Sept 29, 2020 – Advocacy News
Dear Michigan Chamber Member,
We are reaching out regarding an issue some Michigan companies are having getting their employee’s commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) renewed. Given the reduced services and extreme backlog many secretary of state branches are experiencing during the pandemic, the Governor issued a waiver allowing driver’s more time to get up to date without risk of their licenses expiring. The legislature later extended the waiver, which is now set to expire on September 30th. As a result, many CDL holders may be unable to renew their CDLs on time and risk having their licenses expire by the end of the week. The Michigan Chamber is pursuing a joint letter of interested stakeholders in support of an executive order from the Governor’s office extending the waiver to the end of the year.
On September 18th, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration made the decision to extend the waiver through December 31st, 2020. Our request is that the Governor extend the CDL waiver by the same date, reflective of the federal rule.
Given the Michigan Secretary of State’s appointment limitations during the pandemic, this is an issue unique to Michigan’s business community and necessary to correct as we work to get the economy back up and running. We have been in discussions with the Governor’s office, highlighting the urgency behind resolving this impending barrier to Michigan’s supply chains. We are working to collectively support a request of the Governor’s office to issue or update her EO to extend waivers through the end of the year so that employers have a longer runway to get their drivers up to date. We are optimistic but need your help in ensuring our message is heard.
If you are interested in voicing your support by signing on to the draft letter, please let us know by tomorrow, September 30th.
For more information please contact Mike Alaimo at malaimo@michamber.com
Michael P Alaimo
Director, Environmental and Energy Affairs
Michigan Chamber of Commerce