Latest news with #TexasTruckingAssociation
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Last-ditch attempt at tort reform in Texas falls short as second bill fails
The last-ditch attempt that the Texas trucking industry had at tort reform in the now-ended legislative session died in a House committee earlier this week. After seeing one other bill die in committee last week, the Texas Trucking Association had hopes that one other piece of legislation – SB30 in the Senate and its companion bill in the House, HB 4806 – might make it through the last few days of the biennial legislative session that ended Monday. But the push came up short. While SB30 was passed by the full Senate, HB 4806 ended the session still on the agenda in the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence failure meant that the Texas Trucking Association (TTA) and other Texas groups went zero for two in tort reform efforts this session. The original version of SB 30 would have made significant changes in the financial penalties that could be levied against a defendant in a lawsuit involving injury. But in a report on the bill from the San Antonio Express News, the newspaper said the death of SB30/HB4806 'came after it already had been pared down to an unrecognizable version that only required disclosure of referrals between lawyers and health care providers. It also would have expanded the options for what evidence could be admitted to estimate damages.' John Esparaza, the CEO of the TTA, issued his second statement in just a few days expressing his disappointment at the outcome of the legislative push.'While the outcome is a setback for all of us who are committed to protecting Texas businesses from abusive litigation practices, TXTA and our partners at the Lone Star Economic Alliance plan to continue to fight for a fair and balanced legal system in Texas,' he said. 'The fact is that fraud in our state continues to grow, enriching a handful of unethical plaintiff attorneys and complicit medical providers who exploit their own clients. As long as the legislature permits it, the miracle of the Texas economy will keep fading. The greatest irony? Highway safety declines as drivers and companies who built careers on making our highways safer leave the industry and are replaced by those unqualified to operate a big rig.' Besides the Texas Trucking Association, another organization that had been deeply involved in the efforts at tort reform in the just-completed session was Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which is part of the Lone Star Economic Alliance mentioned by Esparaza. It released a statement following the end of the session, lamenting the demise of both SB30 and SB39 a week earlier. SB30 dealt mostly with damages, while SB39 was more focused on various rules of the road in litigation. The reforms in the bill, the organization said, 'would have been an essential step toward curbing the meritless lawsuits plaguing Texas businesses of all sizes, across all sectors, by preventing unjustified damage awards, and restoring fairness and transparency to the courtroom.' Noting the similar path of both bill pairings – passed by the Senate, stuck in a House committee – the organization said 'disagreement on final language in the conference committee kept the bill from making it over the finish line.' 'We urge the Texas Legislature to prioritize this issue in the 90th Texas Legislative Session, and to put an end to the blatant fraud on the legal system which jeopardizes Texas's longstanding reputation as the best place in the nation to do business and create jobs,' TLR said in its prepared statement. More articles by John Kingston Georgia tort reform aims to change practices in judicial 'hell hole'A Lego approach helps prepare Manhattan Associates' TMS for tariff chaos BMO's Q2 earnings show no improvement in credit conditions for trucking The post Last-ditch attempt at tort reform in Texas falls short as second bill fails appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Duffy restores enforcement of English language proficiency rules for truckers
AUSTIN, Texas — In a high-profile announcement, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy signed an order Tuesday to reintroduce strict enforcement of English language proficiency standards for commercial truck drivers. Backed by President Donald Trump's recent executive order, the policy marks a shift in how the Department of Transportation will handle driver qualification violations moving forward, placing language noncompliance back on the list of criteria for placing drivers out of service. 'We are officially rescinding the reckless 2016 Obama guidance,' declared Duffy, referring to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration policy under President Barack Obama that discouraged law enforcement from removing drivers from the road solely for English proficiency violations. 'We are issuing new guidance that ensures a driver who can't understand English will not drive a commercial vehicle in this country — period, full stop.' The event, hosted in conjunction with the Texas Trucking Association and attended by industry stakeholders, comes amid growing concerns over road safety and what Duffy described as a trucking industry 'wild west' plagued by fraud, noncompliance and eroding regulatory standards. He pointed to enforcement data, stating that, in 2015, prior to Obama's changing the guidance, more than 99,000 drivers had English language proficiency violations and 1,000 of those were placed out of service.'So let's fast forward to 2024: That dropped to 10,000 violations, and zero were taken out of service for a violation of the English language proficiency,' Duffy said. 'So think about that. That means we have let 1,000 of the worst offenders basically off the hook with a slap on the wrist. That's not going to happen anymore. We're going to put safety first.' John Esparza, president of the Texas Trucking Association, welcomed the move. 'Imagine you're in enforcement and unable to communicate roadside. This is basic,' Esparza said. For truckers and associations such as the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the announcement marks a victory.'This is a good day for truckers, a good day for families and a good day for common sense,' said OOIDA President Todd Spencer. He emphasized that English comprehension is not a bureaucratic hurdle but a life-and-death safety requirement. 