Georgia CommonsSB 442: Drivers' Licenses; revocation and expiration of commercial drivers' licenses for noncitizens; provide
Last action March 27, 2026 · House Passed/Adopted By Substitute
A Georgia Senate bill, as revised by a House committee, would set new rules for revoking and expiring commercial driver's licenses held by noncitizens and would repeal state authority to set rates for household goods movers.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
This bill changes several parts of Georgia's motor vehicle laws (Title 40). It repeals the Department of Public Safety's power to set rates, fares, and charges for companies that move household goods, and removes household goods from the state's price-discrimination rules for motor carriers, leaving those rules to apply only to passenger carriers. For noncitizens, the bill creates a new rule: unless the person is a lawful permanent resident or holds certain employment visas (H-2A, H-2B, or E-2), a commercial driver's license issued to a noncitizen is automatically revoked when that person's visa expires or after five years, whichever comes first. It also ties a noncitizen's commercial license expiration date to this same rule, and requires noncitizens transferring a commercial license from another state or country to first pass Georgia's knowledge and skills test for commercial vehicles. It makes a matching update to a state identity-document law in Title 50.
What the bill does
- Repeals O.C.G.A. § 40-1-118, ending the Department of Public Safety's authority to set rates, fares, and charges for movers of household goods.
- Removes household goods from the anti-discrimination pricing rule in O.C.G.A. § 40-1-119, which now applies only to passenger carriers.
- Creates a new rule automatically revoking a noncitizen's commercial driver's license when their visa expires or after five years, whichever is first, with exceptions for lawful permanent residents and H-2A, H-2B, or E-2 visa holders.
- Ties the expiration date of a commercial driver's license held by a noncitizen to the same visa-expiration or five-year rule.
- Requires noncitizens transferring a commercial driver's license from another state or country into Georgia to pass the state's knowledge and skills driving test.
- Updates a cross-reference in Georgia's secure identity document law (O.C.G.A. § 50-36-2) to match the renumbered noncitizen licensing rules.
Who it affects
Noncitizen commercial drivers (truckers and other commercial license holders) living or working in Georgia, companies that employ them, household goods moving companies previously subject to state-set rates, the Department of Public Safety, and the Department of Driver Services, which administers license issuance and renewal.
Why it matters
Noncitizen truck drivers could lose their commercial driving privileges automatically once their visa lapses or after five years, affecting their ability to keep working, while movers of household goods would see state price regulation disappear, potentially changing how those companies set charges.
Key provisions
- Section 1 repeals O.C.G.A. § 40-1-118 entirely, removing state authority over household goods moving rates.
- Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 40-1-119 so pricing and discrimination rules apply only to passenger carriers, not household goods carriers.
- Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 40-5-21.1 to automatically revoke a noncitizen's commercial driver's license upon visa expiration or five years, except for lawful permanent residents and certain visa holders (H-2A, H-2B, E-2).
- Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 40-5-32 so a noncitizen's commercial driver's license expires according to the new rule in Section 3 rather than the standard eight-year cycle.
- Section 5 amends O.C.G.A. § 40-5-150 to require noncitizens transferring a commercial license from another jurisdiction to pass Georgia's knowledge and skills test.
- Section 6 updates a cross-reference in O.C.G.A. § 50-36-2 to align with the renumbered subsections in the noncitizen licensing law.
- Section 7 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“if a noncitizen has been issued a commercial driver's license under Article 7 of this chapter, the 'Uniform Commercial Driver's License Act,' such license shall be automatically revoked upon the expiration of such person's visa or five years, whichever occurs first.”
“Before transferring a commercial driver's license from a foreign jurisdiction or another state to this state, an applicant who is a noncitizen shall take and pass the knowledge and skills test for driving a commercial vehicle under Code Section 40-5-147.”
Status timeline
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
Show full history (11 actions)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-021)
- John Albers (R, SD-056)
- Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
- Max Burns (R, SD-023)
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
- Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
- Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
- Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
- Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
- Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
- Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)
- Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
- Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 6, 2026
41 yea, 14 nay
- House voteMarch 27, 2026
98 yea, 59 nay (2 not voting, 17 absent)
Topics
- commercial driver's licenses
- immigration and visas
- trucking regulation
- driver's license expiration
- household goods movers