Any Minnesota state institution that offers CDL training can administer CDL testing. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg)
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New and current Minnesota truck drivers will have an easier time obtaining and renewing commercial driver licenses now that a state law that constrained third-party CDL testing opportunities has been eliminated.
“Some 10,000 people per year seek to obtain or renew their CDL licenses in Minnesota,” said Craig Beytien, strategic engagement vice president at Minnesota State Community and Technical College. “With just 26 testing sites in the state, they’ve been having to wait up to nine weeks, and sometimes travel hundreds of miles, to be tested.”
This scenario was created by a state mandate that required public postsecondary schools to provide 180 hours of instructional CDL training before they could offer third-party testing. This directive proved restrictive, as only four state schools ultimately were able to reach the threshold to offer third-party testing. In practice, this limited not only a school’s programming options but also the number of testing sites available throughout Minnesota.
Minnesota legislators worked together across party lines during the state’s 93rd legislative session to eliminate the mandate by passing Senate File 4169. The measure was authored by state Sen. Jordan Rasmusson (R) and supported by state Sen. Robert Kupec of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) and Republican state Sens. Jeff Howe, John Jasinski and Michael Kreun.
Minnesota lawmakers have eliminated a restrictive 180-hour training requirement imposed on public postsecondary commercial driver’s license (CDL) programs.
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— Minnesota State Community and Technical College (@MStateCollege) July 18, 2024
Rasmusson noted during the legislative session that the bill helps students and can benefit the state economy by bolstering its workforce. The bill was eventually absorbed with 17 other bills into a single bipartisan Transportation Policy Omnibus Bill enacted in May by Gov. Tim Walz.
Effective July 1, any Minnesota state institution that offers CDL training can administer CDL testing.
“I am grateful for the passage of this legislation that will allow more public higher education institutions to offer third-party CDL testing,” Rasmusson said July 11. “This change will create more opportunities for Minnesota students to pursue in-demand careers.”
With more places able to offer CDL testing, Beytien noted that his school and other public postsecondary institutions can offer testing locally to “move people through the CDL pipeline more quickly. It means we can expand our CDL programs, in size and scope, to better meet student and workforce needs.”
State Rep. Heather Keeler (DFL), who backed the bill, welcomed the successful effort to get more truck drivers behind the wheel.
“Our local higher education systems have the students and resources they need to produce quality CDL drivers, we just needed to break down the barriers prohibiting them from doing so,” Keeler said.