The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has released the text of a new five-year, $580 billion surface transportation reauthorization package that includes dozens of trucking safety measures.
The “BUILD America 250 Act” adds new electric vehicle fees on passenger vehicles to help fund the nation’s infrastructure and provides the first-ever framework for autonomous commercial motor vehicles.
The Committee’s statement said that leaders plan to formally introduce the 1,005–page legislation in the near future, and aim to send the final version to President Trump for his signature before the current surface transportation authorization expires on Sept. 30.
“I’m extremely proud of the historic level of investment in America’s bridges – at more than $50 billion, it’s the largest such investment in our history,” Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said of the BUILD America 250 Act, which is short for the Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th Act.
“The bill also makes smart and targeted reforms to our surface transportation programs, focuses on strengthening our core infrastructure system, drives innovation, bolsters safety, ensures states have the flexibility they need, and cuts red tape to get projects built faster,” Graves added.
It provides the Highway Trust Fund with an additional revenue stream beyond fuel taxes, with new annual registration fees of $130 for electric vehicles and $35 for plug-in hybrid vehicles. Beginning in 2029, fees would increase by $5 every two years.
“A commitment to bipartisan lawmaking means finding compromise; while this bill does not include every priority, I am committed to building on the last bipartisan infrastructure law by creating good-paying transportation jobs, growing the economy and safely transporting people and goods across the country by road and rail,” said Rep. Rick Larson (D-Wash.), ranking member of the committee.
According to the draft legislation, the Build America Act would:
- Direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish an advisory committee on cargo theft and freight fraud.
- Create a competitive grant program for projects that provide public parking for commercial motor vehicles.
- Require the Secretary to issue a final rule to implement the requirements related to the experience or qualifications for officers of freight brokers and freight forwarders to register.
- Order a study on the safety and economic impacts of cabotage violations using commercial motor vehicles.
- Establish restroom access requirements for commercial motor vehicle operators delivering cargo to covered establishments or waiting at covered establishments for cargo to be loaded.
- Extend the authorization of the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Program through Sept. 30, 2031.
- Exempt covered livestock hauling vehicles from electronic logging device requirements and hours-of-service regulations.
- Strengthen oversight of ELDs by requiring the Secretary to verify the contact information of the certification applicant and the technical specifications of the proposed ELD, and cross-reference the certification application against revoked ELDs that do not meet the certification criteria.
- Require agencies to establish an appeals process within the DataQ system that allows affected parties to appeal the outcomes of data reviews of serious driver-related violations.
- Establish a process for the FMCSA to receive complaints for noncompliant training providers and remove such providers within 90 days.
- Direct the Secretary to recognize hair testing as an approved specimen collection type within one year of the Secretary of Health and Human Services issuing scientific and technical guidelines for hair testing.
- Require the Secretary to revise regulations to require employers to retain records of post-accident alcohol or controlled substance tests for a minimum of five years.
- Order a review of the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program.
- Create a rulemaking committee to assess the need to establish minimum knowledge requirements for motor carriers.
- Require the Secretary to issue a final rule on Beyond Compliance.
- Create a safety standard for commercial motor vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems (ADS) operating in interstate commerce.
Kodiak AI called the autonomous provision a significant milestone. The creation of a federal regulatory framework for autonomous trucks can offer regulatory certainty and affirm the Department of Transportation has the tools it needs to oversee the scaled rollout of autonomous trucks, said Don Burette, Kodiak AI’s founder and CEO.
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