Enacts the "New York state commercial driver's license training act" to enable municipalities to defray the cost of commercial driver's license training for municipal employees; directs the commissioner of transportation to establish such program and award grants to municipalities on a competitive basis for the purpose of funding such training.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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10325
IN SENATE
May 14, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the highway law, in relation to establishing the New
York state commercial driver's license training program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "New York state commercial driver's license training act".
3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds that a
4 persistent shortage of qualified commercial drivers constrains economic
5 activity and essential services. The cost of commercial driver's license
6 training presents a meaningful barrier to entry for many residents,
7 particularly in rural communities and smaller municipalities where
8 training providers are less accessible and local government budgets are
9 most constrained. It is therefore the intent of the legislature to
10 establish a program that enables municipalities to defray the cost of
11 commercial driver's license training for municipal employees.
12 § 3. The highway law is amended by adding a new section 10-h to read
13 as follows:
14 § 10-h. Commercial driver's license training program. 1. For purposes
15 of this article:
16 (a) "Commercial driver's license" or "CDL" means a commercial driver's
17 license issued pursuant to article nineteen of the vehicle and traffic
18 law, including any class or endorsement thereunder.
19 (b) "Eligible training provider" means any entity authorized to
20 provide CDL training in the state of New York, including providers
21 registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's train-
22 ing provider registry, community colleges of the state university of New
23 York and the city university of New York, boards of cooperative educa-
24 tional services, and vocational training programs approved by the
25 commissioner.
26 (c) "Municipality" means a city, town, village, or county of the state
27 of New York.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15798-01-6
S. 10325 2
1 (d) "Program" means the New York state commercial driver's license
2 training program established by this article.
3 2. There is hereby established within the department the New York
4 state commercial driver's license training program. The commissioner
5 shall administer the program and shall award grants to municipalities on
6 a competitive basis for the purpose of funding commercial driver's
7 license training for municipal employees in accordance with this arti-
8 cle.
9 3. A municipality receiving a grant under this article may use such
10 funds to pay, in whole or in part, for the following:
11 (a) Tuition, fees, and required educational materials for CDL training
12 provided by an eligible training provider to employees of the munici-
13 pality or to prospective employees who have received a conditional offer
14 of municipal employment; and
15 (b) Examination fees, permit fees, and medical examination fees
16 required to obtain a commercial driver's license.
17 4. (a) Funds shall be allocated among municipality types in proportion
18 to each type's share of total local road centerline miles, as reported
19 by the department in its most recent highway data report.
20 (b) In awarding grants, the commissioner shall seek to achieve
21 geographic diversity across the state and shall give additional consid-
22 eration to applications that:
23 (i) Serve municipalities with populations of five thousand or fewer;
24 (ii) Serve multiple municipalities pursuant to an intermunicipal
25 agreement authorized under article five-G of the general municipal law;
26 (iii) Address documented shortages of commercial drivers for essential
27 municipal services, including but not limited to snow removal, public
28 works, sanitation, and school transportation; or
29 (iv) Include partnerships with eligible training providers that reduce
30 the per-trainee cost of training.
31 5. (a) The commissioner shall, not later than one hundred eighty days
32 after the effective date of this section, promulgate an application
33 process for the program. The application shall require:
34 (i) A description of the proposed use of funds, including the number
35 of trainees to be served and the eligible training provider or providers
36 to be utilized; and
37 (ii) Such other information as the commissioner may require.
38 (b) Grants shall be awarded not less frequently than annually. A muni-
39 cipality may, with the approval of the commissioner, subcontract admin-
40 istration of training activities to an eligible training provider,
41 nonprofit workforce development organization, or board of cooperative
42 educational services.
43 6. (a) Each municipality receiving a grant under this article shall
44 submit to the commissioner, not later than one hundred eighty days after
45 the end of the grant period, a report containing:
46 (i) The number of individuals who received training funded by the
47 grant;
48 (ii) The number of such individuals who obtained a commercial driver's
49 license; and
50 (iii) Expenditures of grant funds by category.
51 (b) The commissioner may audit any grant awarded under this article
52 and may recover funds expended in violation of this section or the terms
53 of the grant.
54 7. The commissioner may promulgate such rules and regulations as are
55 necessary to implement this article.
S. 10325 3
1 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
2 the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the
3 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
4 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
5 to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
