The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Sunday, May 17, unveiled text of a massive, five-year highway bill.
Dubbed the Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th Act (BUILD America 250 Act), the bill earmarks a bevy of provisions related to trucking and highway safety.
With trucking-related provisions for credentialing, safety and infrastructure, this first highway bill iteration seeks to:
- Establish a regulatory autonomous-vehicle framework.
- Establish new public-truck-parking grant program.
- Increase oversight of predatory lease-purchase agreements.
- Extend Principal Place of Business requirements to brokers and other registered entities, with penalties.
- Require cabotage research and accountability.
- Cement a cargo-theft task force and boost enforcement around electronic logging device certification.
To prepare for the BUILD America 250 Act, the Committee held numerous hearings throughout the last year and a half and solicited input, ideas, and priorities for consideration from all members of the House and the broad infrastructure stakeholder community -- more than 11,000 individual policy requests were submitted in total.
There are numerous other provisions on the table in the first draft small-business truckers should be aware of. Our best attempt at a comprehensive accounting follows.
Committee leaders plan to formally introduce legislation soon, to be followed by plans for a legislative markup. The ultimate goal is sending a bill to the President’s desk before the current surface transportation authorization expires on Sept. 30, 2026.
[Related: Last call! Weigh in on broker vetting and transparency, credit checks, fraud]
'Predatory' lease-purchase oversight
A provision in the draft would require the Department of Transportation to issue a rulemaking prohibiting the use of “predatory” lease-purchase programs.
Such programs are defined as “the framework of the motor carrier-driver relationship, including the lease-purchase agreement, the contract for the driver’s work for the motor carrier, and the practices of the motor carrier in implementing the contracts that are not provided in the contract, including the motor carrier’s recruitment practices, operational practices, and tax and finance practices, whereby the motor carrier controls the work, compensation, and debts of the driver, and the driver accrues no equity or is forced to give up equity accrued in the contracted truck.”
Motor carriers utilizing leased vehicles would need to provide a disclosure form for each party in the agreement, with a DOT-provided template for the disclosure that includes weekly driver compensation, average mileage and schedule for drivers, the average for deductions in settlements, and further details.
The draft directs the DOT to conduct a public awareness campaign on how standard lease-purchase programs work and the prevalence of predatory programs.
[Related: Carrier lease-purchases: Let’s not just throw the baby out with the bathwater]
Truck parking
The legislations aims to improve on Jason’s Law by creating a competitive grant program for projects that provide public truck parking. Projects would be required to be located on a federal-aid highway or be a facility within reasonable access to a federal-aid highway or freight facility.
Projects would only be eligible if DOT determines there is a shortage of truck parking in the project’s corridor. The grant recipient would need to consult with motor carriers, truck drivers, public safety officials and private truck parking providers, and the project maintained by any grantee would be required to increase the availability or utilization of truck parking.
[Related: Truckers still torn: Truck Parking Club's huge growth with pay-to-park]
Principal place of business requirements
Authority to withhold registration from any applicant that fails to provide a valid principal place of business (PPOB) at the time of registration: that's what this draft envisions giving to FMCSA. Currently, the agency can only take enforcement action after an entity is registered and refuses to cooperate with investigations at the designated address.
Under the proposed provision, FMCSA’s requirement that motor carriers designate a PPOB would be codified and extended to brokers and freight forwarders, too.
[Related: FMCSA's carrier/broker-registration overhaul to 'clean up the bad actors']
Another goal of PPOB-related provisions: Extending requirements that registrants disclose common ownership between any other registered entities. Motor carriers are already required to disclose this information, and this section codifies the requirement for brokers and freight forwarders.
If FMCSA detects a link between fraudulent actors, they are able to withhold operating authority or take other enforcement actions as needed.
[Related: How freight fraud stole the show at MATS: Carriers getting smart, FMCSA bringing heat]
Federal autonomous vehicle framework
The BUILD America 250 Act draft creates a federal safety standard for commercial vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems (ADS) operating in interstate commerce. The safety standard would require manufacturers of ADS and ADS-equipped trucks to meet applicable regulations, demonstrate competencies through a safety case, and adhere to reporting requirements.
It also would establish a requirement for a human operator to be in the vehicle when moving placarded hazardous materials or (as in the case of a school bus) when transporting minors, among other provisions.
[Related: Driverless-truck tech: Owner-ops worry over cyberattacks, crashes, competition]
Cargo theft advisory committee
The DOT would need to seat an advisory committee on cargo theft and freight fraud. The committee would consist of up to 20 members representing law enforcement, the freight industry, and cybersecurity professionals tasked to provide recommendations on combating the twin issues.
Biennial reports to Congress would accompany task force recommendations.
[Related: More teeth in freight fraud enforcement: Legislation intro'd in House]
Other provisions
Broker qualifications: The DOT Secretary would need to issue a final rule to implement registration requirements related to the experience or qualifications for officers of freight brokers and freight forwarders.
Electric vehicle registration fee: States would collect an annual registration fee for electric vehicles. The fee would start out at $130 for an EV, and $35 for a plug-in hybrid vehicle. Beginning in 2029, the fees would increase by $5 biennially, up to $150 for EVs and $50 for hybrids.
Restoring FMCSA’s civil penalty assessment authority: Under this provision, FMCSA’s authority to adjudicate and assess civil penalties for violations would be restored.
