Ammon Blair, Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, former Border Patrol agent, and consultant for the Operation Lone Star Task Force, testifies before the Texas Senate Transportation Committee on commercial driver’s license (CDL) enforcement, English language proficiency requirements, and roadside verification policies.
Blair argues that CDL issuance, third-party training and testing, English proficiency standards, and roadside enforcement are interconnected parts of a single enforcement problem, and that gaps in any one area undermine the whole system. He highlights how trucks diverting from interstates onto farm-to-market and county roads, particularly along the border, can evade DPS inspection stations, while local law enforcement officers often lack the training, certification, and legal authority needed to act.
His key policy recommendations include separating non-technical CMV certification (such as English proficiency verification) from full technical CDL training, delivering the non-technical component through a digital platform to make it accessible to all 80,000+ Texas law enforcement officers regardless of geography, and directing dedicated funding to local agencies operating on diversion routes near the border.