State Watch – May 2025

We know you don’t have time to keep up with all of the bills under consideration that could affect your trucking business. That’s why your Association keeps a close watch on legislative action in statehouses near you.

For a complete rundown of state legislation, visit LandLine.media.

Delaware

The Delaware Senate voted to advance a bill that would enact a preemptive ban on driverless trucks.

SB46 would prohibit autonomous trucks exceeding 26,000 pounds from traveling on Delaware roadways for testing purposes, transporting goods or transporting passengers without a human driver physically present in the vehicle.

The bill would also make the Delaware Department of Transportation responsible for submitting a report evaluating autonomous vehicle technology to the governor by 2030. At that point, the rule could be changed.

Florida

Two Florida bills would amend left lane rules for all highway users.

State law already prohibits traveling in the far-left lane “if the driver knows or reasonably should know” that he or she is being overtaken in that lane from a driver traveling at a higher rate of speed.

The rule applies to all travelers, even if they are driving the posted speed limit when the overtaking vehicle attempts to pass.

Nevertheless, large trucks are singled out in another rule to prohibit travel in the far-left or inside-travel lane along rural stretches of interstate with at least three lanes in one direction.

H545/S636 would forbid any vehicle from continuous operation in the far-left lane of roadways with a posted speed of at least 65 mph. Certain exceptions would apply.

Kansas

A new Kansas law amends the state’s move-over rule.

Statute has required travelers to move over or slow down when approaching stationary vehicles that include law enforcement, emergency responders and utility vehicles with lights flashing along roadsides.

The new law expands the rule to include any stopped, standing or parked vehicle displaying hazard lights, road flares, traffic cones, reflective triangles and other caution signals.

Missouri

The Missouri House Transportation Committee advanced a bill to set procedures for nonconsensual towing practices related to removing commercial vehicles from roadways. OOIDA testified on the bill.

HB745 includes a requirement to establish procedures for a complaint filing and adjudication process. Provisions are included to at least temporarily prohibit towing companies from performing nonconsensual tows if they violate the law. Certain information must also be entered on every invoice for a nonconsensual tow.

One bill provision calls for establishing a “Towing and Recovery Review Board.” The seven-member board would include “one member representing independent owner-operator truck drivers.”

Another bill provision would permit the owner or operator of a commercial vehicle to request a specific towing company. Law enforcement would be required to honor the request, “except under certain conditions.”

Also included is a provision to regulate the release of vehicles if fees are disputed. Additionally, per-pound charges for nonconsensual tows would be prohibited.

New Jersey

In New Jersey, the Senate Transportation Committee voted to advance a bill to expand enforcement options from traditional weigh stations.

The state maintains weigh-in-motion sites on various types of roadway classifications.

S745 would establish a weigh-in-motion program for certain bridges. The program would require the placement and use of weigh-in-motion stations to monitor vehicle weight as vehicles approach bridges that are categorized as poor by the National Bridge Inventory.

Each system would include a scale, at least one camera, signage to indicate modified speed limits as needed and other equipment deemed necessary.

The committee amended the bill to include a provision to clarify that a violation does not occur if the weight of the vehicle exceeds a weight threshold by no more than 5%. Additionally, if a weigh-in-motion system does not find a vehicle to be in violation, the vehicle would be permitted to bypass a weigh station.

New York

Two New York bills would boost the speed limit for cars and trucks.

Currently, all vehicles are permitted to travel 65 mph on interstate highways and other limited-access roads.

A3571/S1500 would authorize speeds for cars and trucks to increase by 5 mph to 70 mph. The state DOT and the New York Thruway Authority would be permitted to implement the change.

North Carolina

Towing reform is the topic of a North Carolina House bill.

H199 calls for the creation of a commission to implement towing rules.

Among the responsibilities of the group would be issuing permits to nonconsensual towing businesses; establishing maximum fees that a nonconsensual towing business may charge for booting, towing, storage and the handling of commercial cargo; maintaining a nonconsensual towing business database; and recording reports from the public of suspected noncompliance of rules.

Specific to commercial vehicles, nonconsensual towing businesses would be forbidden from charging storage or handling fees for cargo.

If the loaded cargo cannot be removed, a trailer swap must be permitted “where the swapped trailer is of equal or better condition than the original towed trailer.” Affected loads must be owned, leased or operated by the same company.

North Dakota

The North Dakota Legislature approved a bill that would permit cities and counties to designate and post zones where compression engine brakes are prohibited.

A signage requirement to alert truckers of the rule is included. Violators would face $50 fines.

An exception to the rule is included for emergency situations.

SB2253 includes a provision that a city or a county must adopt an ordinance to limit use of the devices.

Oklahoma

A bill halfway through the Oklahoma statehouse would create a weigh station improvement fund. Currently, motor vehicle collections are apportioned to the state’s general revenue fund.

SB122 would route the first $10 million of motor vehicle collections to a new Weigh Station Improvement Revolving Fund. Additional revenue would go to the general revenue fund.

Pennsylvania

One Pennsylvania bill would reimburse Pennsylvania-based truck drivers for tolls incurred when transporting goods to and from port facilities in the state along the Turnpike. SB379 is in the Senate Transportation Committee.

Texas

A Texas Senate bill, SB2425, would update the state’s definitions for automated vehicles and create additional terms related to their use. Prohibitions would also be created that include operation without a human driver, except under certain circumstances. The proposed rules would apply to autonomous trucks. LL