[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1756 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1756

   To prohibit Mexico-domiciled motor carriers from operating beyond 
United States municipalities and commercial zones on the United States-
Mexico border until certain conditions are met to ensure the safety of 
                            such operations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 29, 2007

Mr. Hunter (for himself, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. 
Duncan, Mr. Poe, Mr. Jones of North Carolina, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Gary G. 
 Miller of California, Mr. Berry, Mr. Boyd of Florida, and Mr. Hayes) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on 
 Homeland Security, Judiciary, and Ways and Means, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To prohibit Mexico-domiciled motor carriers from operating beyond 
United States municipalities and commercial zones on the United States-
Mexico border until certain conditions are met to ensure the safety of 
                            such operations.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``NAFTA Trucking Safety Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. OPERATIONS OF MEXICO-DOMICILED MOTOR CARRIERS IN THE UNITED 
              STATES.

    (a) Terms and Conditions.--No Mexico-domiciled motor carrier shall 
be granted authority to operate beyond United States municipalities and 
commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border until the Secretary 
of Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security submit to 
Congress a joint certification that each of the following conditions 
has been met:
            (1) The Secretary of Transportation has published in the 
        Federal Register--
                    (A) a list of all Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
                Regulations;
                    (B) an identification for each of the regulations 
                whether the Secretary will--
                            (i) require a Mexico-domiciled motor 
                        carrier, commercial motor vehicle, or driver to 
                        comply with the regulation; or
                            (ii) be accepting compliance by the 
                        carrier, commercial motor vehicle, or driver 
                        with a Mexican statute, rule, or regulation 
                        (including commercial driver's license 
                        requirements) as the equivalent to compliance 
                        with the regulation; and
                    (C) for each regulation for which compliance with a 
                Mexican statute, rule, or regulation will be accepted 
                as described in subparagraph (B)(ii), a citation to and 
                the English translation of the Mexican statute, rule, 
                or regulation.
            (2) The Secretary of Transportation has published in the 
        Federal Register--
                    (A) a list of all of the enforcement tools, 
                databases, processes, and conditions required of, and 
                made available by law to, Federal and State motor 
                carrier safety enforcement personnel; and
                    (B) the results of an analysis conducted by the 
                Secretary as to whether such tools are available to 
                provide at least the same level of enforcement 
                capability toward Mexico-domiciled motor carriers and 
                their drivers as is currently applied to United States-
                domiciled motor carriers and their drivers.
            (3) The Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security have implemented a plan to effectively and 
        regularly monitor and enforce United States immigration and 
        customs regulations that pertain to international traffic under 
        the North American Free Trade Agreement in all areas of the 
        United States that Mexico-domiciled motor carriers will be 
        permitted to operate.
            (4) The Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security have adopted penalties for anyone who 
        arranges, facilitates, or directs a Mexico-domiciled motor 
        carrier's pick-up and delivery of a load within the United 
        States in violation of United States immigration and customs 
        laws or section 365.501(b) of title 49, Code of Federal 
        Regulations.
            (5) The Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of 
        Transportation have published jointly in the Federal Register--
                    (A) a certification that the driver, criminal, and 
                security databases used in Mexico to verify a person's 
                identification, driving record, criminal history, and 
                risk to homeland security are fully equivalent to those 
                used in the United States for the same purposes;
                    (B) documentation verifying the equivalency of the 
                Mexican databases described in subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) a certification that all Federal and State 
                motor carrier enforcement personnel who will come in 
                contact with Mexico-domiciled motor carrier drivers 
                within the United States have the same access to the 
                Mexican databases described in subparagraph (A) for 
                performing checks on such drivers as they do to 
                databases used in the United States for performing 
                checks on United States-domiciled motor carrier 
                drivers.
            (6) The Inspector General of the Department of 
        Transportation has submitted to Congress a report that 
        independently verifies compliance with each condition listed in 
        section 350 of the Department of Transportation and Related 
        Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (Public Law 107-87; 115 Stat. 
        864).
            (7) The Secretary of Transportation has submitted to 
        Congress a plan to enforce the English language proficiency 
        requirement of section 391.11(b)(2) of title 49, Code of 
        Federal Regulations, including an identification of the 
        enforcement actions that Federal and State law enforcement 
        personnel will take upon a finding of noncompliance with such 
        requirement.
    (b) Statutory Construction.--The requirements of this section shall 
be in addition to any other limitation or requirement contained in 
Federal law that applies to the authority of a Mexico-domiciled motor 
carrier to operate beyond United States municipalities and commercial 
zones on the United States-Mexico border.
                                 <all>