
A bipartisan bill that aims to reduce the burdens involved in acquiring a commercial driver’s license has been introduced in the House and Senate.
Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., introduced the LICENSE Act on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., introduced the bill in the House.
The effort builds on waivers allowed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill would expand CDL testing and streamline the process across states.
“Wyoming relies on America’s truck drivers to deliver goods to folks and small businesses throughout our rural state,” Lummis said in a news release. “Streamlining commercial driver’s licensing and cutting this burdensome red tape will ensure the people in the Cowboy State can rely on deliveries so they get the resources they need. I’m proud to work with Sen. Kelly to reform the licensing process for America’s truckers.”
Under the bill, state and third-party examiners would be authorized to administer both the CDL skills and knowledge tests to speed up the licensing process. Additionally, states would be allowed to administer driving skills tests to applicants from other states so that future truckers could complete testing closer to home.
ATA supports
The LICENSE Act is supported by the American Trucking Associations, the Automobile Carriers Conference, the Commercial Vehicle Training Association, the Government Freight Conference, the Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference, the Moving and Storage Conference, the National Tank Truck Carriers and the Truckload Carriers Association.
“When the FMCSA provided flexibility on several regulatory requirements during the COVID-19 public health emergency, drivers and motor carriers gained new operational efficiencies without compromising safety,” said ATA’s Dan Horvath. “The LICENSE Act leverages the lessons learned during the pandemic and makes permanent two commonsense waivers that were reissued numerous times since 2020 to reduce administrative burdens for Americans pursuing rewarding careers in the trucking industry. The incorporation of these waivers into law by enactment of the LICENSE Act will provide certainty to the trucking industry and strengthen our supply chain by permanently removing these unnecessary bureaucratic barriers. This represents an important step toward making it more efficient and simpler for drivers to obtain their CDLs while keeping our roadways safe.”
The bills also were introduced in the previous Congress but gained only seven co-sponsors in the House and only one in the Senate. LL
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