PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Congressional Research Service
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People & committees
Rep. Gill, Brandon [R-TX-26] · R–TX
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Oct 9, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-28 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The bill would require States to check immigration and work eligibility before issuing commercial driving licenses or learner’s permits, and require English tests before issuance or renewal. It would penalize carriers that knowingly use ineligible drivers and businesses that evade safety sanctions through new identities. It would also strengthen enforcement of restrictions on foreign carriers’ domestic transportation within the United States, while preserving transportation permitted by federal law. These are proposed requirements; the supplied history does not establish enactment.
The State may issue a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit to an individual only if the individual meets the immigration and employment authorization requirements established under section 31308(1)(C).
Before a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit is issued or renewed, the State shall require each applicant to pass one or more standardized English language proficiency assessments
knowingly employed, or contracted with, an operator who is ineligible to operate a commercial motor vehicle under applicable Federal law
uses a successor or affiliated entity for the purpose of evading a registration revocation or other Federal motor carrier safety sanction
may not engage in domestic point-to-point transportation within the United States except to the extent expressly authorized by Federal law.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-09T16:09:56Z. 2026-09-28: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 2026-09-28: Introduced in House
Section 1 would name the legislation the Trucking Safety and Accountability Act of 2026, or Barron’s Law.
This Act may be cited as the Trucking Safety and Accountability Act of 2026 or Barron’s Law.
States could issue a commercial driver’s license or learner’s permit only to someone who is a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or otherwise federally authorized to work in employment that includes commercial driving.
(C) be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States, or otherwise be authorized under Federal law to engage in employment in the United States that includes driving a commercial motor vehicle;
The State may issue a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit to an individual only if the individual meets the immigration and employment authorization requirements established under section 31308(1)(C).
The commercial driver’s license information system would record whether a driver meets those immigration and work-authorization requirements. It could not store the underlying immigration records or other supporting documents.
(G) an indicator of whether the operator satisfies the immigration and employment authorization requirements applicable under section 31308(1)(C).
Underlying documents related to the indicator required under paragraph (1)(G), including immigration records or documents, may not be stored in the information system.
As soon as practicable after enactment, the Transportation Secretary, coordinating with the Homeland Security Secretary, would have to establish a process for accurately maintaining that eligibility indicator.
As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish a process to accurately maintain, on the commercial driver’s license information system, the indicator relating to immigration and employment authorization requirements
The Secretary would have to issue regulations disqualifying drivers who fail the immigration and work-authorization requirements from operating commercial vehicles. The Secretary would determine the disqualification period.
The Secretary shall issue regulations providing for the disqualification from operating a commercial motor vehicle, for a period of time to be determined by the Secretary, an individual who fails to satisfy the immigration and employment authorization requirements established under section 31308(1)(C).
Before issuing or renewing commercial licenses or learner’s permits, States would have to require standardized English assessments established and approved by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Tests would cover signs, safety instructions, spoken and emergency communications, and required paperwork. They would need a safety-related passing standard and reasonable procedures consistent with federal law for applicants who use American Sign Language.
Before a commercial driver’s license or commercial learner’s permit is issued or renewed, the State shall require each applicant to pass one or more standardized English language proficiency assessments established and approved by the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
(i) read and understand road signs and safety instructions; (ii) understand and respond to spoken instructions and emergency communications; and (iii) complete driver logs, reports, and other required documentation;
(i) a minimum passing standard appropriate to the safe operation of a commercial motor vehicle; and (ii) reasonable procedures consistent with applicable Federal law for applicants who use American Sign Language.
States would have to give the federal motor carrier safety agency aggregate testing and compliance information that its Administrator considers necessary to administer and enforce the English-testing requirements.
Each State shall provide to the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration aggregate and compliance information concerning English language proficiency testing as the Administrator determines necessary to administer and enforce the amendments made by this section.
Section 4 would define a “chameleon carrier” to include covered transportation businesses and affiliated people that operate or try to operate through a new identity or affiliated entity to evade orders, legal requirements, penalties, enforcement, or a negative compliance history.
the term chameleon carrier means a motor carrier, intermodal equipment provider, broker, or freight forwarder, or an officer, employee, agent, authorized representative, or other affiliated party of such an entity, that has, directly or indirectly, operated or attempted to operate a motor carrier, intermodal equipment provider, broker, or freight forwarder under a new identity or as an affiliated entity to— (i) avoid complying with a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration order; (ii) avoid complying with a statutory or regulatory requirement; (iii) avoid paying a civil penalty; (iv) avoid responding to an enforcement action; (v) avoid being linked with a negative compliance history;
The chameleon-carrier definition would also cover specified insurance-related identity changes: evading increased premiums, cancellations, or coverage restrictions; misrepresenting ownership or operations to obtain better insurance terms; and reconstituting a carrier after insurance denial, nonrenewal, or cancellation because of its safety, claims, or compliance history.
