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Gov. Josh Shapiro recently signed legislation cracking down on unlicensed "CDL mills."
Act 50 of 2026 increases the penalty for running a CDL training center not approved by the state Board of Private Licensed Schools from $2,500 to $25,000. It does not impact private employers that provide CDL training to their own employees at no cost. The bill will help decrease the number of poorly trained commercial driver's licensees coming from Pennsylvania – a point of contention after a CDL holder issued in Pennsylvania to a migrant from Uzbekistan was involved in an accident and prompted threats of federal action.
Ward also sponsored two other bills that have passed the Senate but await action in the House. Senate Bill 1295 would require English proficiency in the licensing of drivers, particularly issuance of a CDL, meaning the CDL test is to be offered in English, consistent with the CDL road test, unless the federal government withholds transportation funding. Senate Bill 1296 would create a penalty structure to punish unsafe CDL drivers following a roadside inspection by law enforcement for out-of-service violations in order to stop unqualified CDL drivers from driving.
It's easy to see why CDL mills were the first measure to receive approval. It's obvious training from some unlicensed CDL facilities were turning out drivers who weren't safe. It's a good start, but it shouldn't be unreasonable to expect that anyone receiving a commercial driver's license in Pennsylvania is able to read road signs in the commonwealth. That may not mean requiring the rest be given only in English, but a demonstration of English proficiency is certainly warranted.
Pennsylvania currently has about 40 licensed CDL schools, while more than 1,100 entities are listed on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Training Provider Registry, many of which may be exempt or unlicensed, according to the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association.
During a state Senate hearing in December 2025, Jeff Mercadante, chief safety and risk management officer for PITT OHIO, said something that bears remembering by state officials as they consider additional legislation.
"The CDL must be a credential that employers can trust," Mercadante said. "When it is not, both safety and operational reliability are compromised."
Perceived shortcomings in CDL licenses are limited to the way Pennsylvania administers the licenses. Federal laws and regulations have played a role in incidents over the past few years involving migrants who have received CDLs – including an accident recently in Pennsylvania involving a migrant carrying a Massachusetts-issued CDL that killed a Pennsylvania State Trooper. State CDL standards should be as closely aligned with federal standards as possible – and that includes English proficiency requirements.