(The Center Square) – Michigan Democratic U.S. Senator Gary Peters pushed legislation that will support an updated Commercial Driver’s License Information System.
The bill, which was signed by President Joe Biden on Tuesday, will also ensure the system continues to be funded.
U.S. Senate Bill 3475 was supported by the American Trucking Associations, the largest trade association in the trucking industry.
“Congress passed legislation to preserve & strengthen the Commercial Driver’s License Information System, which will make our highways safer for all road users,” said the Association in a statement. “ATA is grateful to House leadership for advancing this commonsense bill.”
Peters co-sponsored the bipartisan legislation with U.S. Senator Todd Young, R-IN, saying it will help “improve safety in the commercial driving industry which impacts communities throughout Michigan and every state.”
“It’s common sense, bipartisan legislation that will help make our roadways safer for everyone,” Peters added.
After first being introduced last December, the bill began moving through committee in July. It quickly made progress, first passing the U.S. Senate unanimously and then the U.S. House with widespread support.
The Commercial Driver’s License Information System is a national database ensuring that commercial drivers only have one license and one complete driver record.
It is accessible by state licensing agencies, allowing them to transfer licenses and view licenses and driving records from other states.
The new bill did grant the Department of Transportation the ability to charge a “reasonable fee for the use of the information system.” It also specifies that DOT may not be charged a fee for access to, use of, or data in the CDLIS.
Lastly, it confirmed the fee structure which funds the system, which will help the program stay funded. The bill stated that all fees must be used “only for the purposes of operating, maintaining, developing, modernizing, or enhancing, or any other use relating to, the information system, including for personnel and administration costs relating to the information system.”
Up until 2022, states paid fees to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators to operate the system. After a brief halt to that fee structure, the bill will now reinstate that system.
Ian Grossman, president and CEO of the AAMVA, said the bill will help preserve “safety on the nation’s roadways.”
“By moving this legislation, Congress reinforces the lifesaving role states play when they identify and take action against convicted drivers that should not be operating commercial vehicles under any circumstances,” Grossman said.
