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To amend title 49, United States Code, to grant the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico eligibility to issue commercial driver's licenses, and for other purposes.
To amend title 49, United States Code, to grant the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico eligibility to issue commercial driver's licenses, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill amends federal motor vehicle safety law to grant the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico the authority to issue commercial driver's licenses. It requires the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to work with these territories to achieve compliance with federal commercial motor vehicle safety standards and regulations. The bill provides a 5-year grace period during which the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico will not face withholding of federal highway funding for failure to comply with certain commercial motor vehicle safety requirements. This allows the territories time to implement the necessary regulatory framework and compliance measures.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
2 cosponsors
Actions (3)
- Dec 1, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. · house
- Sep 30, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. · house
- Sep 30, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
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Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 30, 2025
Ms. Plaskett (for herself, Mr. Hernandez, and Mr. Edwards) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to grant the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico eligibility to issue commercial driver’s licenses, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. APPLICATION OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY.
(a) Definitions.—Section 31301(14) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by striking “and” and inserting a comma; and
(2) by inserting “, and the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico” before the period.
(b) Penalty.—Section 165(c) of title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(8) Penalty.—The amounts treated as being apportioned to the United States Virgin Islands under this subsection shall be deemed to be required to be apportioned to the United States Virgin Islands under that section for purposes of the imposition of any penalty under this title or title 49.”.
(c) Implementation.—The Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall work with the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on obtaining full compliance with chapter 313 of title 49, United States Code, and regulations adopted under such chapter.
(d) Grace Period.—Notwithstanding section 31311(a) of title 49, United States Code, during a 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico shall not be subject to a withholding of an apportionment of funds under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 104(b) of title 23, United States Code, for failure to comply with any requirement under section 31311(a) of title 49, United States Code. <all>
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