SBTC faces uphill battle in bid to strip New York, California of CDL authority, experts say

The Small Business in Transportation Coalition (SBTC) has sharpened its legal arguments in its effort to force the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to decertify the commercial driver’s license (CDL) programs of New York and California. However, transportation experts say the unprecedented lawsuit faces long odds.

In filings submitted July 10 to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, SBTC argued that federal law requires the U. S. Department of Transportation to decertify any state found in substantial noncompliance with federal commercial driver’s license regulations and asked the court to compel the agency to act.

The filings mark the next procedural step in SBTC’s petition after the court docketed the case last month. window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag. defineSlot('/21776187881/FW-Responsive-Main_Content-Slot1', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0').

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§31312 makes decertification mandatory once the transportation secretary determines a state is in substantial noncompliance with federal CDL standards. SBTC also argues DOT unlawfully delayed acting on its May 27, 2025, petition requesting decertification orders against New York and California.

The coalition further asks the court to immediately suspend the CDL authority of both states until they are found to be in substantial compliance with federal law.

Attorney: DOT has multiple enforcement tools Greg Reed, a transportation attorney and partner at Hanson Bridgett LLP, said SBTC’s argument rests largely on its interpretation of one word in the statute — “shall’ — but he believes the Department of Transportation retains broad discretion over how it enforces CDL compliance.

“They really hinge their argument on this particular use of ‘shall,’” Reed told FreightWaves. “But even with the use of ‘shall’ in the statute, the DOT has a significant amount of discretion in terms of how it addresses states that are non-compliant with the CDL requirements.”

Rather than requiring immediate decertification, Reed said Congress gave DOT several enforcement options, including withholding federal highway funds while states work toward compliance. “The DOT has various tools at its disposal,” Reed said.

“They might be pursued in different orders or in different manners to achieve state compliance, but there’s no requirement that a state be immediately decertified upon finding that they are not compliant with the CDL requirements.” window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag.

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push(function() {googletag. display('div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'); }); “You’re talking about two of the largest states for transportation, two of the largest states when it comes to CDL issuance, and the inability of these states to bring drivers into the industry would very quickly and significantly decrease capacity.”

Greg Reed, a transportation attorney An unprecedented legal challenge Reed said the case is unusual because FMCSA has never taken the extraordinary step of decertifying a state’s CDL program. “It’s certainly unprecedented in the context of requiring decertification of a state’s CDL regime,” Reed said.

“The Department of Transportation … has never seriously pursued decertification and has only really previously threatened withholding of funds.” That history, Reed said, makes it unlikely a federal court would compel the agency to take such a dramatic enforcement action.

“It would certainly be a unique event for a court to force the DOT to take action as SBTC has requested,” Reed said. Reed also questioned whether SBTC can demonstrate the type of concrete legal injury necessary to prevail in federal court. window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag.

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push(function() {googletag. display('div-gpt-ad-1709668086344-0'); }); “The prospect of further injury … is just too tenuous and remote f