HAULS Act of 2025
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill amends the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 to expand hours-of-service exemptions for drivers transporting agricultural commodities. Currently, these exemptions apply only during state-determined planting and harvest periods. The HAULS Act removes that seasonal limitation, making the exemptions available year-round. It also sets the exemption radius at 150 air miles from either the source or destination of agricultural commodities. Additionally, the bill directs the Secretary of Transportation to revise the regulatory definition of "agricultural commodity" within 180 days to include a much broader range of farm products including nonprocessed crops, live animals (fish, insects, livestock), animal products (milk, eggs, honey), forestry products, minimally processed fruits and vegetables, and animal feed.
Who Benefits and How
Agricultural trucking companies and independent haulers benefit from year-round hours-of-service exemptions rather than only during planting and harvest seasons. Farmers, ranchers, and livestock producers benefit from more flexible and available transportation options for getting products to market. The broader definition of agricultural commodity extends these benefits to haulers of fish, insects, honey, forestry products, and minimally processed fruits and vegetables who may not have qualified before.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Transportation must revise federal regulations within 180 days. Truck drivers hauling agricultural commodities may face pressure to work longer hours since hours-of-service protections are relaxed year-round rather than seasonally. Other road users bear a potential safety burden from fatigued drivers operating under reduced rest requirements. The bill trades off driver rest protections for agricultural supply chain flexibility.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Expands hours-of-service exemptions for drivers transporting agricultural commodities by removing seasonal restrictions, expanding the geographic radius, and broadening the definition of agricultural commodity to include a wider range of farm products
Key Policy Areas
Agriculture, Transportation
Primary Purpose
Expands hours-of-service exemptions for drivers transporting agricultural commodities by removing seasonal restrictions, expanding the geographic radius, and broadening the definition of agricultural commodity to include a wider range of farm products
Policy Domains
HAULS Act of 2025 - Agricultural Transportation Exemptions
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Agricultural trucking companies
- Farmers and ranchers
- Livestock producers
- Agricultural commodity processors
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Department of Transportation (regulatory changes)
- Other road users (potential safety impact)
- Truck drivers (longer potential working hours)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMrs. Fischer introduced the following bill; which was read twice …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, …
Introduced in Senate
Impact analysis is available but no clear stakeholder effects identified. View clause-level analysis →
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Transportation
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
This Act may be cited as the Haulers of Agriculture and Livestock Safety Act of 2025 or the HAULS Act of 2025.
The geographic radius within which drivers transporting agricultural commodities from the source or destination are exempt from hours-of-service requirements.
Defined to include any nonprocessed product planted or harvested for food, feed, fuel, or fiber; any nonhuman living animal (including fish, insects, and livestock); nonprocessed animal products (milk, eggs, honey); nonprocessed forestry, aquacultural, horticultural, and floricultural commodities; fresh or minimally processed fruits and vegetables; and animal feed including ingredients.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology