I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 915 

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 

A BILL 

To establish a national motor carrier safety selection standard for entities that contract with certain motor carriers 

to transport goods, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Motor Carrier Safety 

5 Selection Standard Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MOTOR CARRIER SELECTION STANDARD OF CARE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

8 (1) SELECTION STANDARD.—For any applicable 

9 legal requirement with respect to a covered entity 


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1 contracting with a covered motor carrier for the 

2 shipment of goods or household goods, the covered 

3 entity shall be considered reasonable and prudent in 

4 the selection of such motor carrier if the covered en5 tity verifies, not later than the date of shipment and 

6 not earlier than 45 days before the date of shipment, 

7 that the covered motor carrier— 

8 (A) is registered under section 13902 of 

9 title 49, United States Code, as a motor carrier 

10 or household goods motor carrier; 

11 (B) has at least the minimum insurance 

12 coverage required by Federal and State law; 

13 and 

14 (C) is not determined unfit to operate safe15 ly commercial motor vehicles under section 

16 31144 of title 49, United States Code, or other17 wise ordered to discontinue operations by the 

18 Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration 

19 (including not renewing a Department of 

20 Transportation registration number) or a State, 

21 for intrastate commerce. 

22 (2) SUNSET.—The standard established under 

23 paragraph (1) shall sunset on the effective date of 

24 a regulation issued pursuant to subsection (c). 


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1 (b) REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION.—Section 

2 31144(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 

3 (1) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘and’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking the period and 

5 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(5) prescribe by regulation a process for revok8 ing the registration of an owner or operator deter9 mined unfit to operate safely a commercial motor ve10 hicle under this section.’’. 

11 (c) RULEMAKING.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec14 retary shall— 

15 (A) update and revise the regulations 

16 issued pursuant to subsection (b) of section 

17 31144 to include the requirements of subsection 

18 (a); and 

19 (B) issue such regulations as are necessary 

20 to carry out section 31144(a)(5), as added by 

21 this Act. 

22 (2) FACTORS FOR AN UNSATISFACTORY RAT23 ING.—The regulations updated under paragraph 

24 (1)(A) shall provide a procedure for the Secretary to 

25 determine if a motor carrier is not fit to operate a 


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1 commercial motor vehicle in or affecting interstate 

2 commerce in accordance with such section. 

3 (d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

4 construed to preempt or supercede any State law or regu5 lation relating to drayage. 

6 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

7 (1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en8 tity’’ means a person acting as— 

9 (A) a shipper or cosignee of goods, except 

10 that such term does not mean a person acting 

11 as an individual shipper (as such term is de12 fined in section 13103 of title 49, United States 

13 Code); 

14 (B) a broker, a freight forwarder, or a 

15 household goods freight forwarder (as such 

16 terms are defined in section 13102 of title 49, 

17 United States Code); 

18 (C) an ocean transportation intermediary 

19 (as such term is defined in section 40102 of 

20 title 46, United States Code), when arranging 

21 for inland transportation as part of an inter22 national through movement involving ocean 

23 transportation between the United States and a 

24 foreign port; 


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1 (D) an indirect air carrier holding a 

2 Standard Security Program approved by the 

3 Transportation Security Administration, only to 

4 the extent that the indirect air carrier is engag5 ing in the activities as an air carrier as defined 

6 in section 40102(2) or in the activities defined 

7 in section 40102(3); 

8 (E) a customs broker licensed in accord9 ance with section 111.2 of title 19, Code of 

10 Federal Regulations, only to the extent that the 

11 customs broker is engaging in a movement 

12 under a customs bond or in a transaction in13 volving customs business, as defined by section 

14 111.1 of title 19, Code of Federal Regulations; 

15 or 

16 (F) a motor carrier registered under chap17 ter 139 of title 49, United States Code. 

18 (2) COVERED MOTOR CARRIER.—The term 

19 ‘‘covered motor carrier’’ means a motor carrier or a 

20 household goods motor carrier (as such terms are 

21 defined in section 13102 of title 49, United States 

22 Code) that is subject to Federal motor carrier finan23 cial responsibility and safety regulations. 


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1 (3) HOUSEHOLD GOODS.—The term ‘‘household 

2 goods’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

3 13102 of title 49, United States Code. 

4 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

5 the Secretary of Transportation. 

Æ 


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