'The only thing that separates safe trips from deadly ones can be a simple road sign,' Spender added. Duffy's remarks also touched on broader DOT initiatives. These include a review of non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses, improved CDL verification protocols and even a promise to address critical trucker quality-of-life issues such as parking shortages. Duffy acknowledged that truckers had been vocal online about unsafe working conditions and regulatory inconsistencies, and he vowed to make meaningful changes. 'Your president has grit. This is an industry that also has grit, and you have a USDOT right now that shares that grit,' Duffy said, invoking Trump's post-assassination-attempt rallying cry of 'Fight, fight, fight!' as a metaphor for the administration's regulatory agenda. J. Bruce Bugg Jr., chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, welcomed Duffy to Texas. He said the state was demonstrating its commitment to transportation relationships and infrastructure with over $60 billion in road and highway improvements currently under construction. He said Trump's approach to enforcing English language proficiency for truck drivers is common sense and stressed that all highway users are responsible for safety, regardless of their vehicle type. Articles by Grace Sharkey Is English proficiency enforcement the right focus for safer roads?Freight fraud: Your supply chain is showing Cyberthreats surge against US logistics infrastructure The post Duffy restores enforcement of English language proficiency rules for truckers appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Addressing the CDL issue takes cooperative regulation and multigroup efforts
Parts 1 and 2 of this series looked at legislative and law enforcement efforts in Arkansas and Texas to grapple with a sharp rise in CDL fraud by non-U.S. citizens. Part 3 looks at the ease with which fraudsters have exploited a loophole to obtain a Mexican document that essentially grants them the privileges of a U.S. CDL holder. How did we get here? For that I needed a digital issue of the Texas Trucking Association magazine, The Steering Wheel, and more specifically the Fall/Winter edition from 2023 with an article titled, 'Texas, the Mexican LFC, corruption and its threat to America.' Our next windmill takes us to Nov. 19, 1991 when the United States and Mexico signed a memorandum of understanding allowing the reciprocal recognition of CDLs and allowing CDL holders to operate commercial motor vehicles in each other's territory. By March 1994, Canada and Mexico entered a memorandum of understanding allowing for CDL reciprocity. In the early days of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexican carriers were restricted to operating in a clearly defined border zone. This zone was explained to me as the counties that were on the border, meaning the restrictions limited Mexican carriers to 'day crosser' status; in other words they couldn't leave the border is also the central theme of cabotage: When a Mexican or Canadian carrier delivers a load in the U.S., it must find a load directly back to its home country or the driver must deadhead back home. It's explicit that these carriers cannot haul loads from one U.S. location to another domestically. So there's no double dipping for freight, but under NAFTA, the area where these drivers could operate was about to expand past the border counties. Fast forward a few years and change was on the horizon courtesy of the U.S. Congress. Between 2011 and 2015, a congressionally approved pilot program was implemented by the U.S. Department of Transportation and FMCSA to look at Mexican carriers' safety and compliance levels to examine whether they could escape the confines of their border counties and do long-haul operations in the U.S. In 2015 the data was reported to Congress, and a limited number of Mexican carriers got the expanded authority. What struck me was there was more concern over the Mexican LFC than a non-domiciled CDL. If the social media conversation of outrage over perceived roadway safety due to foreign CDL holders was real, the worry should be about the disruptive implications of foreign labor lawfully in the U.S. on work visas and how that will drive down my wages. What I learned instead was that it was much easier for fraudsters to simply exploit the Mexican LFC loophole, since the non-domicile route requires fraudsters to first try to forge I-94 documents, which show lawful presence in the U.S. The LFC route is much easier: An email selfie and $2,500, and a driver gets a Mexican LFC that is recognized in U.S. CDL enforcement databases via reciprocal someone living in any country other than Mexico, this is where a Non-Domiciled CDL comes into play. For example, let's take a person living in Ireland who wants to get a CDL in a state that allows a non-domiciled CDL to be issued. The first thing the applicant needs is an I-94 form. It can come in the form of a work visa or type of work authorization. Next comes a trip to the DMV office with that document and proof of local residency (think a utility bill), as well as an application to take the written and practical exam. The person still must meet all the requirements to get a CDL but just doesn't have a domicile in the state. To fix this problem and untangle the web we have woven so far requires a multipronged approach. The main goal is to remove the reciprocal recognition of Mexican and Canadian CDLs for intrastate commerce outside of a driver's jurisdiction of domicile. By changing the wording, drivers would have to go the same route as a non-domiciled CDL holder from the rest of the world and get proper work authorization and legal standing to operate on American roads. In a petition to the FMCSA from Dec. 16, 2024, the Texas Department of Public Safety released a letter recommending specific changes to the regs. Below are some of the highlights; the first change involves amending Title 49 CFR § 383.23 to remove the reciprocal recognition, while the second requires those Mexican and Canadian CDL holders to have a non-domiciled CDL like every other country. The key term is intrastate commerce outside of the driver's jurisdiction or domicile. To put it more plainly, under the current reciprocal status, Mexican or Canadian CDL holders can operate in the United States doing intrastate commerce. They can work for a U.S.