A trade group of Chinese truck drivers has been denied a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would have stopped California from its pause in renewing commercial driver licenses that is part of the state’s broader battle with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
The Chinese American Truckers Association had filed suit against FMCSA on January 7. Less than two weeks later, on Tuesday, Judge Jesus Bernal of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied that group’s request for the TRO.
In his decision, Judge Bernal cited the California vs. FMCSA battle that has led to the federal agency denying the state funding because of objections to the pace that the Golden State has undertaken in cracking down on non-domiciled CDLs granted by the state.
“FMCSA has made clear that California’s issuance of non-domiciled CDLs, which FMCSA interprets broadly and includes renewals, is prohibited,” the judge said in the TRO denial.
Speculative vs. reality
Quoting the Chinese trade group’s lawsuit, Judge Bernal said the plaintiffs charge California with reacting via “a speculative fear of federal consequences.” But the judge says that downplays the reality of what has happened to the state so far over the dispute with FMCSA, the judge wrote.
To back that up, Judge Bernald cites FMCSA’s decision to withhold what it says is more than $150 million in federal funding because of what the federal agency says is California’s noncompliance “with federal standards.”
“Should California continue to administer its non-domiciled CDL program in a manner FMCSA deems out of compliance with federal standards, FMCSA can withhold additional money and even decertify California’ s entire CDL program,” Judge Bernal wrote. Such a development would be “catastrophic,” Judge Bernal said.
Part of the broader dispute
California and FMCSA are engaged in a standoff over California’s delay in cancelling more than 17,000 CDLs before early January. That already has led to the loss of federal funding referenced by Judge Bernal in his decision. California has complied with other steps demanded by FMCSA, and the action on non-domiciled renewals falls in that category.
The trade group’s lawsuit lists nine of its members who were affected by the pause in CDL renewals. In the lawsuit, the Chinese group summed up what it said is the problem for some of its members.
“The (Department of Motor Vehicles) has adopted and/or implemented a blanket policy or practice of refusing to accept, process or adjudicate individualized renewal, replacement and/or extension requests for non-domiciled CDLs approaching expiration based on a categorical pause in non-domiciled CDL processing,” the lawsuit said.
In response, Judge Bernal wrote: “While the court is sympathetic to those individuals who are allegedly impacted by the pause, it cannot be that the interest of those nine individuals (and many other non-domiciled CDL holders seeking replacement or renewal) outweigh the state’s and public’s interest in continued issuance capacity for all CDLs in the state,” Judge Bernal added.
Judge Bernal also spelled out a Catch-22 situation for the drivers. If the TRO were implemented and California resumed processing renewals, FMCSA could decertify the state’s program. The drivers now being affected by the delay in renewals “would be no better than off then they are now,” the judge wrote.
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