# The SHIP IT Act: What It Does and Who It Affects

The SHIP IT Act is designed to address several challenges facing the trucking industry and highway safety. At its core, the bill tackles three main problems: the shortage of safe parking spots for truck drivers, the need to train more commercial truck drivers, and the desire to make trucking a more attractive career. These issues have real consequences for highway safety, supply chain efficiency, and the ability of companies to move goods across the country.

The bill creates a new federal grant program to fund truck parking projects. States, cities, and other local organizations can apply for money to build new parking areas for commercial trucks, expand existing ones, or convert underused facilities like rest stops and weigh stations into truck parking. The idea is straightforward: when drivers can't find safe places to park, they either drive while exhausted (creating safety hazards) or park illegally on highway shoulders. By investing in more parking infrastructure, the bill aims to reduce fatigue-related accidents and improve road safety. The parking facilities built with these grants must be open to all truck drivers, not just those using specific truck stops.

On the workforce side, the bill offers two types of financial incentives to encourage people to become truck drivers. First, it creates federal grants to help individuals pay for commercial truck driver training programs, covering tuition, fees, and course materials. Second, it establishes a $7,500 tax credit for truck drivers who work full-time (at least 1,900 hours per year), with a $10,000 credit for new drivers entering the profession. These incentives are designed to address the ongoing shortage of qualified truck drivers by making the career more financially attractive and reducing the barrier to entry. New drivers and apprentices get special consideration, including higher credits and the ability to count training hours toward work requirements.

The bill also includes a provision allowing states to issue special permits for overweight trucks during emergencies—either when the President declares a major disaster or when the federal government determines that supply chains are disrupted. This flexibility is meant to help move relief supplies and goods more quickly during crises without the usual weight restrictions that normally apply to trucks.

SHIP IT Act

Rep. Johnson, Dusty [R-SD-At Large]

Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking Act or the SHIP IT Act This bill expands programs and special permits for trucks and truck drivers. Specifically, a state may issue a special permit for certain overweight vehicles based on a Presidential major disaster declaration or a Department of Transportation (DOT) declaration (1) of an emergency (including non-natural or financial), or (2) that the United States supply chain is having issues. Currently, a state may issue a special permit only based on a Presidential major disaster declaration. DOT must also, subject to the availability of funds, award competitive grants to construct or improve commercial vehicle parking facilities. Under the bill, the Department of Labor must provide Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act grants for entry level commercial motor vehicle driver training. The bill also establishes a limited tax credit, adjusted annually based on inflation, for eligible commercial driver's license holders. Further, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration must revise certain regulations related to commercial driver's license testing and permits, including to allow a third-party examiner to administer commercial driver's license tests. DOT must also establish a pilot program allowing states to issue permits for qualifying vehicles with six axles or more operating at greater than 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight on a state's Interstate System. (Generally, the federal commercial vehicle weight limit is 80,000 pounds, with some exceptions.) The bill also exempts the battery weight from the gross vehicle weight for certain commercial motor vehicles powered primarily by electric battery power. Finally, existing driving time exemptions are expanded for truck drivers transporting agricultural commodities and farm supplies within a 150-mile radius.