SHIP IT Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 471 To amend title 23, United States Code, with respect to commercial motor vehicle parking, safety, and licensing, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 24, 2023 Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota (for himself and Mr. COSTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Education and the Workforce, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title 23, United States Code, with respect to commercial motor vehicle parking, safety, and licensing, and for other purposes. 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 ‘‘Safer Highways and 4 Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘SHIP IT Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 471 IH SEC. 2. MODERNIZING AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN VEHICLE 1 WAIVERS DURING EMERGENCIES. 2 Section 127(i) of title 23, United States Code, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 ‘‘(i) SPECIAL PERMITS DURING PERIODS OF NA- 5 TIONAL EMERGENCY.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 7 provision of this section, a State may issue special 8 permits during an emergency to overweight vehicles 9 and loads that can easily be dismantled or divided 10 if the conditions of either paragraph (2) or para- 11 graph (3) are met. 12 ‘‘(2) PRESIDENTIAL DECLARATION.—The con- 13 ditions of paragraph (2) as referenced in paragraph 14 (1) of this subsection are— 15 ‘‘(A) the President has declared the emer- 16 gency to be a major disaster under the Robert 17 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As- 18 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); 19 ‘‘(B) the permits described in paragraph 20 (1) are issued in accordance with State law; 21 ‘‘(C) the permits are issued exclusively to 22 vehicles and loads that are delivering relief sup- 23 plies; and 24 ‘‘(D) a permit shall expire not later than 25 120 days after the date of the declaration of 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 471 IH emergency under subparagraph (A) of this 1 paragraph. 2 ‘‘(3) SECRETARIAL DECLARATION.—The condi- 3 tions of paragraph (3) are the following: 4 ‘‘(A) The Secretary has declared that— 5 ‘‘(i) emergency or other unusual con- 6 ditions, including weather, fire, earth- 7 quake, disease, or natural emergencies and 8 including financial or other non-natural 9 emergencies, are having a negative impact 10 on commerce in a State or regionally or 11 nationally; or 12 ‘‘(ii) supply chains in United States 13 commerce are functioning in a suboptimal 14 manner in a State or regionally or nation- 15 ally, either in terms of slow overall move- 16 ment, freight traffic congestion, or other- 17 wise. 18 ‘‘(B) The permits described in paragraph 19 (1) are issued in accordance with State law. 20 ‘‘(C) The permit shall expire— 21 ‘‘(i) 365 days after the Secretary 22 makes a declaration pursuant to subpara- 23 graph (A), unless the expiration date is ex- 24 tended by the Secretary; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 471 IH ‘‘(ii) 180 days after the Secretary de- 1 clares that the emergency or other condi- 2 tion declared by the Secretary pursuant to 3 subparagraph (A) has expired, whichever is 4 later. 5 ‘‘(D) In administering this paragraph, the 6 Secretary shall give weight to requests by a 7 State to make or extend subparagraph (A) dec- 8 larations.’’. 9 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR WORKFORCE GRANTS. 10 Section 134 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 11 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3174) is amended by adding at the 12 end the following: 13 ‘‘(e) TRUCK DRIVERS.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the com- 15 mercial motor vehicle operator profession, the Sec- 16 retary shall provide grants to individuals for the tui- 17 tion and fees and other costs of entry level driver 18 training provided by an entity listed as a training 19 provider on the registry maintained by the Federal 20 Motor Carrier Safety Administration and for such 21 other education and training costs as the Secretary 22 may approve, including the cost of course materials, 23 supplies, technology, and fees for graduation, licen- 24 sure, or certification. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 471 IH ‘‘(2) SIMPLIFIED PROCESS.—As soon as prac- 1 ticable after the date of enactment of this sub- 2 section, the Secretary shall develop a simplified proc- 3 ess through which grants may be provided under 4 this subsection that would be readily accessible to in- 5 dividuals with non-Federal share requirements set at 6 the lowest level allowed under other provisions of 7 this section. 