I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7457 

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 

JULY 1, 2020 

Mr. GIBBS (for himself and Mr. CUELLAR) 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 (2) SUNSET.—The standard established under 

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

23 a regulation issued pursuant to subsection (c). 

24 (b) REVOCATION OF REGISTRATION.—Section 

25 31144(a) of title 49, United States Code, is amended— 


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

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

3 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(5) prescribe by regulation a process for revok6 ing the registration of an owner or operator deter7 mined unfit to operate safely a commercial motor ve8 hicle under this section.’’. 

9 (c) RULEMAKING.— 

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

11 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary shall— 

13 (A) update and revise the regulations 

14 issued pursuant to subsection (b) of section 

15 31144 to include the requirements of subsection 

16 (a); and 

17 (B) issue such regulations as are necessary 

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

19 this Act. 

20 (2) FACTORS FOR AN UNSATISFACTORY RAT21 ING.—The regulations updated under paragraph 

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

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

24 commercial motor vehicle in or affecting interstate 

25 commerce in accordance with such section. 


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

2 construed to preempt or supercede any State law or regu3 lation relating to drayage. 

4 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

5 (1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en6 tity’’ means a person acting as— 

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

8 that such term does not mean a person acting 

9 as an individual shipper (as such term is de10 fined in section 13103 of title 49, United States 

11 Code); 

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

13 household goods freight forwarder (as such 

14 terms are defined in section 13102 of title 49, 

15 United States Code); 

16 (C) an ocean transportation intermediary 

17 (as such term is defined in section 40102 of 

18 title 46, United States Code), when arranging 

19 for inland transportation as part of an inter20 national through movement involving ocean 

21 transportation between the United States and a 

22 foreign port; 

23 (D) an indirect air carrier holding a 

24 Standard Security Program approved by the 

25 Transportation Security Administration, only to 


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1 the extent that the indirect air carrier is engag2 ing in the activities as an air carrier as defined 

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

4 in section 40102(3); 

5 (E) a customs broker licensed in accord6 ance with section 111.2 of title 19, Code of 

7 Federal Regulations, only to the extent that the 

8 customs broker is engaging in a movement 

9 under a customs bond or in a transaction in10 volving customs business, as defined by section 

11 111.1 of title 19, Code of Federal Regulations; 

12 or 

13 (F) a motor carrier registered under chap14 ter 139 of title 49, United States Code. 

15 (2) COVERED MOTOR CARRIER.—The term 

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

17 household goods motor carrier (as such terms are 

18 defined in section 13102 of title 49, United States 

19 Code) that is subject to Federal motor carrier finan20 cial responsibility and safety regulations. 

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

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

23 13102 of title 49, United States Code. 


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

2 the Secretary of Transportation. 

Æ 


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