(vi) avoid or evade increased insurance premiums, policy cancellations, or underwriting restrictions by obtaining or attempting to obtain insurance coverage under a new or materially different identity, ownership structure, or corporate form; (vii) misrepresent ownership, control, management, or operational continuity to an insurer, broker, or underwriter for the purpose of securing lower insurance rates or favorable coverage terms; or (viii) reincorporate, re-register, or otherwise reconstitute a carrier entity following the denial, nonrenewal, or cancellation of an insurance policy due to safety, claims, or compliance history.
An existing registration disclosure would become subject to penalties for perjury. A family relationship could count toward relationship disclosure only when facts also indicate shared ownership, management, control, operations, or financing. The underlying disclosure provision is not reproduced in the bundle.
in paragraph (1)(C) by inserting , under penalty of perjury, after has disclosed
In determining whether a person has disclosed a relationship under paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary may only consider a familial relationship to be relevant when accompanied by facts indicating common ownership, management, control, operation, or financing between the person and other applicant.
The Secretary would have to deny registration to an applicant determined to be a chameleon carrier whose registration was revoked during the three years before its application.
The Secretary shall deny registration to an applicant if the Secretary determines that the applicant is a chameleon carrier whose registration was revoked during the 3-year period preceding the date of the filing of the application for registration.
The Secretary could waive the referenced registration requirement upon finding that an applicant is genuinely independent and is not being used to evade a federal safety requirement. Registration systems would also have to collect identifying information reasonably necessary to detect chameleon carriers and prevent evasion of registration sanctions.
The Secretary may waive the requirement under paragraph (1)(C) upon a finding that the applicant is a bona fide independent entity and is not being used to evade a Federal safety requirement.
The Secretary shall update Department of Transportation registration systems to collect such unique identifying information as is reasonably necessary to identify chameleon carriers and prevent evasion of registration sanctions.
Knowingly making a materially false disclosure, concealing a material relationship under the referenced registration provision, or using a successor or affiliated business to evade registration revocation or another federal motor carrier safety sanction would carry a fine of up to $25,000 per violation, up to one year in prison, or both.
Any person who knowingly makes a materially false statement or conceals a material relationship under section 13902(a)(1)(C), or uses a successor or affiliated entity for the purpose of evading a registration revocation or other Federal motor carrier safety sanction, shall, notwithstanding section 3571 of title 18, United States Code, be fined not more than $25,000 for each violation of this section, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
A carrier found by the Secretary, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, to have knowingly employed or contracted with a driver ineligible under federal law would face a civil penalty of at least $25,000 per offense. If that knowing employment or contracting resulted in serious injury or death, the minimum would be $100,000.
Any motor carrier who is determined by the Secretary, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, to have knowingly employed, or contracted with, an operator who is ineligible to operate a commercial motor vehicle under applicable Federal law shall be liable to the United States for a civil penalty of— (A) not less than $25,000 for each offense; or (B) if such knowing employment or contracting results in serious injury or death, not less than $100,000.
The bill’s “cabotage” rule concerns transportation between two U.S. points. It would prohibit that transportation by foreign motor carriers, foreign private motor carriers, and drivers operating under international transportation authority unless expressly authorized by federal law. It would preserve transportation incidental to lawful international commerce that federal law permits.
A foreign motor carrier or a foreign motor private carrier (as such terms are defined in section 13102 of title 49, United States Code) or a driver operating pursuant to authority permitting international transportation may not engage in domestic point-to-point transportation within the United States except to the extent expressly authorized by Federal law.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit transportation that is incidental to lawful international commerce and permitted under applicable Federal law.
A knowing violation of the domestic transportation prohibition would carry a civil penalty of up to $100,000 per vehicle for each day of violation.
A person that knowingly violates subsection (a) shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $100,000 per vehicle for each day on which a violation occurs.
The Transportation Secretary would establish enforcement procedures with Homeland Security and consultation with State highway authorities. These would include immigration or visa referrals and appropriate orders taking vehicles or drivers out of service. States would have to cooperate through inspections, reporting suspected violations, legally authorized access to inspection facilities, and enforcement records.
The Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security and in consultation with State highway authorities, shall establish procedures for cabotage enforcement, including referrals to the Department of Homeland Security for suspected immigration or visa violations and issuance of appropriate out-of-service orders.
