Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday announced plans to "strictly enforce the English language proficiency requirements of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations," including for drivers who don't leave the state.
Abbott directed the Texas Department of Public Safety's Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Troopers and inspectors to conduct English Language Proficiency reviews for all commercial license operators on Texas roadways.
The FMCSA guidance on English language proficiency, updated after President Donald Trump's executive order on the matter, only applies to interstate commercial motor vehicles. However, after a heated back and forth between DOT and states about ELP enforcement, Texas on Thursday announced the step of applying the English language rule to all drivers.
[Related: DOT threatens funding for California, Washington, New Mexico over lax ELP enforcement]
"Truckers play an instrumental role in Texas' robust economy and in keeping our highways safe," said Abbott in a press release announcing the move. "Every commercial driver license operator on Texas roadways must be able to communicate clearly in English to ensure compliance with traffic laws, follow safety directions, and prevent accidents. Today, I am directing DPS to enact zero-tolerance enforcement of these federal safety regulations across the board -- whether drivers are operating across state lines or only within Texas. This approach will keep Texans safe while keeping our economy moving.”
Also in the release, DPS said it had "taken enforcement action against approximately 445 commercial vehicle drivers in Texas for English proficiency violations. Of those, about 28 held Texas licenses, while roughly 336 were licensed in Mexico, with the remainder licensed in other states and countries."
Drivers with a Mexican or Canadian CDL are not eligible for out-of-service violations if they lack ELP.
Finally, Abbott directed DPS to "cease issuing intrastate commercial driver licenses for drivers that cannot speak English sufficiently to communicate with department personnel."
All CDL skills tests must take place in English, but the knowledge test component in Texas can be taken in English or Spanish, according to DPS.
Texas represents one of the country's biggest issuers of non-domiciled CDLs, or CDLs for people who don't live in the state. Trump's executive order called for a review of these CDLs, and Overdrive has reported extensively on the some 50,000 non-domiciled CDLs issued/renewed by Texas in the last decade.
To download the full report detailing non-domiciled CDL issuance in most states across the U.S., documenting a growth trend, use the form below.
