CDL KNOWLEDGE TEST; WAIVE H.B. 4787:
SUMMARY OF HOUSE-PASSED BILL
IN COMMITTEE
House Bill 4787 (as passed by the House)
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 (SOS) to waive the knowledge test required for the issuance of a commercial driver license (CDL) 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. (The National Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is an online database established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that provides employers, law enforcement agencies, and state driver licensing agencies information concerning a CDL or commercial learner's permit holder's drug and alcohol program violations.)
MCL 257.312f Legislative Analyst: Tyler VanHuyse