Overview

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said California is the only state not enforcing English language requirements for commercial driver enforcement, prompting a pause of $40,685,225 in MCSAP highway safety funds.
• To restore funding, California must adopt and actively enforce rules compatible with the federal English standard, conduct roadside English assessments, and place drivers who fail out of service.
• California officials pushed back, saying the state followed licensing rules and that its commercial drivers have a lower crash rate than the national average; the CHP has indicated it will not place drivers out of service absent state law.
• An FMCSA audit found systemic non-compliance across several states and labeled California “grossly negligent,” reporting that more than 25% of certain noncitizen CDLs were improperly issued; DOT also paused non‑domiciled CDL issuance in the state in September.
• The enforcement drive intensified after an Aug. 12 Florida crash that killed three people, with investigators saying the driver failed an English assessment; DOT cites roughly 34,000 California inspections since June with only one English-based out-of-service action and 23 drivers allowed to continue despite ELP violations recorded elsewhere.