CDL KNOWLEDGE TEST; WAIVE                                               H.B. 4787 (S-1):

                                                                                         SUMMARY OF BILL

                                                                         REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

House Bill 4787 (Substitute S-1 as reported)

Sponsor:  Representative Gregory Markkanen

House Committee: Transportation

Senate Committee:  Transportation and Infrastructure

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Michigan Vehicle Code to allow the Secretary of State to waive the knowledge test required for the issuance of a commercial driver license for an individual with military motor vehicle experience.

Under the Code, an individual must be at least 18 years old before he or she is issued a vehicle group designation or indorsement, or at least 21 years old and has been approved by the Transportation Security Administration for a hazardous material endorsement before he or she is issued a hazardous material endorsement on a driver license. The individual also must pass a knowledge and driving skills test that complies with Federal standards. (An individual with a license that has been issued a vehicle group designation, a vehicle group indorsement, or a hazardous material endorsement is commonly considered to have been issued a CDL.)

The Code allows the SOS to waive the driving skills test described above for an individual with military motor vehicle experience if the individual, at the time of application, certifies and provides evidence satisfactory to the SOS that he or she continuously met all the Federal requirements for a CDL during the two-year period before the date of application for the CDL. Under the bill, the SOS also could waive the knowledge test for an individual who met these requirements.

The Code prohibits the SOS from issuing a commercial learner's permit or a CDL, and allows the SOS to cancel a commercial learner's permit or a CDL, if the applicant is listed on the National Driver Register or the Commercial Driver's License Information System, or is listed as being disqualified from operating a commercial motor vehicle in the driving records of the state in which the applicant was licensed previously. The SOS may not renew or upgrade an applicant's CDL for the same reasons. Under the bill, the provisions described above also would apply to an applicant who, beginning January 6, 2023, was listed on the National Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse.

MCL 257.312f                                             Legislative Analyst:  Tyler VanHuyse

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.

Date Completed:  12-6-21                                       Fiscal Analyst:  Joe Carrasco

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.