A push from Gov. Mike Braun and Republican lawmakers to tighten oversight of commercial truck drivers advanced in the Indiana Senate Monday, fueled by recent fatal crashes and a broader, ongoing debate over immigration enforcement.
New language folded into House Bill 1200 would require commercial truck drivers in Indiana to prove English proficiency — and risk losing their licenses if they lack legal immigration status.
Senators must still give the measure a final vote before a legislative deadline Tuesday. After that, the bill still needs to return to the House for final consideration by Friday.
One amendment specifically requires that “an individual must take and pass a skills exam in English to operate a commercial motor vehicle.”
Another would require the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles to revoke a non-domiciled commercial driver’s license if officials receive credible information from federal agencies that the driver lacks legal authorization or required immigration documents.
Supporters in the GOP supermajority caucus framed the overall proposal as a public-safety measure tied to recent deadly crashes involving semi-trucks.
“As the Crossroads of America, Indiana must do all we can to ensure our roads are safe,” Gov. Mike Braun said in a statement Monday. “In addition to strengthening our CDL licensing process, Indiana will revoke the CDLs of drivers who are illegal immigrants and penalize companies who employ them. Through strong enforcement we will keep our roads and highways safe.”
Attorney General Todd Rokita additionally pointed to recent incidents involving commercial vehicles.
“We’ve seen horrible accidents on our roads — terrible tragedies that ended in fatalities — all caused by illegal aliens driving commercial vehicles they had no business operating,” Rokita said in his own statement. “Although the state already has the power to revoke a license for a public safety risk, we have worked directly with legislators and the governor on proposed statutory language to make license revocation mandatory in cases of illegal aliens.”
The underlying bill has been championed in the legislature by Rep. Jim Pressel, a Rolling Prairie Republican who has pushed multiple trucking-related bills in recent years.
“Keeping Hoosiers safe on our roadways is a top priority,” Pressel said in the release. “This amendment ensures everyone receiving a license to drive commercial trucks can read and understand our traffic signs and law enforcement safety instructions with proficiency.”
‘Why does it have to be in English?’
During floor debate Monday, senators sparred over the English-language testing requirement.
Sen. Greg Taylor, an Indianapolis Democrat, questioned whether requiring CDL exams to be taken in English was necessary.
“Why does it have to be in English?” he asked.
Sen. Aaron Freeman, the Indianapolis Republican who introduced the amendment, said the requirement reflects how drivers comprehend road signage and interact with law enforcement.
“Last I was on Interstate 465, today, our signs are in English,” Freeman said. “So, I think somebody probably needs to know what English looks like and knows what it says in order to — I don’t know — comply with our traffic laws.”
Freeman later added that drivers operating large commercial vehicles should be able to read traffic instructions.
“I absolutely think you should know English to be able to drive in Indiana,” he said.
Other lawmakers tied the language requirement to safety concerns involving semi-trucks.
Sen. Michael Crider, a Greenfield Republican sponsoring the legislation in the Senate, pointed to warning messages on highways.
“There are INDOT signs that have words in English — ‘slow down,’ ‘wreck ahead,’ ‘be prepared to stop,’” said Crider, a former law enforcement officer. “I have witnessed too many times where individuals who are driving semi trucks who are not paying attention, and I fear may not understand the English language, plowing in and killing individuals who come at a standstill in traffic.”
The proposal is part of a broader push by Republican officials in response to recent fatal crashes involving truck drivers without legal immigration status.
In the nation’s capital, U.S. Sen. Jim Banks — Indiana’s junior senator — called for a federal investigation into what he described as potential “chameleon carrier” trucking networks operating in Indiana.
In a Monday letter to federal regulators, Banks emphasized that several Hoosiers have been killed in crashes involving truck drivers who “never should have received a license in the first place.”
The pattern of crashes, Banks wrote, is “not bad luck, and it is not just another accident.”
He pointed to what he described as unusual clusters of trucking companies registered at single addresses across central Indiana — including hundreds tied to neighborhoods in Greenwood and elsewhere — which he said warrant federal scrutiny.
“Seven Hoosiers have been killed in six months by illegal alien truck drivers,” Banks said. “This is a national crisis.”
Other amendments approved
Monday’s Senate debate also included a series of additional amendments touching on other parts of the bill.
That included changes to clarify penalties for trucking companies — specifying that certain penalties apply to the business entity that hires a driver, rather than vehicle rental companies — and license revocation rules that align state law with federal regulations, as well as adding penalties for CDL training centers that violate eligibility rules.
Another adopted amendment, unrelated to immigration matters, would prohibit the Indiana Department of Transportation from using variable speed limit signs on Interstate 465. INDOT has gradually installed the electronic speed limit system along portions of the interstate in recent years, maintaining that the technology can adjust speeds during crashes, congestion or bad weather to improve traffic safety and flow.
Several other proposals ultimately failed, however.
Lawmakers rejected an amendment from Sen. J.D. Ford, D-Indianapolis, to allow Hoosiers to change the gender marker on their driver’s license.
Other changes offered by Sen. Mike Young, R-Indianapolis, would have barred people in the U.S. on asylum or parole status from obtaining a CDL. Another failed amendment from Young would have rewritten portions of Indiana’s fraud and deception statute tied to illegally obtaining a CDL.
During floor discussion, Young pointed to a recent deadly crash in Hendricks County and warned that federal work authorizations can still allow some noncitizens to obtain licenses in certain states.
“Is it the policy of the state of Indiana that we want people here that we don’t know will gain legal status or lead to citizenship … and give them a CDL … and put our citizens’ lives in danger?” Young asked while discussing his amendments. “It’s pretty simple, but I think it could be life saving.”
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