119th (2025–2027)
S. 5150
This bill aims to combat "chameleon carriers"—trucking companies that hide behind new identities to evade safety regulations, avoid penalties, or escape insurance consequences. The legislation requires the Government Accountability Office to study how many chameleon carriers operate on U.S. roadways, what methods they use to evade detection, and how many deaths and injuries they cause. It also directs the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to develop an advanced automation tool within one year to identify suspicious registration applications for trucking companies by detecting patterns like shared ownership, addresses, equipment, and insurance policies. The tool will flag concerning applications for human review but won't make final decisions automatically. The bill includes an appeals process allowing applicants to correct flagged applications within 30 days, and requires the Department of Transportation Inspector General to audit the tool's effectiveness within two years. The legislation addresses a longstanding enforcement gap that has allowed unsafe carriers to repeatedly reestablish operations under different names.