Last week, Senators released two new bills related to the trucking industry. Sens. John Hoeven (R-ND), John Kramer (R-ND) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) introduced the Trucking Regulations Unduly Constricting Known Service-providers (TRUCKS) Act which aims to remove burdensome government regulations impacting the agricultural industry, school districts and trucking companies in rural America. The TRUCKS Act would exempt employees of agriculture-related industries, school districts and local units of governments (including county, municipal and tribal) from new Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) requirements to obtain their Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). Click here for the full bill text.

The second bill, introduced by Sens. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), is the Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act, which would repeal the motor carrier provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 that excludes many truckers from overtime protections. Sen. Padilla stated, “America’s truck drivers are on the frontlines of keeping goods and our economy moving. In fact, more than 70 percent of goods across the United States are shipped by truck…Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting supply chain crisis aggravated persistent hardships for truckers, including long hours spent waiting—often unpaid—to load and unload goods. As our nation makes historic investments in our port and supply chain infrastructure, I’ve introduced this legislation to improve wages and working conditions for these essential workers and build the foundation for good-paying, stable trucking jobs.” The House version of the bill - H.R. 7517 - was introduced by Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI).