New legislation seeks to cut red tape for seasonal agriculture CDL holders

A bill introduced in the House seeks to support the U.S. agricultural industry and secure the U.S. food supply chain by “remov[ing] regulatory roadblocks for heavy vehicle operators when renewing their commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).”

On July 22, 2025, U.S. Representative Tracey Mann and 16 co-sponsors introduced the Seasonal Agriculture CDL Modernization Act, which would reform the Farm-Related Restricted CDL program.

The bill would allow seasonal drivers to renew their CDL online while providing greater flexibility in the types of commercial vehicles they can operate, according to a news release from Mann’s office.

Mann points to “a national truck driver shortage of 115,000 by the end of 2025″ as a reason for introducing legislation to cut the regulatory burden for seasonal CDL drivers.

“Successfully feeding, clothing, and fueling the world doesn’t stop when crops are harvested,” said Rep. Mann. “The entire agriculture supply chain relies on timely and reliable delivery every step of the way from production to consumption. If our nation’s farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers can’t access the machinery they need to operate their farms or transport their products to storage, it would be impossible for them to fulfill their calling or deliver products to consumers. Our bill strengthens the entire agricultural supply chain by enacting commonsense reforms that make it easier for farm-service drivers to simply do their jobs and serve customers and consumers. Food security is national security that we can and should protect by removing regulatory burdens.”

The Seasonal Ag CDL Modernization Act is endorsed by dozens of agricultural trade groups.

“The Agriculture Transportation Coalition has long recognized that there is nothing we produce in agriculture in the United States that cannot be sourced somewhere else in the world,” said Peter Friedmann, Executive Director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition. “If we are unable to transport and deliver affordably and dependably, our international customers will buy from those other countries, and US farmers, ranchers, processors will lose those sales. The international agriculture supply chain begins at the farms here in the United States. The need to enhance transport efficiency at the very beginning of the supply chain, namely the harvest at the field, has never been greater. The Seasonal Agriculture CDL Modernization Act, will advance this essential component of the domestic and international export supply chain, to keep our agriculture competitive in the global and domestic marketplace. The AgTC strongly supports this bill.”