California Governor Gavin

California Governor Gavin Newsom has agreed to require English language proficiency testing for commercial truck and bus drivers, marking a significant policy shift after months of resistance to federal pressure. The change follows escalating action from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which withheld more than $40 million in federal transportation funding beginning in October and warned that an additional $160 million could be suspended if the state did not comply with federal standards. The dispute centered on enforcement of a long-standing federal requirement that commercial drivers be able to read and speak English sufficiently to understand road signs and communicate with officials. California had previously allowed commercial driver’s license exams to be administered in multiple languages, offering testing in as many as 20. Federal officials argued that this practice undermined uniform safety expectations and created inconsistencies in enforcement. The funding standoff ultimately compelled state leaders to align more closely with federal interpretation of the law, illustrating how financial leverage can influence state-level regulatory decisions when public safety is at issue.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy publicly defended the department’s actions, rejecting accusations that the move was politically motivated. He stated that federal authorities should not have had to threaten funding cuts to secure compliance with standards that have long existed in statute. According to Duffy, the core issue is straightforward: drivers operating large commercial vehicles must be capable of reading traffic signs, understanding safety warnings, and communicating clearly with law enforcement during inspections or emergencies. Under the updated enforcement policy, all commercial driver’s license examinations for truck and bus operators in California will now be conducted exclusively in English. Federal law has required English proficiency for decades, but enforcement has varied among states. While some jurisdictions moved toward stricter compliance earlier, others permitted third-party testing vendors to administer exams in different languages. Duffy noted that in certain cases, contractors failed to consistently uphold federal language standards, creating potential gaps in oversight. By contrast, states such as Florida have already implemented English-only CDL testing, a model federal officials point to as evidence that compliance is feasible without disrupting the industry.