State overhauls commercial driver rules in aim to prevent disqualifications for decades-old offenses
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A truck drives down I-295 past the Alta on the Row apartment building.
Hundreds of Massachusetts motorists will no longer lose eligibility for commercial driver's licenses after Gov. Maura Healey signed a new law Thursday preventing some decades-old offenses from counting against them.
The bill (H 5139) Healey signed exempts most passenger vehicle offenses committed before Sept. 30, 2005 from counting against commercial license eligibility, effectively mirroring a similar policy at the federal level.
The governor's office said about 280 people who were facing disqualification will be sent letters starting Thursday informing them that they no longer need to worry due to the new law. Another 65 drivers will benefit from the law after they address other outstanding obligations, Healey's office said.
Drivers with three or more operating under the influence convictions will be ineligible for commercial licenses.
State law previously disqualified drivers with certain infractions on their records from acquiring commercial licenses regardless of how old the incidents were. The Registry of Motor Vehicles over the summer informed nearly 500 drivers their licenses would be downgraded from commercial to passenger as a result, despite seemingly not fully enforcing the measure in the past.
In response to outrage over the maneuver, Healey instructed the RMV to craft new regulations allowing drivers to regain commercial eligibility after a 10-year disqualification period, and she also filed the bill that formed the new law to align state and federal eligibility timelines.
The RMV has already reversed disqualifications for about two dozen commercial drivers, according to Healey's office.
"Our administration is committed to ensuring safety on our roads while also supporting the many hardworking Massachusetts residents who rely on Commercial Driver's Licenses for their livelihoods," Healey said in a statement. "The RMV will take immediate action to inform eligible drivers that their CDLs will not be disqualified and will continue updating its regulations to ensure that drivers who have served disqualifications for significant periods of time will have a pathway to reinstatement. We're grateful to the Legislature for their expeditious review of this bill, which will save hundreds of jobs."
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