[Related: FMCSA's confusing excuse for not enforcing its own rules]
Vehicle weight limits: Commercial vehicles transporting dry bulk goods -- “any homogeneous unmarked, unpackaged, non-liquid cargo being transported in a trailer specifically designed for that purpose,” as defined in the bill -- would get a 10% axle weight variance.
Numerous state asks were answered here: Louisiana could issue permits for certain agricultural vehicles to transport up to 88,000 pounds with a 10% axle weight variance. Similarly, Arkansas could issue permits for certain logging vehicles to operate on interstate highways with a gross vehicle weight up to 85,000 pounds with a limit of 20 miles on an interstate from origin to a storage or processing facility. Iowa would get authority to issue a permit for up to 108,000 pounds of divisible loads on a segment of I-380 from the west interchange with U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 218 to the east interchange with U.S. Route 20.
Bridge clearance-strike working group: DOT directed to set up a new working group on ways to improve public-private data sharing regarding bridge clearance height and the routing of commercial vehicles. Reports to Congress required with recommendations on improving information and route signs to CMVs on GPS navigators, as well driver knowledge and awareness about bridge strikes.
Improve the National Consumer Complaint Database: The DOT Secretary would be required to implement recommendations from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued in this report.
[Related: FMCSA complaint reporting system needs overhaul: GAO]
Conduct a cabotage study: DOT directed to work with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies to conduct a study on the safety and economic impacts of cabotage violations -- trucks domiciled in Canada or Mexico hauling freight point-to-point in the U.S. The American Transportation Research Institute has begun its own research on the topic and is looking for truck driver and motor carrier input.
Restroom access: Shippers and receivers would be required to give restroom access to truck drivers while they're picking up or delivering freight. Marine terminal operators, including port authorities, must provide enough restrooms for drayage truck operators in accessible areas, and ensure safe access and parking.
Extend under-21 Safe Driver Apprenticeship Program: Through 2031, under the bill's terms.
Codify livestock haulers’ ELD exemption: The provision exempts livestock haulers from ELD requirements and federal hours-of-service requirements within a 150 air-mile radius from the final destination of the livestock.
Modernize farm-related service industries' restricted CDLs: The DOT would be directed to issue regulations necessary to allow each state to develop and make available an online registration and renewal system for eligible farm-related service employees who participate in the seasonally-restricted CDL program.
CDL regulations: The DOT is directed in the draft to issue a rulemaking to allow a state to administer a CDL skills test to any CDL applicant, regardless of the driver’s home state or state in which they were trained. The provision would require states to allow third-party examiners to administer the CDL knowledge test if the examiner maintains a valid CDL test examiner certification, completes an examiner training course, and completes one unit of the knowledge tests.
ELD certification: Building on FMCSA’s recent efforts to clean up the self-certification registry of ELD providers, the draft requires DOT to verify the contact information of the certification applicant and technical specifications of the proposed ELD, and cross-reference the application against revoked ELDs.
Safety performance history screening, DataQs improvement: This provision would allow motor carriers to access safety records for prospective and current drivers. Any serious driver-related violation under contest must be flagged as such in federal safety databases. State and federal agencies would also be required to establish an appeals process within the DataQ system to allow affected parties to appeal the outcome of data reviews of serious driver-related violations. The appeals process must provide for timely adjudication by someone other than the original issuing authority. FMCSA has already addressed some of this in its recent changes to the DataQs rules for states.
[Related: Truckers' DataQs to-do: Timely, thorough filings for the win]
Removal of non-compliant training providers: The draft cements a process for the FMCSA to receive complaints about non-compliant CDL training providers and remove such provider from the approved list within 90 days. Failure to disclose a relationship with another provider that was removed from the list, or that fails to maintain and enforce policies related to sexual assault and sexual harassment, would be grounds for Training Provider Registry removal.
Hair drug testing: Directs the DOT to recognize hair testing as an approved specimen collection type within a year of the Department of Health and Human Services issuing hair testing guidelines.
Fatal truck crash drug and substance abuse testing accountability: DOT would be required to revise regulations to require employers to retain records of post-crash alcohol or controlled substance tests for a minimum of five years, consider it a violation if an employer fails to provide proof of such testing. Violations would need to be reflected in FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System.
New Entrant Safety Assurance Program review: The DOT Inspector General must review the program to evaluate its effectiveness and opportunities to improve new entrant audits. Recommendations from OIG would be submitted to the DOT, and the Secretary would report to Congress.
New entrant registration standards rulemaking committee: This provision would establish a transportation rulemaking committee to assess the necessity of establishing minimum knowledge requirements for motor carriers registering with the DOT. Members of the committee would include state motor carrier safety enforcement agencies, industry, lab, law enforcement, and other stakeholders.
Beyond compliance: Congress wants to revive the 2015 FAST Act highway bill provision to require a “beyond compliance” system to credit motor carriers going above and beyond baseline compliance. This provision would require the DOT to issue a final rule that considers driver training and experience as a recognized safety standard.
[Related: Second take: Owner-operators stand to benefit from ‘beyond compliance’ program]
Workforce development: The bill draft directs a workforce development program to support the commercial motor vehicle workforce by strengthening employment opportunities for professional drivers, mechanics and others with occupations that affect safety and operations. This program is authorized through FY 2031.
Study on limited hazmat endorsements: Is issuing material-specific hazardous materials endorsements feasible? A study probing that question is directed here to focus on potential utility of material-specific endorsements, availability of commercial liability insurance for hazmat transport, and whether limited endorsements would cut or increase insurance costs.
