What's happening
This bill creates a pilot program allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to obtain restricted Class A commercial driver’s licenses in New York.
Why it matters
The bill creates a path for 18- to 20-year-olds to enter the trucking workforce sooner, potentially helping address driver shortages and supporting New York’s supply chain.
Young adult CDL holders would face restrictions, including a ban on driving between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., which aims to mitigate safety concerns associated with less-experienced drivers operating at higher-risk hours.
A mandated report on the pilot program will evaluate both participation rates and safety outcomes, meaning the program’s future could depend on data about accidents, violations, and transition rates to full licensure at age 21.
The requirement for rules to be developed with input from both the Department of Transportation and Department of Motor Vehicles suggests a focus on balancing workforce needs with public safety and regulatory oversight.
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Who cares
Headline styles
CDL Licenses for Young Adults
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Recommit, enacting clause stricken
- Referred to transportation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1436
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 14, 2019
Introduced by Sens. RITCHIE, AKSHAR, GALLIVAN, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the transportation law, in relation to establishing a commercial driver's license (CDL) class A young adult licensing pilot program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 14 of the transportation law is amended by adding a new subdivision 36 to read as follows:
36. (a) To promulgate, in consultation with the department of motor vehicles, rules and regulations to establish and implement a commercial driver's license (CDL) class A young adult licensing pilot program.
(b) For purposes of this subdivision, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(i) "young adult" shall mean an individual who ranges in age from eighteen to twenty years old; and
(ii) "qualified" shall mean such individual meets all required qualifications to become a licensed CDL class A driver, with the exception of the age requirement, within New York state.
(c) (i) Such pilot program shall provide qualified young adult drivers with CDL class A driver's licenses.
(ii) Such qualified young adult drivers shall not be permitted to drive after nine o'clock post meridian and before five o'clock ante meridiem under such pilot program.
(d) Such pilot program shall commence on January first, two thousand twenty.
(e) The commissioner shall provide the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly with a report on such pilot program on January first, two thousand twenty-two. Such report shall include:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05027-01-9
S. 1436 2
(i) the number of qualified drivers licensed under such pilot program;
(ii) the number of qualified drivers licensed under such pilot program that ultimately became fully-licensed at the age of twenty-one;
(iii) any safety concerns that occurred including, but not limited to, traffic violations and accidents; and
(iv) any additional information the commissioner deems relevant.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the transportation law, in relation to establishing a commercial driver's license (CDL) class A young adult licensing pilot program
Purpose
This bill will create a pilot program to allow young drivers 18 to 20 years of age to operate commercial vehicles within intrastate commerce, as is allowed in 48 other states.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 adds new subdivision 36 to section 14 of the transportation law, directing the NYS Commissioner of Transportation to establish the CDL class A young adult licensing program, in consultation with NYS Department of Motor Vehicles. Drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 will be able to receive a class A CDL to operate commercial vehicles within intrastate commerce, within the restrictions established by this subdi- vision and those set by the commissioner of transportation.
Section 2 provides the effective date.
Justification
New York's Commercial Drivers are the backbone of the state's economy, with the trucking industry responsible for more than 275,000 jobs, or 1 out of 27 in the state, paying wages in excess of $13.6 billion annual- ly, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.
Unfortunately, New York's trucking industry is finding it increasingly difficult to recruit commercial drivers to supply the state's 38,580 trucking companies, most of them small, locally owned businesses.
An analysis commissioned by the American Trucking Association concluded that as of the end of 2017 the industry had a 50,000-driver shortage. With the industry estimating it needs to hire 890,000 drivers over the next 10 years.
The average of age of a private carrier driver is 52 and according to the Bureau of Labor statistics only 6% of drivers are women. The indus- try needs young people and women to offset the driver shortage.
Meanwhile, with companies facing increasing costs for insurance, workers compensation, and safety issues, the industry is insisting on stricter standards to improve the quality of the drivers on the road.
Currently 48 states allow 18 to 21 year olds to drive Class 8 trucks within state lines. A young adult commercial driver's license pilot program that would allow 18 to 20-year-olds to drive in New York could help attract more young people into the field.
Granting graduates of the pilot program Class A commercial driver's licenses with the stipulation that they cannot drive after 9 p.m. would help more people enter the field at a critical time in their lives when many are choosing their profession. Moreover, by having the experience of driving Class A trucks at a younger age the ability to reach higher wage levels will be expedited.
The commissioner would have an opportunity to report to the legislature and the governor in 2021 on the results of the pilot program. The report would show how many became fully licensed at 21 and whether the pilot project revealed any safety concerns, including numbers of accidents and traffic violations.
Legislative history
2018: S.8057A.
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.