U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced that California, Washington, and New Mexico will lose federal funding unless they adopt and enforce English Language Proficiency (ELP) requirements for commercial motor vehicle drivers. The three states have 30 days to come into compliance before the Department will withhold up to 100% of funding from the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. The amount of funding at stake exceeds $50 million.

An investigation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found significant failures by California, Washington, and New Mexico to properly place drivers out-of-service for ELP violations. In addition to the data, California Highway Patrol has also publicly stated it has no intention of following this federal regulation.  

According to the FMCSA investigation, all three states failed to follow federal guidelines to properly place drivers out-of-service for ELP violations. From June 25, when the OOS requirement went into effect, to August 21:

• California – California has failed to adopt and enforce compatible ELP laws and regulations. Of the roughly 34,000 inspections resulting in at least one reported violation, only one inspection involved an ELP violation resulting in a driver being placed out of service. Notably, at least 23 drivers with documented ELP out-of-service violations in other states were later inspected in California – yet the state failed to honor those violations or enforce ELP, allowing unqualified drivers to continue operating on our roads.

• Washington – Washington has adopted the ELP regulation but is failing to enforce it. Of the more than 6,000 inspections resulting in at least one reported violation, only four inspections involved an ELP violation resulting in a driver being placed out of service. Moreover, two inspections resulted in ELP citations but the driver was not placed out-of-service – contrary to federal requirements. In addition, at least 4 drivers with documented ELP out-of-service violations in other states were later inspected in Washington – yet the state failed to honor those violations or enforce ELP, undermining federal safety standards and leaving dangerous gaps in enforcement.

• New Mexico – New Mexico has adopted the ELP regulation but is failing to enforce it. Through August 21, 2025 the state reported placing zero drivers out-of-service for ELP violations and allowed at least seven unqualified drivers already found unable to meet ELP standards to keep driving and endangering the lives of others.