It was less than a month ago when President Donald Trump called for the passage of Dalilah’s Law during his State of the Union address.

But efforts to pass the bill, which would tighten CDL standards, are already gaining steam.

Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., unveiled an amended version of HR5688 – now referred to as Dalilah’s Law – on Monday, March 16. The bill aims to ensure that CDL holders are properly trained and meet safety standards, including proficiency in English.

The amended version, which does not require all CDL holders to recertify, will be considered at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing at 10 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, March 18.

Dalilah’s Law refers to Dalilah Coleman, who was 5 years old when she was severely injured in a crash involving a tractor-trailer driven by Partap Singh, who was later arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Coleman was a guest at the State of the Union address when President Trump called for legislation to block illegal and unqualified drivers from obtaining a CDL in the U.S.

“Commercial driver’s license standards are in place for a reason: to ensure that only those qualified to drive a truck are allowed to do so,” Rouzer said in a news release. “Dalilah’s story is the heartbreaking consequence of what happens when those standards are both insufficient and breached. “Unqualified, illegal foreign drivers behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound rig put the public in danger. President Trump called on Congress to end this systematic abuse, and Dalilah’s Law answers the call.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association supports the amended version of Dalilah’s Law.

“This legislation closes loopholes that have allowed unqualified individuals to obtain a commercial driver’s license through the non-domiciled CDL program and ensures full enforcement of English-language-proficiency standards for professional truck drivers, among other improvements,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer wrote in a letter to the House T&I Committee.

The updated bill would:

• Ensure all CDL holders are proficient in English
• Place drivers who fail to meet the law’s requirements out of service
• Require states to verify that they are not issuing CDLs to illegal immigrants
• Significantly increase penalties for states that fail to comply with the law
• Ban foreign dispatch services and brokers
• Crack down on CDL mills to ensure drivers entering the industry are receiving adequate training

A previous version of the Dalilah Law required mandatory recertification for all CDL holders within 180 days of the bill becoming law. Rouzer’s version of the bill does not include that requirement.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s final rule on non-domiciled CDLs took effect on March 16. HR5688 reinforces the DOT rule into law.

OOIDA said that the new requirements are common sense.

“Under federal regulations, states are required to obtain 10 years of driving history for all CDL applicants, but for foreign drivers, states were unable to obtain these records to examine a driver’s history,” OOIDA wrote. “In effect, foreign-domiciled applicants faced a less-stringent safety review than U.S. citizens and permanent residents. DOT and FMCSA have now addressed this inconsistent standard with the recently implemented final rule.”

The Association also applauds the bill’s provisions to improve entry-level driver training standards.

“The bill rightfully strengthens the certification process for entry-level driver training providers,” the Association wrote. “OOIDA raised concerns with FMCSA’s Training Provider Registry as it became clear that proper oversight was not being conducted during the initial years of implementation. The Entry-Level Driver Training Advisory Committee met more than a decade ago, and the industry has now seen how weak certification standards allowed fraud to take hold. Thankfully, FMCSA’s recent enforcement actions have removed thousands of inadequate and fraudulent states from (the registry). Dalilah’s Law will build on these efforts by bolstering the training provider certification process.”

A live webcast of Wednesday’s markup hearing will be available here. LL