Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Oct. 15 he will withhold $40 million from California because it is failing to enforce English-language requirements for truckers. DOT launched an investigation into state commercial driver’s license (CDL) requirement enforcement following a deadly Florida crash involving a foreign truck driver who made an illegal U-turn. The driver was licensed in California. Duffy said the investigation found significant failures in the way California is enforcing rules that took effect in June after one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders. California had issued the driver a commercial license, but these English speaking rules were issued after the crash.
Truckers are supposed to be disqualified if they can’t demonstrate English proficiency, and Duffy said the driver involved in the crash should not have been given a commercial license because of his lack of proficiency in English and his immigration status. The crash has become increasingly political, with the governors of California and Florida criticizing each other and Duffy highlighting the administration’s immigration concerns in interviews.
California maintains “there is no federal requirement that English language proficiency be established through ‘roadside inspections.’ 49 C.F.R. § 391.11(b)(2) has not been amended to require roadside tests for English language proficiency. And the FMCSA’s guidelines on assessing English language proficiency do not obligate State Lead Agencies to conduct examinations or impose enforcement procedures during roadside inspections,” a spokesman stated.
DOT said that to get this funding reinstated, California must adopt regulations to enforce the English rules and ensure that state inspectors are testing truck drivers' English skills during roadside inspections and pulling anyone that fails out of service.
In addition to this English language issue, Duffy has threatened to pull another $160 million from California because of the way the state issues CDLs. DOT significantly restricted who can qualify for those licenses last month.