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- A federal judge in Virginia barred access to CDL data while litigation continues.
- California joined states suing over federal demands for names and license numbers.
- The Trump administration threatened to cut funding to obtain millions of records.
A coalition of states, including California, secured a attempt to obtain personal information of drivers with a commercial driver’s license or permit while a fight over the data continues in federal court.
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“A federal court issued a preliminary injunction once again blocking the Trump Administration’s unlawful attempt to seize personal, sensitive data on commercial drivers,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Friday in a news release. “This ruling ensures that Americans’ privacy rights remain protected as our case continues. California will continue to stand up for the rule of law and work to protect the privacy of Californians and commercial drivers across the country.”
In August, California joined the group of states in the lawsuit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The agency threatened to withhold funding to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators if it did not comply with demands for commercial driver data including drivers’ names, license numbers, licensing states and other information.
A week later, the states were granted a temporary restraining order. On Thursday, a federal judge in Virginia granted the preliminary injunction that bars the federal agency from obtaining this data while the litigation continues.
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The motor vehicle administrators association operates a federally mandated system called the Commercial Driver’s License Information System, which states use to search for specific people applying for a commercial driver’s license. That license is required to operate large, heavy or hazardous commercial vehicles such as semi-trucks.
For example, the information system allows states to confirm that a person applying for a commercial driver’s license does not have such a license in another state.
The federal government has historically used the information system to search for records on an individual basis. The state Attorney General’s Office said the Trump administration threatened to withhold funding and terminate the cooperative agreement unless it has access to the records of millions of people in the system.
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