Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Arkansas General Assembly, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H3/19/25 S4/1/25
2 95th General Assembly
A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1745
4
5 By: Representatives Hawk, Brooks, Joey Carr, Eaves, Evans, Hall, Holcomb, Milligan, Nazarenko,
6 Painter, Pilkington, Schulz, Vaught, Henley
7 By: Senators K. Hammer, J. Boyd, J. Bryant, Dees, Gilmore
8
9 For An Act To Be Entitled
10 AN ACT TO REQUIRE CERTAIN COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSE
11 HOLDERS TO POSSESS A UNITED STATES WORK AUTHORIZATION
12 TO OPERATE A COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE IN THE STATE;
13 TO REQUIRE AN OPERATOR OF A COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLE
14 TO HAVE PROFICIENCY IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE; TO
15 CREATE THE OFFENSE OF PRESENTING A FALSE FOREIGN
16 COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
17
18
19 Subtitle
20 TO REQUIRE CERTAIN COMMERCIAL DRIVER
21 LICENSE HOLDERS TO POSSESS A UNITED
22 STATES WORK AUTHORIZATION; TO REQUIRE
23 THE OPERATOR OF A COMMERCIAL MOTOR
24 VEHICLE TO HAVE ENGLISH PROFICIENCY; AND
25 TO CREATE RELATED OFFENSES.
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27 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
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29 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 27, Chapter 23, is amended to add an
30 additional subchapter to read as follows:
31 Subchapter 3 -- Offenses and Penalties
32
33 27-23-301. Definitions.
34 As used in this subchapter:
35 (1) "Employment Authorization Document" means a federal Form I-
36 766 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services-issued Employment
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1 Authorization Document, known popularly as a "work permit"; and
2 (2) "Public record" includes:
3 (A) All official books, papers, exhibits, or records of
4 any type required by law to be created by or received and retained in a
5 governmental office or agency, affording notice or information to the public
6 or constituting a memorial of an act or transaction of a public office or
7 public servant; and
8 (B) A license, certificate, permit, seal, title, letter of
9 patent, or similar document issued by a state, territory, or possession of
10 the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto
11 Rico or a foreign government engaged in a reciprocal treaty or memorandum of
12 understanding with the United States.
13
14 27-23-302. Presenting false foreign commercial driver license.
15 (a) A person commits the offense of presenting a false foreign
16 commercial driver license if he or she knowingly:
17 (1) Makes, presents, or uses a public record with knowledge of
18 the falsity of the public record and with the intent that the public record
19 be taken as a genuine public record; and
20 (2) Represents that a false public record made, presented, or
21 used under subdivision (a)(1) of this section is a valid commercial driver
22 license issued by a foreign government.
23 (b) Presenting a false foreign commercial driver license is a Class D
24 felony.
25
26 27-23-303. Operating commercial vehicle without proper documentation.
27 (a) A person commits the offense of operating a commercial motor
28 vehicle without proper documentation if he or she knowingly:
29 (1) Holds a valid commercial driver license issued by a foreign
30 government; and
31 (2) Does not have an Employment Authorization Document or a
32 valid work visa in his or her immediate possession while operating a
33 commercial motor vehicle.
34 (b)(1) Except as provided in subdivision (b)(2) of this section,
35 operating a commercial motor vehicle without proper documentation is a Class
36 D felony.
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1 (2) Operating a commercial vehicle without proper documentation
2 is a Class A misdemeanor if the person establishes by a preponderance of the
3 evidence that at the time the offense was committed, he or she had been
4 issued a valid Employment Authorization Document or a valid work visa.
5
6 27-23-304. Operating a commercial motor vehicle without sufficient
7 English Language proficiency.
8 (a) An operator of a commercial motor vehicle shall be able to read
9 and speak the English language sufficiently to:
10 (1) Converse with the general public;
11 (2) Understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English
12 language;
13 (3) Respond to official inquiries; and
14 (4) Make entries on reports and records.
15 (b) A person commits the offense of operating a commercial motor
16 vehicle without sufficient English language proficiency if he or she:
17 (1) Operates a commercial vehicle; and
18 (2) Fails to demonstrate proficiency in the English language as
19 required under subsection (a) of this section.
20 (c) The offense of operating a commercial motor vehicle without
21 sufficient English language proficiency is a violation and is subject to a
22 fine of up to:
23 (1) Five hundred dollars ($500) for the first offense; and
24 (2) One thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second or subsequent
25 offense.
26
27 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code � 27-23-123 is amended to read as follows:
28 27-23-123. Reciprocity.
29 Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a person may drive a
30 commercial motor vehicle if the person: has a
31 (1) Has:
32 (A) A commercial driver license or commercial learner's
33 permit issued by any state or province or territory of Canada, a state,
34 territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or
35 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in accordance with the minimum federal
36 standards for the issuance of commercial motor vehicle driver licenses, if
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1 the person is; or
2 (B) Both a:
3 (i) Commercial driver license issued by Canada,
4 Mexico, or any other jurisdiction under a waiver or exemption recognized by
5 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; and
6 (ii) Valid work visa or valid Employment
7 Authorization Document, as defined in � 27-23-301; and
8 (2) Is not suspended, revoked, cancelled, or disqualified from
9 driving a commercial motor vehicle, or subject to an out-of-service order.
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4 04-01-2025 10:21:00 ZRC088Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.