8 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Expenses authorized 9 under paragraph (1) shall be provided both through 10 the structure of existing programs pursuant to sub- 11 sections (a) through (d) of this section and through 12 the process developed by the Secretary under sub- 13 section (e).’’. 14 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING SUPPLY CHAINS THROUGH 15 TRUCK DRIVER INCENTIVES ACT. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Internal Revenue Code of 17 1986 is amended by inserting after section 36B the fol- 18 lowing new section: 19 ‘‘SEC. 36C. CREDIT FOR COMMERCIAL TRUCK DRIVERS. 20 ‘‘(a) ALLOWANCE OF CREDIT.—In the case of an eli- 21 gible individual, there shall be allowed as a credit against 22 the tax imposed by this subtitle an amount equal to 23 $7,500 for the taxable year. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 471 IH ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For the purposes of 1 this section, the term ‘eligible taxpayer’ means, with re- 2 spect to a taxable year, an individual— 3 ‘‘(1) who holds a valid Class A commercial driv- 4 er’s license (except as provided in subsection (c)) 5 who operates a tractor-trailer combination that 6 qualifies as a Group A vehicle under section 7 383.91(a)(1) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula- 8 tions, 9 ‘‘(2) whose adjusted gross income for the tax- 10 able year does not exceed— 11 ‘‘(A) in the case of a joint return or sur- 12 viving spouse, $135,000, 13 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who is a 14 head of household, $112,500, or 15 ‘‘(C) in the case of any other individual, 16 $90,000, and 17 ‘‘(3) who drove such a vehicle in the course of 18 a trade or business— 19 ‘‘(A) and served not less than 1900 hours 20 of on-duty time, including driving time, during 21 such taxable year, or 22 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who did 23 not drive a commercial truck in the preceding 24 taxable year, not less than an average of 40 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 471 IH hours per week of on-duty time, including driv- 1 ing time, with respect to weeks during the tax- 2 able year in which such individual drove such a 3 vehicle in the course of a trade or business. 4 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR APPRENTICES.—With re- 5 spect to an individual enrolled in an apprenticeship pro- 6 gram registered under the Act of August 16, 1937 (com- 7 monly known as the ‘National Apprenticeship Act’), who, 8 upon completion or in the course of such apprenticeship 9 program will receive a Class A commercial driver’s li- 10 cense— 11 ‘‘(1) the requirements of subsection (b)(1) shall 12 not apply, and 13 ‘‘(2) such individual may count training hours 14 in such program as hours driving a vehicle described 15 in subsection (b)(1) for the purposes of this section. 16 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR NEW TRUCK DRIVERS.— 17 Except as provided in subsection (e), in the case of an 18 eligible taxpayer who did not drive a commercial truck in 19 the course of a trade or business during the preceding tax- 20 able year, subsection (a) shall be applied by substituting 21 ‘$10,000’ for ‘$7,500’. 22 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULE FOR DRIVERS WITH LESS THAN 23 1420 HOURS.—In the case of an eligible taxpayer who did 24 not drive a commercial truck in the preceding taxable year 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 471 IH who drives a commercial truck and served for less than 1 1420 hours of on-duty time, including driving time, in the 2 course of a trade or business during the taxable year, the 3 amount of the credit allowed by subsection (a) shall be 4 the amount that bears the same proportion to the dollar 5 amount (determined without regard to this subsection) 6 with respect to the individual under subsection (a) as the 7 number of hours of on-duty time, including driving time, 8 such individual drove a commercial truck in the course of 9 a trade or business during such taxable year bears to 1420 10 hours. 11 ‘‘(f) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—In the case of any 12 taxable year beginning after 2022, the dollar amounts in 13 this section shall be increased by an amount equal to— 14 ‘‘(1) such dollar amount, multiplied by 15 ‘‘(2) the cost-of-living adjustment determined 16 under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar year in which 17 the taxable year begins, determined by substituting 18 ‘calendar year 2021’ for ‘calendar year 2016’ in sub- 19 paragraph (A)(ii). 20 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION.—An eligible individual shall be al- 21 lowed the credit under this section only 2 times. 