Supporters of West Va ELP requirement says it’s “not a political issue” but a safety one

Supporters of a new West Virginia bill say that English language proficiency requirements for anyone applying for a CDL are “not a political issue” but a safety one. 

House Bill 4441 was introduced in West Virginia on January 16th. The bill would require any applicant looking to obtain a CDL to be proficient in English for both reading and writing. The bill has already been referred to the Committee on Government Organization to be considered during the 2026 legislative session. 

“It’s not a political issue. I want to be very clear. It has nothing to do with anybody’s position on immigration. It has none of that. It has to do with the fact that this is a safety issue. This just has to do with safety and trying to keep your family and my family safe,” said Attorney Dino Colombo to WDTV5.

Colombo represented the family of a man who was killed when a jackknifing semi truck knocked his car off of a West Virginia bridge. The truck driver, Sukhjinder Singh then drove away, leaving motorist Kevin Lataille stuck in his car in a frozen river. He was not found for four days. 

With the help of surveillance video, investigators were able to track Singh to his home in California. Singh was only able to speak to investigators through interpreters, and initially denied hitting any cars. He later refused to return to West Virginia until served with a governor’s warrant. 

“These people are killed. They’re taken from their family and they’re charged with a misdemeanor. These cases need to be at the level of a felony where there is a more stringent penalty, a more substantial penalty for when someone has been killed by the gross negligence,” Colombo said.