Iowa SSB 1015: A bill for an act relating to driver age qualifications for certain commercial motor vehicle drivers operating solely intrastate to transport hazardous material.

Bill Text

Senate Study Bill 1015 - Introduced
SENATE FILE _____
BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
TRANSPORTATION BILL BY
CHAIRPERSON ZUMBACH)
A BILL FOR
An Act relating to driver age qualifications for certain1
commercial motor vehicle drivers operating solely intrastate2
to transport hazardous material.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:4
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S.F. _____
Section 1. Section 321.449, subsection 3, Code 2025, is1
amended to read as follows:2
3. Rules adopted under this section concerning driver age3
qualifications do not apply to drivers for private and for-hire4
motor carriers which operate solely intrastate except when the5
vehicle being driven is transporting a hazardous material in a6
quantity which requires placarding. The minimum age for the7
exempted intrastate operations is eighteen years of age.8
Sec. 2. Section 321.450, subsection 3, Code 2025, is amended9
to read as follows:10
3. Notwithstanding other provisions of this section, or the11
age requirements under section 321.449, the age requirements12
under section 321.449 and the rules adopted under this section13
pertaining to compliance with regulations adopted under14
United States Code, Tit. 49, and found in 49 C.F.R. §177.804,15
shall not apply to retail dealers of fertilizers, petroleum16
products, and pesticides and their employees while delivering17
fertilizers, petroleum products, and pesticides to farm18
customers within a one-hundred-mile radius of their retail19
place of business.20
EXPLANATION21
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with22
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.23
Under current law, the department of public safety (DPS),24
in consultation with the department of transportation, is25
authorized to adopt motor carrier safety rules consistent with26
federal motor carrier safety regulations. Federal regulations27
require a person to be at least 21 years old in order to be28
licensed as a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver (49 C.F.R.29
§391.11), with limited exceptions. DPS is authorized to adopt30
rules authorizing a person who is at least 18 years of age,31
but under 21 years of age, to be licensed to operate a CMV in32
interstate commerce if the person holds a valid commercial33
driver’s license (CDL) and is authorized under federal law34
to operate a CMV in interstate commerce. In addition, rules35
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S.F. _____
adopted by DPS concerning driver age qualifications do not1
apply to drivers for private and for-hire motor carriers2
which operate solely intrastate except when the vehicle being3
driven is transporting a hazardous material in a quantity4
which requires placarding. The minimum age for the exempted5
intrastate operations is 18 years of age.6
This bill strikes the age qualifications exception for7
drivers transporting a hazardous material in a quantity which8
requires placarding, thus making DPS rules concerning driver9
age qualifications inapplicable to persons who hold a CDL10
while driving a CMV for private and for-hire motor carriers,11
which operate solely intrastate, to transport hazardous12
material. The bill strikes a reference to the age requirements13
under Code section 321.449, amended by the bill, regarding14
the inapplicability of rules pertaining to retail dealers of15
fertilizers, petroleum products, and pesticides and their16
employees while delivering fertilizers, petroleum products, and17
pesticides to farm customers within a 100-mile radius of their18
retail place of business.19
The bill does not amend Code section 321.180(2)(f), which20
provides that a commercial learner’s permit is not valid for21
the operation of a vehicle transporting hazardous materials.22
In general, rules adopted by DPS for CMV drivers still apply23
to a CMV driver engaged exclusively in intrastate commerce to24
transport hazardous materials requiring a placard (see Code25
section 321.449(4)(a)).26
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