U.S. Representative Brian Mast announced on Mar. 18 that Dalilah’s Law has advanced through the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, moving closer to a vote in the House of Representatives.
The bill aims to strengthen commercial driver’s license standards and improve roadway safety across the country. The legislation was introduced following a fatal incident in Mast’s district, where an illegal alien operating a commercial tractor-trailer made an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike, resulting in three deaths.
“For communities like mine, this is personal,” said Rep. Brian Mast. “In my district, minutes from my own home, an illegal alien operating a commercial tractor-trailer made an illegal U-turn on our turnpike. He killed three people. Three American lives were lost because someone was behind the wheel who shouldn’t have been. It’s time to pass Dalilah’s law, so this will never happen again,” he added.
According to the press release, on August 12, 2025, an illegal alien used an “Official Use Only” access point on Florida’s Turnpike and caused a crash that killed three Americans. The driver had received a commercial driver’s license in California despite being denied work authorization by federal authorities and scoring poorly on an English Language Proficiency exam.
Dalilah’s Law would establish consistent federal standards for issuing and enforcing commercial licenses. It requires proper training and legal authorization for drivers and mandates that English proficiency exams be administered in English for both written and skills tests. The bill also targets fraudulent licensing practices known as “CDL mills” by increasing penalties for state non-compliance with federal standards—from four to eight percent withholding of highway maintenance funds initially, with additional penalties each year of non-compliance.
Mast is currently serving in Congress representing Florida’s 21st district after replacing Patrick Murphy in 2017 according to Wikipedia. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives as reported by Ballotpedia. Mast was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1980 and now lives in Fort Pierce according to Congress.gov. He graduated from Harvard University Extension School with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2016 according to Harvard University.
The bill will next move to the floor of the House for consideration before potentially advancing to the Senate.