22 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘on- 23 duty time’’ and ‘‘driving time’’ shall have the meaning 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 471 IH given such terms in section 395.2 of title 49, Code of Fed- 1 eral Regulations.’’. 2 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 6211(b)(4)(A) of the 4 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by in- 5 serting ‘‘, 36C’’ after ‘‘36B’’. 6 (2) REFUND OF INTERNAL REVENUE COLLEC- 7 TIONS.—Section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United 8 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘, 36C’’ after 9 ‘‘, 36B’’. 10 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 11 tions for subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of 12 chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 13 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec- 14 tion 36B the following new item: ‘‘Sec. 36C. Credit 15 for commercial truck drivers.’’. 16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 17 this section shall apply to taxable years ending on or after 18 December 31, 2022. 19 SEC. 5. PARKING FOR COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES. 20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 21 gress that it should be a national priority to address the 22 shortage of parking for commercial motor vehicles on the 23 Federal-aid highway system to improve highway safety. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 471 IH (b) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 1 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 2 lowing: 3 ‘‘§ 180. Parking for commercial motor vehicles 4 ‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—Subject to the availability 5 of funds, the Secretary shall make grants under this sec- 6 tion, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities for projects 7 to provide parking for commercial motor vehicles and im- 8 prove the safety of commercial motor vehicle operators. 9 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant 10 under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the 11 Secretary an application at such time and in such manner 12 as the Secretary may require. 13 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION CONTENTS.—An application sub- 14 mitted under subsection (b) shall contain— 15 ‘‘(1) a description of the proposed project; and 16 ‘‘(2) any other information that the Secretary 17 may require. 18 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The following entities 19 shall be eligible to receive amounts under this section: 20 ‘‘(1) A State. 21 ‘‘(2) A metropolitan planning organization. 22 ‘‘(3) A unit of local government. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 471 IH ‘‘(4) A political subdivision of a State or local 1 government carrying out responsibilities relating to 2 commercial motor vehicle parking. 3 ‘‘(5) A Tribal government or a consortium of 4 Tribal governments. 5 ‘‘(6) A multistate or multijurisdictional group 6 of entities described in paragraphs (1) through (5). 7 ‘‘(e) PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION.—An eligible 8 entity that receives a grant under this section may partner 9 with a private entity to carry out an eligible project under 10 this section. 11 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An entity may use a grant 13 awarded under this section for a project described in 14 paragraph (2) that is on— 15 ‘‘(A) a Federal-aid highway; or 16 ‘‘(B) a facility with reasonable access to— 17 ‘‘(i) a Federal-aid highway; or 18 ‘‘(ii) a freight facility. 19 ‘‘(2) PROJECTS DESCRIBED.—A project de- 20 scribed in this paragraph is a project to— 21 ‘‘(A) construct safety rest areas (as such 22 term is defined in section 120(c)) that include 23 parking for commercial motor vehicles; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Mar 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H471.IH H471 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 471 IH ‘‘(B) construct additional commercial 1 motor vehicle parking capacity— 2 ‘‘(i) adjacent to private commercial 3 truck stops and travel plazas; 4 ‘‘(ii) within the boundaries of, or adja- 5 cent to, a publicly owned freight facility, 6 including a port terminal operated by a 7 public authority; and 8 ‘‘(iii) at existing facilities, including 9 inspection and weigh stations and park- 10 and-ride locations; 11 ‘‘(C) open existing weigh stations, safety 12 rest areas, and park-and-ride facilities to com- 13 mercial motor vehicle parking; 14 ‘‘(D) construct or make capital improve- 15 ments to existing public commercial motor vehi- 16 cle parking facilities to expand parking utiliza- 17 tion and avai [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]