New York Attorney General Letitia James has joined a multistate lawsuit seeking to block the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Homeland Security from obtaining sensitive personal information belonging to approximately 17 million commercial driver's license holders nationwide, including nearly 500,000 New Yorkers.
The administration has requested access to the Commercial Driver's License Information System, and has threatened to block funding to the system if records are not turned over by Aug. 17. The database contains names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers dating back five years.
James joined 21 other attorneys general in asking a federal court to stop the federal government from accessing the information system.
“The Trump administration is attempting to seize confidential state records without any lawful justification,” James said. “New Yorkers provide their personal information to the state with the expectation that it will be protected, not handed over to anyone who demands it.”
The Office of the New York Attorney General said that turning over the records would put New Yorkers' privacy at serious risk. The coalition argues that the demands violate the Driver's Privacy Protection Act, the Privacy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
New York's Department of Motor Vehicles queries the CDLIS about 30,000 times each day and has relied on the system since 1989. A disruption could affect nearly 20,000 commercial learner's permit holders and approximately 500,000 CDL holders while complicating efforts to maintain roadway safety. The potential loss of federal funding could disrupt the system and affect New York's ability to process commercial driver's licenses.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, an agency within the Transportation Department, demanded the full database from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators on July 23. AAMVA has indicated it plans to turn over the records Aug. 17 unless a court intervenes.