Each State shall cooperate with the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security in the enforcement of this section, including by— (A) conducting or cooperating with appropriate inspections; (B) reporting suspected violations; (C) providing access to inspection facilities as authorized by law; and (D) maintaining enforcement records.
After notice and an opportunity to correct noncompliance, a State failing the cooperation requirements would lose access to 10 percent of its allocation under the two specified federal highway funding provisions. Withholding would occur on the first day of qualifying fiscal years, starting after the first fiscal year beginning after enactment.
The Secretary of Transportation shall withhold 10 percent of the amount required to be apportioned to any State under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 104(b) of title 23, United States Code, on the first day of each fiscal year after the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this section for which the Secretary determines, after notice and an opportunity to cure, that the State is not in compliance with the requirements of paragraph (1).
Withheld funds would remain available for allocation to the State for a period set by the Transportation Secretary. They would be allocated when the Secretary determined that the State had returned to substantial compliance.
Amounts withheld from a State under this paragraph shall remain available for apportionment to the State for a period prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation and shall be apportioned to the State upon a determination that the State has returned to substantial compliance with such requirements.
Homeland Security, coordinating with Transportation, would establish a pilot at one or more high-volume land ports of entry to evaluate technology for detecting unlawful domestic transportation by foreign-based carriers. Technologies would include electronic logs, satellite location tracking, and geofencing—tracking movement across virtual geographic boundaries—as well as other commercially and operationally feasible tools.
The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation, shall establish a pilot program to evaluate the use of electronic logging, GPS, geofencing, and other commercially and operationally feasible technologies at one or more high-volume land ports of entry to identify unlawful domestic point-to-point transportation by foreign-domiciled motor carriers.
The Secretaries would choose a practicable implementation schedule for the pilot, which would require appropriate data-security and privacy safeguards. They would report to Congress within two years after enactment on effectiveness, costs, feasibility, and possible broader deployment. The pilot would end when they submitted that report.
The pilot program established under paragraph (1) shall be implemented on a schedule determined practicable by the Secretaries and shall include appropriate safeguards for data security and privacy.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Transportation shall jointly submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness, cost, operational feasibility, and recommended scope of any potential broader deployment of the pilot program established under paragraph (1).
The pilot program established under paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date on which the Secretaries submit the report required under paragraph (3).
Within 180 days after enactment, Homeland Security would have to report to Congress, after consulting Transportation and State, on gaps in data sharing with Mexico that hinder enforcement. The report would address entry, exit, immigration status, and commercial carrier data, and identify legal, diplomatic, technological, and administrative options for improvement.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of State, shall submit to Congress a report on gaps in cross-border entry, exit, immigration-status, and commercial motor carrier data sharing with Mexico that impede enforcement of Federal cabotage and commercial motor vehicle laws. The report shall identify legal, diplomatic, technological, and administrative options for improving such information sharing and enforcement.
Transportation and Homeland Security would each submit annual implementation reports to the specified Senate and House committees, or could submit a joint report. Reports would cover license suspensions and revocations, English testing, chameleon-carrier actions, domestic transportation violations, enforcement and penalties, and information-system improvements.
The Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall each submit an annual report, or may jointly submit a consolidated annual report, to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives
(1) commercial driver’s license suspensions and revocations tied to the immigration and employment-authorization requirements established by the amendments made by section 2; (2) aggregate English language proficiency testing and State compliance information required under section 3(b); (3) carrier applications denied, or enforcement actions taken, under the chameleon carrier provisions established by the amendments made by section 4; (4) cabotage violations identified and enforcement actions taken under section 6; (5) civil, administrative, immigration-related, or other enforcement actions and penalties assessed under this Act or pursuant to amendments made by this Act; and (6) progress on modernization and integration of the commercial driver’s license information system and other information systems used to carry out the amendments made by sections 2 and 6.
The Comptroller General, who heads the Government Accountability Office, would have to evaluate implementation and effectiveness within three years after enactment.
(b) GAO review Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of this Act, including the amendments made by this Act.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated October 9, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on September 28, 2026. It does not establish what happened after those recorded actions.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-09T16:09:56Z. 2026-09-28: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 2026-09-28: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-28. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced-text version. This conclusion does not establish the absence of riders in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced-text version. This text-only finding does not establish formal earmark status or the absence of earmarks in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential benefit was identified in the complete supplied introduced-text version. Generally applicable eligibility safeguards, accommodations, and conditional exceptions were not treated as preferential benefits. This conclusion is limited to this version and does not cover other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 9, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI