II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4861 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to exempt employees in certain 

farm-related service industries and employees of State, local, and Tribal 

governments from entry-level driver training requirements for operating 

a commercial motor vehicle and allow States to issue restricted commercial driver’s licenses to owners and employees of certain small businesses, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 

Mr. ROUNDS (for himself, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. MARSHALL, and Mr. CRAMER) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to exempt employees 

in certain farm-related service industries and employees 

of State, local, and Tribal governments from entry-level 

driver training requirements for operating a commercial 

motor vehicle and allow States to issue restricted commercial driver’s licenses to owners and employees of certain small businesses, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Trucking Regulations 

3 Unduly Constricting Known Service-providers Act of 

4 2022’’ or the ‘‘TRUCKS Act of 2022’’. 

5 SEC. 2. ENTRY-LEVEL DRIVER TRAINING. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 31305 of title 49, United 

7 States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

9 paragraph (1), in the first sentence, by inserting 

10 ‘‘(referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’)’’ 

11 after ‘‘Secretary of Transportation’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(e) EXEMPTION FROM ENTRY-LEVEL TRAINING

14 REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.— 

16 In this subsection, the term ‘Tribal government’ 

17 means the governing body of an Indian Tribe (as de18 fined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

19 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)). 

20 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTION.—A State may exempt from 

21 all entry-level training requirements established 

22 under subsection (c) any individual who is— 

23 ‘‘(A) an employee of— 

24 ‘‘(i) an agri-chemical business; 

25 ‘‘(ii) a custom harvester; 

26 ‘‘(iii) a farm retail outlet or supplier; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a livestock feeder; or 

2 ‘‘(v) any other farm-related service in3 dustry that the Secretary, by regulation, 

4 determines to be appropriate; or 

5 ‘‘(B) an employee of— 

6 ‘‘(i) the State; 

7 ‘‘(ii) any unit of local government in 

8 the State, including a county (or equiva9 lent jurisdiction); or 

10 ‘‘(iii) a Tribal government. 

11 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—An exemption under this 

12 subsection may be applied with respect to— 

13 ‘‘(A) obtaining or upgrading a commercial 

14 driver’s license with respect to any commercial 

15 motor vehicle group described in section 

16 383.91(a) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula17 tions (or a successor regulation); and 

18 ‘‘(B) obtaining an endorsement to operate 

19 any type of commercial motor vehicle described 

20 in section 383.93(b) of that title (or a successor 

21 regulation). 

22 ‘‘(f) RESTRICTED CDLS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

24 ‘‘(A) ENDORSEMENT.—The term ‘endorse25 ment’ has the meaning given the term in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Sep 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4861.IS S4861

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1 tion 383.5 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula2 tions (or a successor regulation). 

3 ‘‘(B) GOOD DRIVING RECORD.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘good 

5 driving record’, with respect to a driver, 

6 means that, for the applicable period de7 scribed in clause (ii), the driver— 

8 ‘‘(I) subject to clause (iii), has 

9 not held more than 1 driver’s license; 

10 ‘‘(II) has not had a driver’s li11 cense suspended, revoked, or canceled; 

12 ‘‘(III) has not been convicted of 

13 any disqualifying offense described in 

14 section 383.51(b) of title 49, Code of 

15 Federal Regulations (or a successor 

16 regulation), with respect to any type 

17 of motor vehicle described in that sec18 tion; 

19 ‘‘(IV) has not been convicted of 

20 any serious traffic violation with re21 spect to any type of motor vehicle; 

22 ‘‘(V) has not been convicted of 

23 any violation of a State or local law 

24 relating to motor vehicle traffic con25 trol (other than a parking violation) 


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1 arising in connection with any traffic 

2 accident; and 

3 ‘‘(VI) has no record of an acci4 dent with respect to which the driver 

5 was at fault. 

6 ‘‘(ii) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—The pe7 riod referred to in clause (i) is— 

8 ‘‘(I) for a driver with not less 

9 than 1 year, and not more than 2 

10 years, of driving experience, the pe11 riod constituting the entire driving 

12 history of the driver; and 

13 ‘‘(II) for a driver with more than 

14 2 years of driving experience, the 2- 

15 year period ending on, as applicable— 

16 ‘‘(aa) the date on which the 

17 driver is issued a restricted driv18 er’s license under this subsection; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(bb) the date on which the 

21 applicable restricted driver’s li22 cense issued under this sub23 section is renewed. 

24 ‘‘(iii) NUMBER OF DRIVER’S LI25 CENSES.—Subject to any applicable regulaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Sep 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4861.IS S4861

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1 tions promulgated or guidance issued by 

2 the Secretary, a State may consider certain 

3 combinations of driver’s or operator’s li4 censes, such as a regular license and a 

5 school bus license or a regular license and 

6 a restricted commercial driver’s license 

7 issued pursuant to this subsection, to be a 

8 single license for purposes of clause (i)(I), 

9 as the State determines to be appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED APPLICANT.—The term 

11 ‘qualified applicant’ means an applicant for a 

12 restricted commercial driver’s license who— 

13 ‘‘(i) is an owner or employee of a 

14 business that employs not more than 9 em15 ployees who hold a commercial driver’s li16 cense as of the date on which the restricted 

17 commercial driver’s license is issued, re18 gardless of the total number of employees 

19 employed by the business; 

20 ‘‘(ii) has held a driver’s license for at 

21 least 1 year as of the date on which the re22 stricted commercial driver’s license is 

23 issued; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) has a good driving record. 


