What This Bill Does
This bill creates a national standard for how companies can safely choose truck carriers to transport goods. Companies that follow three specific checks on a truck carrier will be considered reasonable and prudent in their selection. The bill also requires the Secretary of Transportation to create new regulations about this standard within 18 months.
Who It Affects
Companies that hire truck carriers including shippers, brokers, freight forwarders, ocean transportation intermediaries, air carriers, customs brokers, and other motor carriers. Truck carriers and household goods carriers that transport goods. The Secretary of Transportation.
Key Provisions
• Companies hiring truck carriers are considered reasonable and prudent if they verify the carrier is registered, has required insurance, and is not deemed unfit to operate safely. This verification must happen between 45 days before shipment and the date of shipment. (Sec. 2(a)(1))
• The Secretary of Transportation must update regulations within 18 months to include the requirements for selecting safe carriers and create a process for revoking registration of unsafe carriers. (Sec. 2(c)(1))
• This temporary standard automatically ends when new federal regulations take effect. (Sec. 2(a)(2))
• The law does not override or cancel any state laws about drayage, which is the local transportation of goods. (Sec. 2(d))
What Changes
Companies will have a clear, nationwide standard showing they acted reasonably when selecting truck carriers. Instead of facing liability for choosing unsafe carriers, they can protect themselves by doing three checks: confirming registration, confirming insurance, and checking that the carrier has not been deemed unfit.
Important Definitions
Covered entity: A person acting as a shipper, broker, freight forwarder, transportation intermediary, air carrier, customs broker, or motor carrier. Does not include individual shippers.
Covered motor carrier: A truck carrier or household goods carrier subject to federal safety and financial rules.
Household goods: Not defined in this bill text.
Secretary: The Secretary of Transportation.
IB
Union Calendar No. 639
118TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 915
[Report No. 118–773]
To establish a national motor carrier safety selection standard for entities
that contract with certain motor carriers to transport goods, and for
other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 9, 2023
Mr. GALLAGHER (for himself and Mr. MOULTON) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
NOVEMBER 26, 2024
Additional sponsors: Mr. MEUSER, Ms. MACE, Ms. VAN
DUYNE, Mr.
CUELLAR, Mr. WOMACK, Mr. VAN
ORDEN, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr.
STAUBER, Mr. NEHLS, Mr. BOST, Mr. MOLINARO, Mr. ALLRED, Mr.
YAKYM, Mr. ROUZER, Mr. WILLIAMS of New York, Mr. GRAVES of Lou-
isiana, Mr. GOTTHEIMER, Mrs. GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N, Mr. OWENS, and Mr.
FINSTAD
NOVEMBER 26, 2024
Deleted sponsor: Mr. ALLRED (added April 17, 2023; deleted May 22, 2023)
NOVEMBER 26, 2024
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
and ordered to be printed
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•HR 915 RH
A BILL
To establish a national motor carrier safety selection stand-
ard for entities that contract with certain motor carriers
to transport goods, and for other purposes.
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•HR 915 RH
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Motor Carrier Safety
4
Selection Standard Act’’.
5
SEC. 2. MOTOR CARRIER SELECTION STANDARD OF CARE.
6
(a) IN GENERAL.—
7
(1) SELECTION STANDARD.—For any applicable
8
legal requirement with respect to a covered entity
9
contracting with a covered motor carrier for the
10
shipment of goods or household goods, the covered
11
entity shall be considered reasonable and prudent in
12
the selection of such motor carrier if the covered en-
13
tity verifies, not later than the date of shipment and
14
not earlier than 45 days before the date of shipment,
15
that the covered motor carrier—
16
(A) is registered under section 13902 of
17
title 49, United States Code, as a motor carrier
18
or household goods motor carrier;
19
(B) has at least the minimum insurance
20
coverage required by Federal and State law;
21
and
22
(C) is not determined unfit to operate safe-
23
ly commercial motor vehicles under section
24
31144 of title 49, United States Code, or other-
25
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•HR 915 RH
wise ordered to discontinue operations by the
1
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
2
(including not renewing a Department of
3
Transportation registration number) or a State,
4
for intrastate commerce.
5
(2) SUNSET.—The standard established under
6
paragraph (1) shall sunset on the effective date of
7
a regulation issued pursuant to subsection (c).
8
(b)
REVOCATION
OF
REGISTRATION.—Section
9
31144(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
10
(1) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘and’’;
11
(2) in paragraph (4) by striking the period and
12
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
13
(3) by adding at the end the following:
14
‘‘(5) prescribe by regulation a process for revok-
15
ing the registration of an owner or operator deter-
16
mined unfit to operate safely a commercial motor ve-
17
hicle under this section.’’.
18
(c) RULEMAKING.—
19
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months
20
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec-
21
retary shall—
22
(A) update and revise the regulations
23
issued pursuant to subsection (b) of section
24
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•HR 915 RH
31144 to include the requirements of subsection
1
(a); and
2
(B) issue such regulations as are necessary
3
to carry out section 31144(a)(5), as added by
4
this Act.
5
(2) FACTORS FOR AN UNSATISFACTORY RAT-
6
ING.—The regulations updated under paragraph
7
(1)(A) shall provide a procedure for the Secretary to
8
determine if a motor carrier is not fit to operate a
9
commercial motor vehicle in or affecting interstate
10
commerce in accordance with such section.
11
(d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this Act shall be
12
construed to preempt or supercede any State law or regu-
13
lation relating to drayage.
14
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:
15
(1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en-
16
tity’’ means a person acting as—
17
(A) a shipper or cosignee of goods, except
18
that such term does not mean a person acting
19
as an individual shipper (as such term is de-
20
fined in section 13103 of title 49, United States
21
Code);
22
(B) a broker, a freight forwarder, or a
23
household goods freight forwarder (as such
24
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•HR 915 RH
terms are defined in section 13102 of title 49,
1
United States Code);
2
(C) an ocean transportation intermediary
3
(as such term is defined in section 40102 of
4
title 46, United States Code), when arranging
5
for inland transportation as part of an inter-
6
national through movement involving ocean
7
transportation between the United States and a
8
foreign port;
9
(D) an indirect air carrier holding a
10
Standard Security Program approved by the
11
Transportation Security Administration, only to
12
the extent that the indirect air carrier is engag-
13
ing in the activities as an air carrier as defined
14
in section 40102(2) or in the activities defined
15
in section 40102(3);
16
(E) a customs broker licensed in accord-
17
ance with section 111.2 of title 19, Code of
18
Federal Regulations, only to the extent that the
19
customs broker is engaging in a movement
20
under a customs bond or in a transaction in-
21
volving customs business, as defined by section
22
111.1 of title 19, Code of Federal Regulations;
23
or
24
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•HR 915 RH
(F) a motor carrier registered under chap-
1
ter 139 of title 49, United States Code.
2
(2) COVERED
MOTOR
CARRIER.—The term
3
‘‘covered motor carrier’’ means a motor carrier or a
4
household goods motor carrier (as such terms are
5
defined in section 13102 of title 49, United States
6
Code) that is subject to Federal motor carrier finan-
7
cial responsibility and safety regulations.
8
(3) HOUSEHOLD GOODS.—The term ‘‘household
9
goods’’ has the meaning given the term in section
10
13102 of title 49, United States Code.
11
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
12
the Secretary of Transportation.
13
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Union Calendar No. 639
118TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 915
[Report No. 118–773]
A BILL
To establish a national motor carrier safety selec-
tion standard for entities that contract with cer-
tain motor carriers to transport goods, and for
other purposes.
NOVEMBER 26, 2024
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
VerDate Sep 11 2014
22:39 Nov 26, 2024
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PO 00000
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