S. 3950 — SAFER Transport Act

This section establishes definitions for terms used in the Act, including (1) Administration as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; (2) Administrator as the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; (3) appropriate committees of Congress as the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure; (4) broker, (5) freight forwarder, and (6) motor carrier as having the meanings given those terms in 49 U.S.C. §13102; (7) Department as the Department of Transportation; (8) MC number as a motor carrier docket number issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; (9) Secretary as the Secretary of Transportation; and (10) USDOT number as having the meaning given that term in 49 U.S.C. §31132.

This section directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish, not later than 60 days after enactment, the Freight Fraud and Theft Advisory Committee to receive public input on reducing freight fraud and theft using existing Department of Transportation authorities. The committee comprises stakeholders representing motor carriers (including independent owner-operators), railroads, ports, marine terminal operators, freight brokers, aviation operators, state and local law enforcement officials, shippers, insurance companies, and others determined by the Secretary; it must provide the Secretary recommendations on Department contributions to such reductions, including improved internal and interagency coordination. Not later than two years after establishment, the committee shall submit to the Secretary and appropriate congressional committees a report containing its findings and recommendations, after which the committee terminates.

This section directs the Secretary of Transportation and the Attorney General to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on addressing freight fraud and theft not later than 180 days after the date of enactment. At a minimum, the MOU must (1) require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to notify appropriate Department of Justice (DOJ) officials of any freight fraud or theft identified through DOT's regulatory or enforcement activities, specifying the notification method; and (2) require DOJ to establish a process for receiving and handling such information.

This section directs the Secretary of Transportation to phase out issuance and renewal of MC numbers over a five-year period beginning on the date of enactment and to ensure all motor carriers, brokers, and freight forwarders transition exclusively to USDOT numbers by the end of that period. It amends registration requirements for freight forwarders (49 U.S.C. §13903(a)) and brokers (§13904(a)) to require issuance of a USDOT number under §31134. The section further restructures and expands definitions in §31132—including adding "covered felony" (i.e., a felony involving transportation, trafficking, or smuggling of persons, property, firearms, or controlled substances; theft, fraud, coercion, or extortion in commercial transportation; or transportation violations of immigration or labor laws)—and revises §31134 to (1) mandate USDOT numbers as the sole unique identifier for registration; (2) authorize withholding registration from employers or persons convicted of a covered felony related to motor carrier operations; and (3) require new owners of motor carriers, brokers, or freight forwarders to notify the FMCSA of ownership changes (e.g., purchase, merger) within 30 days. (Thus, the changes consolidate identification systems, enhance security against criminal actors, and improve tracking of entity changes.)

This section revises state requirements under the commercial driver's license (CDL) program for issuing CDLs or commercial learner's permits (CLPs) to individuals who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents by (1) requiring states to confirm such applicants' work authorization in the United States, (2) requiring states to provide relevant information to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator for verification, and (3) requiring states to align the expiration date of such CLPs or CDLs with the applicant's work authorization expiration date if earlier. (Thus, noncompliant states risk funding withholding under 49 U.S.C. §31311.) The section also requires each state to submit a monthly report to the Secretary of Transportation detailing (1) CLPs issued, (2) CDLs issued, (3) foreign non-domiciled CDLs issued, (4) endorsements issued, and (5) revocations, suspensions, downgrades of CDLs (including justifications) during the preceding month.

This section defines the Secretary of Transportation for purposes of 49 U.S.C. 31305 and adds a new subsection (e) establishing requirements for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) training provider registry for commercial driver's license (CDL) training providers (i.e., providers under FMCSA regulations at 49 C.F.R. pt. 380, subpt. G). The new subsection—(1) defines key terms including "principal place of business" (i.e., a single physical location where management reports and significant training business occurs); (2) directs the Secretary to establish an audit process for listed providers (with States potentially conducting audits or collecting data); (3) authorizes the Secretary to withhold, suspend, or revoke a provider's registration for failing to disclose relationships (via common ownership, management, control, or familial ties) with noncompliant providers or applicants; (4) requires an expedited State removal process, established within 120 days of enactment, for providers no longer in business, guilty of fraud, or violating State CDL training regulations; (5) mandates registration with FMCSA including a principal place of business (with existing providers required to register within one year of enactment or face removal); and (6) sets a 180-day deadline for FMCSA to resolve complaints against listed providers.

This section defines terms applicable to fraud prevention in the motor carrier and broker registration system (i.e., "existing user," "flagged user," "new user," "person" as defined in 49 U.S.C. 13102, and "registration system" under 49 U.S.C. 13908) and directs the FMCSA Administrator to take specified actions. Those actions include (1) developing and implementing, not later than one year after enactment, one or more automated systems to flag suspicious activity (e.g., rapid changes to information, unusual registration patterns, or duplicate business identifiers); (2) establishing a review process for flagged users that begins immediately upon flagging or notification, includes audits if appropriate, allows temporary suspension of registration (with at least 30 days for the user to respond) or notation of an ongoing review, and results in removal from public view, access restriction, or suspension/revocation of operating authority upon a fraud determination (while retaining information for future detection); (3) requiring instantaneous updates to registration records only by authorized persons; and (4) issuing guidance to motor carriers and brokers on protecting against fraud not later than 90 days after enactment, with updates as appropriate.

This section requires the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator and the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to enter into a memorandum of understanding specifying how the Administrator and state law enforcement agencies communicate information on violations of new cabotage prohibitions in 49 U.S.C. §13902(k) (barring motor carriers or motor private carriers domiciled in Canada or Mexico, or U.S.-domiciled but owned or controlled by persons domiciled in Mexico, from transporting domestic cargo between two U.S. points) and §13902(l) (barring motor carriers or motor private carriers from knowingly using unauthorized alien drivers—i.e., aliens lacking U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services authorization to drive commercial motor vehicles—for such transport). (As background, these provisions codify cabotage restrictions to reserve purely domestic freight movements for U.S.-based carriers and authorized drivers.) This section further directs the FMCSA Administrator to revise 49 C.F.R. §365.101T(h) within one year of enactment to reflect these requirements.

This section requires the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to reimburse victims of cargo theft under 18 U.S.C. 659 (i.e., theft of goods or chattels in interstate or foreign commerce from vehicles, warehouses, or similar facilities) for fines paid to CBP due to containers lacking seals required by regulations under section 204 of the SAFE Port Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 944).

This section establishes criminal penalties for knowingly and willfully submitting or using a fraudulent certification in connection with motor carrier registration, certification, filing, or compliance requirements administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration under 49 U.S.C. chapters 5, 311, 313, or 315, if used to engage or attempt to engage in unlawful interstate transportation of property or passengers. It defines fraudulent certification as a material statement, representation, or omission of fact known to be false, fictitious, misleading, or incomplete; violators are subject to fines under 18 U.S.C., imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.

This section establishes in 49 U.S.C. §13102(6) a definition of "foreign dispatch service" as a person not located in the United States, Mexico, or Canada, with its principal place of business or substantial operations in a foreign country, that acts as a direct licensed agent for one or more motor carriers under a written agreement, receives contractual compensation, discloses its role, provides only limited administrative or support services (i.e., coordinating freight movements without cargo responsibility or arranging transportation and communicating through brokers), and does not solicit shippers. It requires foreign dispatch services to register as brokers under new 49 U.S.C. §13910, redesignates paragraphs (6) through (27) of §13102 to maintain numerical order, and makes conforming amendments to cross-references in related provisions.

This section requires carriers and brokers to maintain or make accessible records prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation or Surface Transportation Board—such as those related to traffic movement, receipts, and expenditures—at their principal place of business upon demand. (Thus, the Secretary or Board may still inspect records, lands, buildings, or equipment at other locations or conduct virtual investigations.)

This section revises the definition of broker to mean a person who offers for sale, negotiates for, or holds itself out by solicitation, advertisement, **technology**, or otherwise as selling, providing, or arranging for transportation by motor carrier **for direct or indirect compensation** (previously, for compensation; previously excluded motor carriers and their employees or agents); and adds an exclusion for persons providing only financial assistance, analysis, or accounting services. The section also revises the heading and lead-in text of prohibitions on unlawful brokerage activities to state "(a) Prohibited activities A person may provide interstate brokerage services only if that person—." (Thus, motor carriers may no longer arrange transportation for others without broker registration, while digital platforms using technology are explicitly covered.)