Committee advances bill targeting undocumented CDL holders to finance panel after debate

The House Transportation Committee advanced House Bill 1706 as amended on March 3, 2025, voting 15–2 to send the measure to the House Finance Committee. Deputy Speaker Zachary, who sponsored the bill and described recent crashes, framed the legislation as a public-safety measure to bar undocumented persons from operating commercial motor vehicles in Tennessee.

"I think it is important to report that 11,344 illegals committed 21,648 crimes just in 2025," Deputy Speaker Zachary told the committee while outlining the sponsor's evidence and saying the bill would make the conduct a misdemeanor, require transfer to federal or centralized state immigration enforcement where appropriate, and create a private right of action against drivers, employers and issuing states.

Representative Pearson pushed back on the bill's language and premise, saying the term "illegal" is dehumanizing and arguing available research does not support the sponsor's portrayal of immigration and crime rates. "Illegal may be an action, but it is not a person," Pearson said, and questioned whether the statute duplicates existing federal law that already makes it an offense for an employer to knowingly allow an unlawfully present person to operate a commercial vehicle.

Committee counsel and the sponsor discussed the bill's interaction with federal law and with 287(g)-style arrangements; legal staff explained the bill's choice-of-law clause would let Tennessee law govern certain civil actions despite contractual choice-of-law provisions. The sponsor said the state does not have a current count of how many undocumented people in Tennessee possess commercial driver's licenses.

Following a successful motion to end debate, the clerk announced the committee vote: 15 ayes, 2 nos, 0 present-not-voting. The committee recorded that House Bill 1706, as amended, now moves to the House Finance Committee for further consideration.