CALIFORNIA – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy warned on August 26 that California, along with Washington and New Mexico could lose federal funding unless the states enforce English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers.
The three states have 30 days to comply or risk losing all Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) funding which provides millions for commercial vehicle inspections, enforcement officers, and safety programs.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) received $30.737 million in MCSAP funding during the 2024-25 state fiscal year.
Duffy cited a recent Florida crash that killed three, saying, “…when states fail to enforce the law, they put the driving public in danger.”
On August 12, trucker Harjinder Singh made an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike, blocking traffic and causing a crash that killed three. Singh, an undocumented immigrant with a California commercial license, was uninjured and now faces vehicular homicide charges.
CHP does not consider ELP a requirement under state law
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that California, Washington, and New Mexico failed to properly place drivers out-of-service for ELP violations.
From June 25 to August 21, only one of about 34,000 inspections in California led to a driver being taken out-of-service for an ELP violation. At least 23 drivers with ELP violations in other states were later inspected in California, but the state did not enforce those violations.
Duffy is also leading a nationwide review of how states issue commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs) to drivers who live out of state, aiming to improve road safety and regulatory consistency.
In June 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring all U.S. truck drivers to speak English. CHP has publicly stated it does not consider this a requirement under state law.
 requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers. ){kind=link}