Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, July 3, 2025:
Truck driver gets 10-year prison sentence for smuggling immigrants in tanker trailer
A San Antonio, Texas-based truck driver was sentenced in a federal court on July 1 to 10 years in prison for one count of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens.
According to court documents, on Nov. 18, 2024, Richard Rindeikis, 44, was driving a truck connected to a tanker trailer when he was subjected to inspection at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Carrizo Springs, Texas. He claimed the tanker was empty and, when he couldn’t locate his driver’s license, was referred to secondary inspection.
USBP agents observed that the hatches on top of the tanker trailer were closed and completely secured. When they opened the hatches, they discovered numerous people sitting inside the tanker.
A total of 25 immigrants from Ecuador, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico were removed, and Rindeikis was placed under arrest. He was indicted for two counts and pleaded guilty to count one on Feb. 5.
“This district has seen far too many instances of human smuggling like this one end in tragedy. If not for the excellent work by the U.S. Border Patrol in this case, we may have seen another,” said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas. “My office will continue to pursue, prosecute, and seek to punish those who selfishly value profit over human life.”
[Related: Truck driver guilty of human smuggling gets max prison sentence]
'Big beautiful bill' budget legislation set to be signed by the President
The final version of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" budget legislation passed the House of Representatives Thursday, July 3, after oftentimes contentious negotiations in the Senate created the version that achieved the votes to get across the finish line.
Stay tuned for reporting in the next week on any new tax ramifications for owner-operators and small fleets, though the legislation was aimed at essentially extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act's tax regime when conceived. The details may be largely of little consequential change for owners.
Some elements of the legislation truckers were watching:
- The provision in the House version that would have banned state-level restrictive regulation of artificial intelligence/automated systems was ultimately axed by a near-unanimous Senate vote.
- Overtime pay will be untaxed for workers in industries where it's a requirement, yet some trucking constituencies' hope for change in the motor carrier exemption from paying truck drivers' overtime went unrealized.
- The provision to allocate $5 million for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to develop a public website that provides information on motor carriers that specifies whether or not a motor carrier meets FMCSA operating requirements did not make the cut in the Senate version of the bill.
The health-plan situation for buyers of health insurance through the Affordable Care Act exchanges is likely to remain as described in this story unless other action extends the so-called "enhanced subsidies" in place since 2021.
[Related: House's 'Big Beautiful Bill' could result in increased insurance premiums]
Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls increasing in 2026
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced this week that it has voted to approve a 4% toll rate increase for 2026.
The increase, which will be effective Jan. 4, 2026, is in accordance with Pennsylvania’s Act 44 plan for toll rates along the PA Turnpike. That plan, from 2007, required the PA Turnpike to provide PennDOT with $450 million annually for highways, bridges, and public transit, with Act 89 of 2013 modifying the payments to dedicate the full amount to public transit. Beginning in 2022, PA Turnpike payments to PennDOT for transit were reduced to $50 million.
As a result of the financial burden of Act 44, the PA Turnpike said it “has been forced to raise toll rates for 13 straight years and the agency’s debt levels have risen to nearly $14 billion.”
The increase of 4% for 2026 is the lowest rate increase since 2014 and will be used entirely to repay Act 44 debt service.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commissioners approved the toll rate at their July 1 meeting.
[Related: Beware toll road text-message collections scam: FBI]
Massachusetts seeks CDL skills testing waiver for Martha’s Vineyard
The Massachusetts Department of State Police has requested an exemption to allow the state to conduct modified commercial driver’s license (CDL) skills test exams on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.
According to the department, the island of Martha’s Vineyard does not have the infrastructure for applicant drivers to demonstrate the two sets of lane changes required by the CDL skills test.
To service Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles customers on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, the Massachusetts Department of State Police requests authorization to conduct CDL road test exams on the island, using a test route that does not include the two sets of lane changes. The DSP said travel to and from the island with commercial vehicles is often difficult and expensive, adding that the region does not have the infrastructure to support two sets of lane changes required by the CDL Examiner’s Manual and that there are no reasonable substitutions for lane change maneuvers on the island.
The exemption application includes a proposed route plan for the modified CDL exams and a satellite image of the area, as well as a support letter from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Registry of Motor Vehicles.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is accepting public comments on the request here through July 31.
