Brief (1)
SB 346 would place responsibility for overweight vehicles of a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or more on the person exercising direct control over the loading of the vehicle. The bill exempts vehicles or combination of vehicles loaded:
Under current law, only the driver of the vehicle or combination of vehicles is fined for an overweight load.
Background
Hearings on the issue were conducted in 1999. Senator Barone, who requested the bill, indicated that in 1999 a local television station ran a week-long investigative report dealing with overweight vehicles. That report lead to interest in this subject. A video of that program was obtained by Senator Barone and shown to Senate Committee members. Others who testified in support of the bill included the Assistant Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Traffic Engineering with the Kansas Department of Transportation; the Director of Governmental Relations and Membership Services for the Kansas Motor Carriers Association; the spokesperson of the Kansas Aggregate Producers Association and Kansas Ready Mixed Concrete Association; and the President of the Kansas Grain Association.
No one testified in opposition to the bill.
The Senate Committee of the Whole removed language which would have made the owner of transported goods or commodities responsible for gross weight violations of 10,000 pounds or more.
The House Committee exempted vehicles loaded with harvested crops from a field or from storage on a farm. The House Committee of the Whole added another exemption which would apply to vehicles loaded with livestock which are loaded on a farm or ranch.
An updated fiscal note is pending.
1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html