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1 ‘‘(D) RESTRICTED COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S

2 LICENSE.—The term ‘restricted commercial 

3 driver’s license’ means a commercial driver’s li4 cense that complies with, and is issued in com5 pliance with, this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF RESTRICTED CDL.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may issue a 

8 restricted commercial driver’s license pursuant 

9 to this subsection only to a qualified applicant. 

10 ‘‘(B) COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE

11 GROUPS.—A State may issue a restricted com12 mercial driver’s license pursuant to this sub13 section with respect to any commercial motor 

14 vehicle group, or any combination of commer15 cial motor vehicle groups, described in section 

16 383.91(a) of title 49, Code of Federal Regula17 tions (or a successor regulation), as the State 

18 determines to be appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(C) WAIVER OF ENTRY-LEVEL TRAINING

20 REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to the issuance 

21 of a restricted commercial driver’s license to a 

22 qualified applicant pursuant to this subsection, 

23 a State may waive all entry-level training re24 quirements established under subsection (c). 

25 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 

2 provided in this subsection, a restricted com3 mercial driver’s license issued pursuant to this 

4 subsection, and the issuance of that restricted 

5 commercial driver’s license by a State, shall 

6 comply with all applicable requirements of— 

7 ‘‘(i) this chapter; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) part 383 of title 49, Code of 

9 Federal Regulations (or successor regula10 tions). 

11 ‘‘(B) NONAPPLICATION OF CERTAIN REGU12 LATIONS.—Sections 383.131, 383.133, and 

13 383.135 of title 49, Code of Federal Regula14 tions (or successor regulations), shall not apply 

15 with respect to a restricted commercial driver’s 

16 license, or the issuance of a restricted commer17 cial driver’s license, pursuant to this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(4) ENDORSEMENTS AND PRIVILEGES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A restricted commer20 cial driver’s license issued pursuant to this sub21 section shall not be issued with any endorse22 ments on the license document. 

23 ‘‘(B) TANK VEHICLES AND HAZARDOUS

24 MATERIALS PRIVILEGES.—Notwithstanding any 

25 other provision of law (including regulations), a 


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1 State may provide that the holder of a re2 stricted commercial driver’s license issued pur3 suant to this subsection may drive vehicles car4 rying placarded quantities of hazardous mate5 rials of the type and in the quantities described 

6 in section 383.3(f)(3)(v) of title 49, Code of 

7 Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), 

8 or in such lesser quantities as the State deter9 mines to be appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(5) RENEWAL.— 

11 ‘‘(A) RENEWAL CYCLE.—A restricted com12 mercial driver’s license issued pursuant to this 

13 subsection shall have the same renewal cycle as 

14 an unrestricted commercial driver’s license 

15 issued by the same State. 

16 ‘‘(B) GOOD DRIVING RECORD.—Prior to 

17 renewal of a restricted commercial driver’s li18 cense issued under this subsection, the State 

19 issuing the restricted commercial driver’s li20 cense shall confirm that the holder of the re21 stricted commercial driver’s license has a good 

22 driving record. 

23 ‘‘(6) RECIPROCITY.—A restricted commercial 

24 driver’s license issued pursuant to this subsection 

25 shall be accorded the same reciprocity as a commerVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Sep 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4861.IS S4861

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1 cial driver’s license meeting all of the requirements 

2 of part 383 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations 

3 (or successor regulations). 

4 ‘‘(7) LIMITATION ON ADDITIONAL RESTRIC5 TIONS.—Any restrictions imposed on a restricted 

6 commercial driver’s license issued pursuant to this 

7 subsection, the holder of such a license, or the 

8 issuance of such a license by a State shall not— 

9 ‘‘(A) limit the use by the holder of the re10 stricted commercial driver’s license in a motor 

11 vehicle that is not a commercial motor vehicle; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(B) affect the power of a State to admin14 ister the driver licensing program of the State 

15 for operators of vehicles that are not commer16 cial motor vehicles. 

17 ‘‘(8) PROHIBITION.—An individual may not 

18 hold a restricted commercial driver’s license issued 

19 pursuant to this subsection and an unrestricted com20 mercial driver’s license at the same time.’’. 

21 (b) COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSE UNIFORM

22 STANDARDS.—Section 31308(1) of title 49, United States 

23 Code, is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph 

24 (A), by inserting ‘‘except as otherwise provided in sub25 sections (d) through (f) of section 31305 or any other proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Sep 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4861.IS S4861

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1 vision of Federal law (including regulations),’’ before ‘‘an 

2 individual issued’’. 

Æ 


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