On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced an emergency order to tighten the rules around non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses (CDLs), with special attention on California.
What triggered this: A federal audit found that several states, especially California, were giving out CDLs to foreign drivers who were not supposed to get them or whose paperwork was out of date.
- Over 25% of these licenses in California were found to be wrongly issued.
- The DOT said these problems created a real hazard on American roads.
What’s changing: From now on, non-citizens will need stricter checks before they can qualify for a non-domiciled CDL. This includes having a work visa and passing a federal immigration check.
- California has to stop issuing these CDLs for now, hunt down any that don’t meet the rules, and fix or cancel them within 30 days—or risk losing federal highway money.
- Other states that got called out for problems are Colorado, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington.
What they’re saying: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy called the findings “disturbing” and said, "Licenses to operate a massive, 80,000-pound truck are being issued to dangerous foreign drivers—often times illegally.”
The new emergency rules go into effect right away, reported the U.S. Department of Transportation.
If California doesn’t comply, the state could see up to $160 million in highway funds withheld—and the penalty doubles if the issue drags into another year.