New Jersey AG joins lawsuits challenging Trump administration demand for commercial drivers’ data
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general and Pennsylvania on Thursday in filing two lawsuits challenging the Trump administration’s demand for a database containing personal information on about 17 million commercial drivers.
The lawsuits allege the federal government is unlawfully seeking state-owned records containing information including drivers’ Social Security numbers and is threatening to terminate more than $10 million in federal funding to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators if the organization refuses to provide the data.
Davenport and the coalition filed one lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and AAMVA and a related lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security.
The lawsuits allege the federal agencies are violating federal privacy laws by attempting to establish a database using records obtained from AAMVA without restrictions on the use or sharing of drivers’ Social Security numbers and other personal information or notice to the public.
The states also allege the demand violates the Administrative Procedure Act, arguing the federal government has not demonstrated a legitimate need to take control of the state records and did not consult states before seeking the information.
“New Jersey has one of the strongest data privacy laws in the country, and we will not allow the Trump Administration to illegally misuse the private information of our residents,” said Attorney General Davenport. “We will not allow New Jerseyans’ safety or the employment of our CDL drivers to be jeopardized by yet another unlawful request for private data.”
The dispute involves the Commercial Driver’s License Information System, known as CDLIS, which Congress established in 1986 to allow states to share information about commercial driver’s license applicants and determine whether applicants hold licenses in other states.
Since 1988, the Department of Transportation has contracted with AAMVA, a private nonprofit organization, to operate the system for states.
When processing commercial driver’s license applications, states validate information including a driver’s identity, medical fitness, immigration status and licensing and driving history.
Once a commercial driver’s license is issued, states maintain records in CDLIS containing personally identifiable information, including the driver’s name, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number and the state that provided the record.
According to the lawsuits, the states own the data stored in CDLIS.
The coalition alleges the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sent a letter to AAMVA demanding information for every driver in the system going back five years.
When AAMVA raised concerns about the directive, the federal agency threatened to terminate all of the organization’s federal grants and contracts, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The Department of Homeland Security subsequently issued an administrative subpoena to AAMVA seeking the same information, according to the Attorney General’s Office.
The coalition is seeking an emergency court order to prevent the information from being turned over.
Davenport has previously joined multistate legal challenges involving Trump administration demands for personal information belonging to people receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits and Medicaid benefits.
Joining New Jersey in the latest lawsuits are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, along with Pennsylvania.
