Minnesota lawmakers have eliminated a restrictive 180-hour training requirement imposed on public postsecondary commercial driver’s license (CDL) programs, a move that will help relieve weekslong backlogs at the state’s CDL testing sites and pave the way for expanded CDL programming at M State and other Minnesota State system colleges.
The 180-hour training stipulation made all but four Minnesota State system schools ineligible for the use of third-party CDL testers, limiting schools’ programming options as well as the number of testing sites available across the state.
“Some 10,000 people per year seek to obtain or renew their CDL licenses in Minnesota,” says Craig Beytien, Vice President-Strategic Engagement at M State. “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.”
He adds that the law change, which went into effect July 1, “allows M State and other public postsecondary institutions to conduct testing at our own local sites and 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.”
The removal of the 180-hour training requirement was approved by Gov. Tim Walz in May as part of the bipartisan Transportation Policy Omnibus Bill. Rep. Heather Keeler, D-Moorhead, and Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, R-Fergus Falls, were among the bill’s supporters.
“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,” says Rep. Keeler. “I’m grateful for the M State coalition that came together to solve the issue, efficiently answering Minnesota’s need to get more CDL drivers on the road.”
“CDL drivers are in high demand across the state, but a current challenge is limited testing capacity,” says Sen. Rasmusson. “I am grateful for the passage of this legislation that will allow more public higher education institutions to offer third-party CDL testing. This change will create more opportunities for Minnesota students to pursue in-demand careers.”
Keeler and Rasmusson will be speaking at M State on Thursday, July 18 at 1 p.m., along with representatives from the college and the Minnesota State Transportation Center of Excellence, at a special announcement event about the CDL training requirement change. The event is free and open to the public and will be held in the Transportation Center on M State’s Moorhead campus, at 1900 28th Avenue South.