, as well as many of the executive orders, that President Trump put in place during his first term.”

FMCSA’s emergency interim final rule followed a nationwide review of how states issue non-domiciled CDLs. According to an FMCSA fact sheet, the audit revealed “widespread non-compliance among state driver licensing agencies and a troubling series of fatal crashes caused by non-domiciled CDL holders.”

Days later, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced an enforcement effort that led to the arrest of 130 commercial truck drivers. He said the majority of those arrested were “illegal immigrants,” and he included a photo of a CDL from New York that included “No Name Given.”

Rouzer said this is an example of why the emergency rule and his bill are needed.

“You take inventory of some of those high-profile accidents, and you quickly begin to understand that those were very much preventable had you drivers behind the wheel that knew what they were doing … Even more concerning is the fact that they’re not even citizens of the country or even here legally. They were here illegally and received a CDL in California or other places where they don’t really adhere to the federal standards.”

HR5688 would crack down on states that have been giving CDLs to undeserving drivers, Rouzer said.

“Some of these CDLs don’t even have a name on them … It’s almost unbelievable that would be the case, but, unfortunately, it’s true.”

Rouzer’s bill currently has 29 co-sponsors.

Lawsuit

On Oct. 20, several groups asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to block FMCSA’s interim final rule, saying it would have “devastating consequences” for hundreds of thousands of people who depend on their CDL to earn a living.

The lawsuit was filed by the Public Citizen Litigation Group, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The named plaintiff is Jorge Rivera Lujan, who has been a truck driver for 11 years. According to the groups, Rivera Lujan is a DACA recipient who has lived in the United States since he was 2 years old. He said he tried to renew his CDL on Sept. 30 but was told he could not do so because of the interim final rule.

“Without a commercial driver’s license, I will lose my business and the income that allows me to provide for my family,” Rivera Lujan said. “I have followed all the rules and complied with all requirements set by the government.”

On Oct. 24, the groups asked the court to delay the rule’s effective date until the lawsuit plays out.

“Under the rule, which FMCSA made effective immediately, immigrants who are legally present and authorized to work in the United States are barred from holding commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) – licenses required to operate commercial motor vehicles such as trucks and school buses,” the groups stated in the Oct. 24 motion. “In particular, the rule prohibits asylum seekers, asylees, refugees, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients from holding CDLs, thereby threatening their jobs and livelihoods, with harmful impacts on the states, localities, school systems, businesses, and communities that rely on their essential work. FMCSA cited no evidence showing a connection between immigration status and public safety.”

On Oct. 27, the circuit court panel ordered FMCSA to file a response by Oct. 31. The petitioners then will have until Nov. 3 to reply. LL