Congressman Pat Harrigan of North Carolina’s 10th District has sent a letter to Governor Josh Stein following a federal audit that found significant problems in the state’s commercial driver’s license (CDL) program. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration discovered that about 54 percent of non-domiciled CDLs reviewed in North Carolina were issued improperly. These issues included licenses given without proper verification of lawful presence or issued beyond the expiration of legal status.
Federal officials have warned that these failures could result in North Carolina losing nearly $50 million in federal highway funds starting in fiscal year 2027 if corrective actions are not taken.
“When over half of the licenses reviewed don’t meet basic federal requirements, that’s a clear breakdown in oversight,” said Congressman Harrigan. “Commercial trucks are on our roads every day, alongside parents driving kids to school and people heading to work. North Carolinians should be able to trust that the system responsible for licensing those drivers is doing its job. Right now, that trust has been damaged, and state leadership needs to move quickly to restore it.”
The letter from Harrigan and his colleagues calls on Governor Stein to revoke improperly issued licenses immediately, conduct a thorough audit of the CDL program, improve verification procedures, and ensure compliance with federal safety standards.
Prior to the release of the audit findings, Congressman Harrigan introduced the SAFE Drivers Act. This legislation aims to address enforcement gaps by establishing a uniform English proficiency test for CDL applicants nationwide. Although federal law already requires English proficiency, inconsistent enforcement across states has allowed loopholes to remain. The SAFE Drivers Act seeks to resolve this issue.
In 2024, Pat Harrigan won re-election by defeating Ralph R. Scott, Jr., securing 57.5% of the vote compared to Scott’s 38.2%.
