A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the U.S. Department of Transportation wrongly withheld nearly $74 million in highway funding from New York in a dispute over commercial driver’s licenses issued to noncitizens, The Associated Press reported.
The dispute followed a federal audit of New York’s licensing program. Federal officials sought the revocation of nearly 33,000 licenses and moved to withhold highway money after the state declined, according to AP.
How the funding dispute began
New York challenged the funding decision in April in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In its announcement of the challenge, the state attorney general’s office said federal officials had targeted about $73.5 million in already approved funds and threatened additional annual withholding. The state argued that it had issued the licenses in compliance with the rules in effect at the time.
New York said the federal money supports road maintenance, safety improvements and infrastructure upgrades. The ruling addresses the federal withholding decision. The timing of any transfer of funds was not independently confirmed.