-based motor carrier without needing a non-domiciled CDL and work authorization to be here. The clever loophole companies can use is to hire these foreign drivers and pay them significantly less while avoiding the pesky problem of a Mexican or Canadian motor carrier needing to either haul a load back or deadhead to its country of origin. The second part targets enforcement via amending the Q&A under the regs. All the marked out red text mentions the loophole under which the U.S. recognizes Mexican or Canadian CDLs as reciprocal when in Part 2 I illustrated I can pay $2,500 for a fraudulent Mexican CDL. I cannot pay $2,500 for a fraudulent U.S. CDL. The addition, 'who is domiciled within the U.S.' fixes the loophole by which these foreign CDL holders can live in the United States without needing work authorization like a green card. By making them establish residency and go through the proper documentation channels to get a non-domicle CDL, the FMCSA at least has some idea of how many there third and final part involves the non-domicile verbiage. FreightX and social media are awash in claims that non-domicled drivers may be used to undercut wages or dump labor. In the eyes of the government, these CDL holders still require a form of work authorization, or documents showing they're allowed to be here for a time. Additionally, a non-domiciled CDL holder must still pass the CDL test like everyone else. The real issue is, with the current reciprocal CDL loophole, why would a carrier worry about a non-domicled CDL holder when it can commit fraud and snag a fake Mexican or Canadian CDL and avoid the entire hassle? The short answer: We wait for a large-scale federal effort to untangle the web of state-by-state regulation AND wait for a federal system of enforcement. For the nearly 1,100-strong staff at the FMCSA, this task is easier said than done. Current media attention has been on the decaying and crumbling infrastructure of airlines, but the 45,000 people who work for the Federal Aviation Administration have magnitudes more resources to handle air safety than the FMCSA does for road safety. To put this issue in its proper context, the White House notes that over 120 people are killed every day as a result of motor vehicle crashes. This is roughly the equivalent of a Boeing 737-700 crashing each day. Yet pilots and the air traffic controllers who guide them are thoroughly vetted through rigorous federal standards. For the nation's truck drivers, the inconvenient truth is that their licenses and certifications do not follow such rigorous standards and are prone to abuse and fraud. It took decades for this fraudulent system to develop under the auspices of good intentions. It may take years for the full extent of this shadow labor to be known. With the executive order mandating English proficiency, a 'commonsense rules of the road' must be established. But there is no clear verbiage on how the secretary of transportation must establish or enforce these rules. The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance has issued new guidance for out-of-service placements for drivers who don't meet English proficiency. It goes into effect June 25. While the FMCSA has the responsibility of setting regulation, the CVSA has the authority to determine what will ultimately end up putting a driver out of service. In the end, enforcement will be left up to the folks who make up the CVSA's membership base: highway patrols, local law enforcement, etc. In other words, it's back to the states. Ultimately, we have come full circle with the states being the front lines, with slightly new marching orders. Now we ask, 'If English language proficiency is at the center of this battle, what is actually making our roads less safe?' The post Addressing the CDL issue takes cooperative regulation and multigroup efforts appeared first on FreightWaves.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas senators advocate for sex trafficking awareness among men, boys
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — On Wednesday, three Republican Texas senators announced new initiatives aimed at raising awareness of sex trafficking among men and boys in Texas. In collaboration with Bob's House of Hope, the Texas Trucking Association has launched a campaign featuring posters on the rear windows of trucks to provide the wider Texas community with resources. 'Sadly, as Texans, we always want to be number one in everything, but this is not a category we want to be number one. Technically we're number two,' Texas Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, said at the conference at the Capitol. 'It's the second-worst state in the country for stopping human trafficking.' The announcement of this initiative comes a day after Sexual Assault Survivors Day. While awareness of sex trafficking often centers around women and girls, Parker and fellow Senators Brent Hagenbuch, R-Denton, and Adam Hinojosa, R-Corpus Christi, hope these posters will draw attention to the often-overlooked young men and boy victims. Parker noted that the victim demographic is about 50-50. 'We know we have an opportunity with our highway angels out there to really work with our communities to see something, say something,' said John Esparza of the Texas Trucking Association. Each poster reads, 'Boys are Sex Trafficked Too,' and includes a barcode where people can get more information along with a phone number to call for help. It also lists the Bob's House of Hope website. Bob's House of Hope was founded by Bob Williams in 2021, and is the first safe house in the U.S for male sexual assault survivors. 'I think the most important thing we do is put God in these young men's lives,' Williams said. 'To let them understand that there is a chance at having a better life.' Along with this initiative, Parker announced four new bills to continue the fight against human trafficking in Texas. They are as follows: Addressing bail reform to prevent traffickers from exploring loopholes Increasing penalties for traffickers who recruit victims in jail Sealing records for victims of trafficking to aid in their recovery and reintegration Increasing penalties for repeat offenders targeting vulnerable populations 'Essentially, folks, this is modern-day slavery, and we should not have that. No one should be subjected to that,' Hagenbuch said. 'We have to all do our part and I'm glad the trucking industry is involved.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
