MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama State Rep. Phillip Pettus, R-Killen, has prefiled legislation for the 2026 Legislative Session that would require all driver’s license examinations in the state to be administered exclusively in English.
House Bill 88 would mandate that “all written, oral, vision, and driving portions of the examination administered for purposes of obtaining or renewing a driver license must be in the English language only.” The bill would also prohibit applicants from using a translation dictionary, electronic device, or interpreter while taking the exam.
Pettus said he introduced the bill in response to concerns raised at the federal level. In mid-December, he told Alabama Daily News that the proposal followed two fatal crashes in other states involving Sikh truck drivers—incidents cited by the Trump administration when it issued new English proficiency standards and regulations restricting immigrants’ access to commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs)…