Florida Sues California Regarding CDLs
You might remember the story of the Florida Turnpike crash and how the federal government is withholding federal funding in California due to English language regulatory enforcement, but the federal government is not the only entity that wants in on the action. Now, the Sunshine State from across the continent is also bringing California to court over its policies.
Details
When it comes to court cases, one of the most important aspects of a trial is the concept of standing, that the person/entity that brings the case must have been affected by it rather than pursuing a nebulous goal. California can potentially argue that Florida has no standing in how the Golden State issues its CDLs, but considering the CDLs are valid for interstate travel, Florida may just argue back that it does have standing.
This is important in the case of the Florida Turnpike crash, where Harjinder Signh, who entered the country illegally in 2018 and who was unable to read English roadsigns, performed an illegal maneuver and caused a triple fatality crash. He was given his CDL in California, and Florida is livid that such a tragedy was allowed to happen.
“Here in Florida, we can do everything right…” Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a statement. “…but we still suffer when Gavin Newsom and liberals on the West Coast allow these illegals in and they encourage, enable them, to get these driver’s licenses and then they cross the country and ultimately take lives.”
Conclusion
Uthmeier says that he is willing to take this case all the way up to the Supreme Court, if push comes to shove, but the issue belies a greater problem underneath: with each state performing its own tests to acquire CDLs, some states might be easier or harder to get a CDL than others, quite the conundrum when drivers often travel nationwide. A potential solution could be to institute an intrastate CDL that is easier to obtain and an interstate one that is held to a higher standard, not unlike how drivers are prohibited from crossing state lines if they are under 21 (which is its own can of worms).
As with all trucking industry lawsuits, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds.
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