Congress has passed and the President has signed into law an appropriations bill to fund the operations of the Department of Transportation through September 30, 2026.

In addition to the funding provisions, the legislation contains a provision directing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to update its regulations to ensure that non-compliance with the English Language Proficiency requirements for drivers in 49 CFR 391.11(b)(2) triggers an out-of-service order.

At present, FMCSA policy requires an English Language Proficiency violation to trigger an OOS order for the driver. Now Congress has mandated that this provision must be incorporated into the FMCSA’s regulations so that the policy may not be changed in future administrations without going through notice and comment rulemaking.