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Statutory Interpretation – Operators’ Licenses

By: Derek Hawkins//August 18, 2020//

Statutory Interpretation – Operators’ Licenses

By: Derek Hawkins//August 18, 2020//

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WI Court of Appeals – District II

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Rodolfo Sanchez Mora

Case No.: 2019AP2008-CR

Officials: DAVIS, J.

Focus: Statutory Interpretation – Operators’ Licenses

What appears at first blush as a simple conviction for operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) without the required state-issued license in fact involves a more complicated (and as far as we can determine, unaddressed) question lying at the intersection of state and federal licensing requirements. Wisconsin law requires that Wisconsin residents wishing to drive a CMV in Wisconsin have a valid Wisconsin commercial driver’s license (CDL). WIS. STAT. § 343.05(2)(a)1. “Resident” under the Wisconsin statute is a defined term: “an adult whose one home and customary and principal residence, to which the person has the intention of returning whenever he or she is absent, is in this state.” WIS. STAT. § 343.01(2)(g).

Our legislature has also declared, however, that Wisconsin “assents to” federal law governing the licensure of commercial drivers under “the federal commercial motor vehicle safety act, 49 U.S.C. [§] 31301 to 31317 and the regulations adopted under that act.” WIS. STAT. § 343.02(1), (2). The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act (CMVSA) conditions federal highway funding to states, like Wisconsin, that assent to be so bound. The CMVSA provides that only those persons who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States can obtain a state-issued CDL. This means that those who are here from Mexico on an employment authorization card (temporary work permit) can, and indeed must, rely exclusively on their Mexican CDL. This demarcation stems from a perceived need to streamline licensing, with the goal being that no one should have more than one license meeting the federal requirements. Nonetheless, when a truck driver (or other CMV operator) here on a temporary work permit also meets the definition of a resident under state law, the state and federal schemes potentially come into conflict.

Rodolfo Sanchez Mora became entangled in this potential conflict when he was cited for driving without a Wisconsin CDL. He is a commercial truck driver who has lived in Wisconsin on a full-time basis for a number of years under a temporary work permit that he has continuously renewed. Mora holds a Mexican CDL; at one point, he also held a Wisconsin CDL, but the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) required that he surrender it in keeping with Wisconsin’s efforts to remain compliant with the CMVSA and its “single license” policy. This frames the issue before us. The Wisconsin statute on its face could be read as requiring Mora to have a Wisconsin CDL, because he appears to qualify as a Wisconsin resident under the statute. But the express terms of the CMVSA, which Wisconsin has “assented to” in order to maintain eligibility for federal highway funds, requires that he have a Mexican CDL—and only a Mexican CDL.

The trial court concluded that Mora is a state resident and must therefore have a Wisconsin CDL to operate a commercial motor vehicle. That conclusion would likely hold if the only relevant authority were the definition in the state statute, but it is not. We find that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations and guidance preclude Mexican citizens holding a temporary work permit from being considered Wisconsin residents for CDL purposes. Instead, those Mexican citizens must use their Mexican CDL when operating a CMV. The result is that Mora’s failure to have a Wisconsin CDL was not a violation of the Wisconsin statute. As Mora was operating a CMV with a valid Mexican CDL at the time of his citation, he was compliant with Wisconsin law. Consequently, we reverse.

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.

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