Oklahoma bill requires truck, bus drivers to be English proficient, be licensed by certain countries

OKLAHOMA CITY — House lawmakers advanced a bill on Thursday creating English-language proficiency and citizenship requirements for commercial drivers utilizing Oklahoma roads. 

Critics said the bill was “drastically” changed from its original topic of the legality of ATVs on some U.S. highways and could harm businesses.

Senate Bill 20, authored by Rep. Jonathan Wilk, R-Goldsby, moved through the House committee along a party line vote. The new language would require anyone operating a commercial motor vehicle in the state to have a “sufficient proficiency” in the English language and a valid commercial license from the United States, or from Canada and Mexico with a valid work visa. Drivers must also carry proof of citizenship for the country that issued the license. 

It also prohibits people who hold certain tourism and business visas from operating commercial motor vehicles in the state. Penalties for violations of the bill range from $2,000 to $5,000 fines and vehicles being impounded. 

A commercial driver’s license allows a motorist to operate specialized vehicles like buses or semi-trucks. A commercial motor vehicle refers to any motor vehicle used in interstate commerce to transport property or passengers, with specific weight and passenger limits. 

Rep. Arturo Alonso-Sandoval, D-Oklahoma City, said the new language was a “drastic change from the original bill and the original intent” of the measure.

This bill could be a burden on businesses and force them to drive around Oklahoma rather than travel through the state, Alonso-Sandoval said. 

Wilk, the bill author, said it’s a “due burden” to ensure businesses operate “right” with “qualified and safe drivers.”

He said this is a “public safety” bill that is intended to protect residents and anyone using Oklahoma’s roads. Traffic fatalities had increased since federal rules were amended to allow states to waive some commercial driver testing requirements, he said. A National Safety Council analysis shows the number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes has increased slightly since 2016.  

A 2016 memo from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration removed the requirement to “place drivers out of service” who have “English Language Proficiency violations,” and changed the agency’s standard for determining non-compliance.

An Arkansas-based trucking association has been backing a measure in Arkansas similar to Wilk’s and attributed a rise in fatal crashes involving large trucks partly to the 2016 federal policy change. They said more nondomiciled commercial licenses are being issued to drivers with lower qualifications. 

While Wilk said he hasn’t spoken to any Oklahoma-based trucking associations, he said truckers in his district requested the measure. 

The bill doesn’t prohibit licensed drivers from other states from coming through Oklahoma, he said. 

Rep. Annie Menz, D-Norman, said the language changes still “merit” more consideration and asked Wilk to stall it. 

“You should still feel empowered to want to work on it more if you want to, because like I said, your name is on it,” she said. “It’s something that your name is on. The people of your district, their name is on it through that. So would you be willing to, no pun intended, park it here in this lovely committee … to be able to work on the language?”