Administration Threatens to Withhold $10 Million in Federal Funding Unless Sensitive Information of Millions of Drivers is Turned Over
BALTMORE, Md. – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general and the state of Pennsylvania today in filing two lawsuits against the Trump administration for demanding production of a database of state-owned records containing the sensitive personal information of millions of drivers s and threatening to terminate more than $10 million in federal funding to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) if it refuses.
Attorney General Brownand the coalition filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is an administration of the DOT and AAMVA, as well as a second, related lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The lawsuits claim the DOT, FMSCA, and DHS are violating multiple federal privacy laws, among other federal laws, by secretly setting up their own database with records extorted from AAMVA, with no guardrails on the use or sharing of drivers’ Social Security numbers and other personal information, and no notice to the public.
“Once again, the Trump administration is trying to unlawfully seize Marylanders’ personal data with no legitimate purpose, no safeguards to protect it, and no warning to the public or consultation with the states,” said Attorney General Brown. “We are joining this lawsuit because this data belongs to the states, and the federal government cannot force another party to hand it over without lawful justification.”
In 1986, Congress established the Commercial Driver’s License Information System (CDLIS) to provide states an efficient means of sharing information about commercial driver’s license (CDL) applicants and determining if the applicant is licensed in another state. Since 1988, the DOT has contracted with AAMVA, a private nonprofit organization, to operate CDLIS for the benefit of the states.
To approve a CDL application, Attorney General Brownand the attorneys general explain in the lawsuits, states validate the driver’s identity, medical fitness, immigration status and each applicant’s licensing and driving history in any state where the driver could have been licensed. This important public safety work is the responsibility of the states, not the federal government. Once a license is issued, states maintain a record in CDLIS of each driver that includes personally identifiable information such as the driver’s name, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number and the name of state that provided the record.
Despite the states owning the personal data stored in CDLIS, FMSCA sent a letter to AAMVA, making the unprecedented demand that AAMVA turn over data for every driver in CDLIS going back five years. When AAMVA voiced its concerns about the new directive, FMSCA made an explicit threat to terminate all of AAMVA’s federal grants and contracts. Faced with that threat, which could shut down CDLIS altogether, Attorney General Brownand the coalition seek an emergency order to prevent the data from being turned over. Relatedly, DHS sent an administrative subpoena to AAMVA demanding the same data set.
Attorney General Brown has joined fellow state attorneys general in several legal challenges against the Trump administration’s attempts to unlawfully use Americans’ personal data for undisclosed purposes, including immigration enforcement.
Joining Attorney General Brownin filing this lawsuit are attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the state of Pennsylvania.
Give up the CDL INFORMATION, ALL THE ILLEGALS ARE DRIVING TOE TRUCKS AND COMMERCIALS VEHICLES… CH. CO. IS LOADED WITH THEM…..
Yes, AG Brown-noser wants to protect all the illegal drivers he can. So what if they can’t speak or read English. Yet he and Gov. SpendMoore want to allocate (or skim) more of our tax dollars for safer roads and more enforcement of driving restrictions.