Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon has signed a new state law that allows all police officers in Wyoming to fire commercial truck drivers who are not proficient in English and may endanger public safety.The bill is named House Bill 32 and was approved by the state legislature and signed by Gordon earlier this week.Under the new law, any law enforcement officer or deputy in the state can stop a truck driver if the driver cannot show that they meet federal English language proficiency standards. Prior to this change, only federally certified Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers had the authority to enforce those standards.Federal standards require commercial drivers to be able to speak and understand English well enough to speak to the public, answer official questions, and read road signs. If a driver does not meet these requirements, they can now be cited by local authorities as well as state troopers.The law also includes penalties for drivers who fail to demonstrate English proficiency. A first-time offense can result in a fine of $1,000. If a driver continues to drive a commercial vehicle in the state before proving English proficiency, they will face an additional $1,000 fine and may be charged with a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail.The purpose of the law is to improve safety on Wyoming’s roads by ensuring that commercial drivers can communicate and understand important information while driving. Federal requirements on English language proficiency were reinstated by the U.S. Department of Transportation after being halted by the previous administration.The new law comes into effect shortly after a number of accidents and incidents in which immigrant drivers were unable to speak or read English properly.According to State Patrol data, in 2025, a Wyoming commercial vehicle inspection found that 676 of 16,676 truck drivers could not demonstrate basic English proficiency during interviews. Officers have had to cite drivers during roadside checks for failing to show they can read or communicate in English. Additionally, a semi-truck crash in Florida in August 2025 killed three people, drawing national attention to English proficiency rules. Federal investigators said the truck driver failed an English language test and could not answer basic questions or correctly identify highway signs after the crash.