California Disputes FMCSA on Non-Domiciled CDL Compliance
DMV Says Technical Issues Don’t Warrant Grant Cuts
Key Takeaways:
- California formally defended its handling of non-domiciled commercial driver licenses as compliant with federal law in an Oct. 26 letter to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
- The FMCSA had warned California it could lose up to $316 million in future federal highway funds for alleged “substantial noncompliance” in issuing licenses to ineligible drivers.
- The federal agency is reviewing California’s response as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatens escalating funding cuts and potential loss of CDL-issuing authority if the state fails to comply.
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California formally defended its past handling of non-domiciled commercial driver licenses as “substantially compliant” with federal law, while characterizing a threat to withhold federal grants as inappropriate.
Steve Gordon, director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, outlined California’s formal response in a 16-page letter to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Oct. 26.
FMCSA, through its chief counsel Jesse Elison, about potentially losing federal grants for “substantial noncompliance” in adhering to FMCSA regulations in issuing non-domiciled CDLs and commercial license permits.
Giving California a 30-day deadline to respond, FMCSA warned the federal government could issue “a final determination of substantial noncompliance” and withhold up to $158 million in fiscal year 2027 funds and double that amount to $316 million in FY 2028 for further noncompliance.
“Once funds are withheld following a substantial noncompliance determination, they are no longer available for apportionment to California,” Elison told the state.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had accused California of having the most “egregious” licensing situation of any state, with 25% of its non-domiciled CDLs in violation of federal rules.
Duffy. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg)
After receiving FMCSA’s notice, California conducted a comprehensive audit, reviewing 65,000 records of all non-domiciled CDLs and CLPs. The state found “certain technical limitations in its systems, and it is duly working toward correcting those issues. However, DMV’s audit also revealed that, despite these technical limitations, its commercial driver’s license issuance policies and practices were substantially compliant with applicable federal requirements.”
While Gordon acknowledged the state found issues that now are being addressed, the audit “did not corroborate a substantial failure to comply with relevant federal regulations, and any limitations in DMV’s systems do not justify a withdrawal of federal highway funding.”
RELATED:Lawmakers Urge DOT Crackdown on Fraudulent CDL Mills
Gordon argued that “FMCSA faults DMV and finds noncompliance for practices that were explicitly approved by the Department of ýland Security. Accordingly, it is not appropriate for FMCSA to withhold federal highway funding or take any other adverse action at this time.”
FMCSA noted its auditors found CDLs and CLPs issued in California to ineligible drivers and also to drivers whose licenses remained valid years beyond the expiration of their legal U.S. residency status.
Gordon countered this point. He said the DMV found “20,000 non-domiciled CDLs had expiration dates that exceeded their legal presence document, but the majority of these were issued appropriately” through the federal government’s SAVE system and approved according to DHS methodology.
He told FMCSA that California “intends to fully comply” with Duffy’s emergency rule with tougher non-domiciled CDL requirements when the state is able to restart issuing these licenses. In the meantime, DMV wants to have an informal discussion with FMCSA to create a mutually agreeable schedule for California “to implement corrective measures.”
(US Department of Transportation via YouTube)
FMCSA is evaluating California’s response. However, Duffy pointed again to California during an Oct. 30 press conference on states issuing noncompliant CDLs.
“California is less than cooperative. We’re in a process of going through a review and we have the opportunity to pull $160 million of additional dollars from the state of California. That’s about 4% of the money that we send California from DOT. We’ll be able to pull another 4% and another 4% if they don’t comply,” Duffy said. “Eventually we can pull their ability to issue commercial driver’s licenses. We will get compliance. They will comply.”
Duffy announced he would pull $40 million in federal funds from California for failing to enforce a revived English-language proficiency testing required for truckers found having questionable abilities to read highway signs and communicate sufficiently with roadside inspectors.
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