Engling, a Republican, says some companies exploit limited liability companies by hiring drivers who lack required credentials, dissolving the business after a crash and registering again under a new name. Such operators are known as “chameleon carriers.” He says state officials need to determine how widespread the practice is, noting that its scale remains unclear.

“Part of the issue is that we don’t have a clear idea to the magnitude of the issue,” Engling said this week.

The proposal comes after Indiana lawmakers enacted new commercial-driving restrictions in 2026. The law makes falsifying a commercial driver’s license a felony, allows the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to revoke commercial licenses held by people without legal status in the United States, and requires commercial drivers to pass an English proficiency exam. The measures were added after a truck crash in Jay County killed four people in a passenger van.

That crash and other fatal collisions involving immigrant drivers have become part of a broader political debate over immigration and trucking safety. The Jay County driver had been granted parole by the Biden administration, a fact highlighted by President Donald Trump’s administration. Earlier crashes in 2025 killed an Indiana National Guardsman in a collision involving a Georgian national and a 54-year-old Portage man struck by a Serbian man driving a semi-truck.

State Rep. Jim Pressel, a Republican who authored the 2026 law, called it a first step and said he supports involving the secretary of state’s office. He suggested a portal that could help state and federal authorities connect business-registration details with motor-carrier safety records, while avoiding unnecessary burdens on legitimate companies.

“We’ve got great logistic companies, we’ve got great motor carriers, we’ve got great brokers,” Pressel said. “But what we don’t have is a mechanism to identify these chameleon carriers.” He said he would support the partnership if it helped remove even 10 bad actors from the road.

Engling’s opponents offered different approaches. Democrat Beau Bayh said fraud in public business filings should already be investigated and blamed what he called complacency by the state’s long-governing Republicans. Lincoln Party candidate Greg Ballard likewise argued the current Republican-led office could act without waiting for legislative approval, and criticized Engling for raising the issue shortly before the election.

Libertarian Lauri Shillings said the office should strengthen fraud detection generally, including by improving its website, sharing practices with other secretaries of state and using better analytics to flag suspicious activity.

The issue has drawn attention beyond Indiana. U.S. Sen. Jim Banks has promoted a national tip line and proposed legislation to revoke trucking licenses for immigrants with temporary status. U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve has introduced a bill aimed at ensuring state licensing agencies receive current information about drivers’ immigration status.

Indiana’s 2026 law, House Enrolled Act 1200, passed with nearly unanimous bipartisan support. The candidates’ proposals now differ over whether the secretary of state’s office should pursue a targeted effort on trucking-company registrations or make broader changes to how it detects business-filing fraud.