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Minutes for HB2095 - Committee on Transportation
Short Title
Providing a special vehicle permit for certain vehicle combinations.
Minutes Content for Tue, Mar 14, 2017
Chairperson Petersen opened the hearing for proponents only. Tomorrow opponents and neutrals will provide testimony.
Scott Wells, Revisor, gave a briefing. This bill would provide a divisible load operating permit for vehicles weighing more than 85,500 pounds but not more than 90,000 pounds on 6 or more axles. The annual permit fee would be $200 and payable to the Secretary of Transportation. He stood for questions.
Senator Hawk asked, on page 1 lines 22 and 23, what is posted and what is not on weight limits on bridges. Mr. Wells suggested the proponents might know.
Randy Stookey, Kansas Grain and Feed Association, provided proponent testimony (Attachment 1). He said he is in support of this bill for many reasons:
- Save farmers time and money by reducing the number of trips.
- Protect Kansas roads by distributing the weight over six axles.
- Competitive with other states' weight standards.
- Rail service is not available at all grain elevators and products shipped by rail must first be trucked to rail sites.
- This bill does not take away jobs.
Leslie Kaufman, Kansas Cooperative Council, gave proponent testimony (Attachment 2) and said that 70% of co-op upright grain storage facilities have no active rail service. Two attached maps illustrated which co-op grain locations (151 of 529) have active rail service. A lot of grain trade relies on truck traffic, and members who use the rail will continue to use the rail. An important issue is whether there will be a bumper grain crop this year as there has been in the past two years.
Tucker Stewart, Kansas Livestock Association, provided proponent testimony (Attachment 3) noting this bill is reasonable in its gross vehicle weight increase as it protects the infrastructure by requiring the truck-trailer combination have six axles and provides the same or increased motorist safety because there are brakes on each axle without too much more weight. Kansas has lower weight allowances than those in surrounding states and this compounds the driver shortage in the state. There are estimates of a 175,000 national truck driver shortage in the next ten years. He quoted statistics from the "informa economics" study, KDOT, the Local Road Research Board of Minnesota Department of Transportation, and the "Highway Safety and Truck Crash Comparative Analysis Technical Report" by U.S. DOT. He added that the federal government is providing an 80%/20% funding match to load-rate bridges. If this bill does not pass and the state load-rates the bridges for 85,500 pounds rather than 90,000 pounds, the higher weight is later authorized, Kansans will foot the bill later for rating the bridges again, against that higher weight limit.
Lucas Heinen, Kansas Soybean Association and a farmer from Brown County, gave proponent testimony (Attachment 4). He noted that Kansas farmers would realize time saved, improved safety with additional axle, and economic benefits. He added that any of his close calls in regard to a traffic accident have always involved an automobile, not another truck. Auto drivers do not have a healthy respect for trucks and tend to make poor decisions in an effort to get ahead of the truck. Mr. Heinen added this bill would reduce the time he is on the highway.
Vincent Hofer, Cargill, provided proponent testimony (Attachment 5). The company's grain facilities in Kansas include nine elevators, two soybean crush facilities, and two flour mills. They receive approximately 150,000 truckloads of grain annually. Over the last three years, on an annual average, 37,500 truckloads of cattle were delivered to Cargill's facility in Dodge City. Increased weight limits would provide an opportunity to gain efficiencies and increase competitiveness by saving a truckload every 14th trip.
Proponent testimony was given by Tom Whitaker, Kansas Motor Carriers Association (Attachment 6). KMCA represents 930 member companies and the highway transportation industry supports this bill. He talked about the $200 fee and how it was established. it is equal to the additional fee to increase the vehicle's registered gross weight from 80,000 pounds to 85,500 pounds. This would make the registration fee for 90,000 pounds total $2,270 Because of the weight of the additional axle, the gross weight increase is 4,500 pounds but the increase in payload is 3,000 pounds, which is equivalent to 50 bushels of wheat or two or three fat cattle. He noted new trailers or retrofitting trailers is expensive and would happen over time. This bill has been requested by the shippers, and KMCA supports the shippers and the bill.
Written-only testimony was provided by:
Ron Seeber, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, Renew Kansas (Attachment 7).
Ted Schultz, COO, Team Marketing Alliance (Attachment 8)
Tim Stroda, President and CEO, Kansas Pork Association (Attachment 9)
Mike Steenhoek, Executive Director, Soy Transportation Coalition (Attachment 10)
Greg Krissek, CEO, Kansas Corn Growers Association (Attachment 11)
Larry Martin, President, Kansas Livestock Marketing Association (Attachment 12)
Art Wagner, Vice President, National Beef Packing Co, LLC; and Stan Linville, CEO, U.S. Premium Beef, LLC; and National Carriers (Attachment 13)
Questions were asked of the proponents:
Senator Doll asked Tom Whitaker if the axle weight of 1,000 to 1,500 pounds includes tires. Mr. Whitaker said it includes tires, brakes, and related equipment. Senator Doll asked if motor carriers in Colorado and Missouri pay more for permits for trucks that exceed 85,500 pounds. Mr. Whitaker said they do pay more, but they are allowed 36,000 pounds on a tandem axle. This bill does not increase the axle load. Senator Doll asked if in Colorado and Missouri, for the triple axle trucks, carriers pay more than the $2,000 fee. Mr. Whitaker replied that Colorado does because it has an ownership tax. Missouri is less. He added this bill does not include the commercial tax that is paid.
Senator LaTurner asked how many bridges are in the state. Jill Shelley will provide him a copy of the KDOT map showing routes and bridge weight limits. In response to a question from Senator LaTurner, Mr. Heinen said the increase in load weight means the next trailer will have a triple axle, but he will wait for that purchase. A tandem axle trailer costs $34,000, a significant amount. Senator LaTurner asked if a bill should be drafted to limit the additional weight to harvest time, if that would help the agriculture industry. Mr. Heinen said he ships grain year round.
Senator Hawk asked about axles and the 85500 weight. Mr. Stewart noted the real difference is the triple axle trailer versus the tandem axle and whether the axles are spread or close together. Senator Hawk asked if the weight limit is 90,000 pounds, will each axle have brakes? Mr. Stewart said that is correct, and without the spread axle, the limit is 85,500 pounds. He added weight over the triple axle might flow between axles but there has to be a top per axle weight. Ease of conversion from two axles to three depends on the trailer. Mr. Whitaker added the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires brakes on each axle.
Senator Fitzgerald asked why North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota have such high weights for bridges. Mr. Whitaker replied because those states' higher weight limits were grandfathered in when the federal government froze weight limits, and that has been a contentious issue between Kansas and Nebraska for years. Kansas didn't go to the 85,500 weight until the late 70's. It gives carriers in those states a competitive advantage.
Ms. Kaufman clarified an answer to Senator Doll's question about connections to rail lines indicated on the map she presented. Garden City does not have a dot on the map because the grain shipper there is not a co-op.
Senator LaTurner asked if only harvest time permits were offered, what percent of grain movement would be captured. Ms. Kaufman said the industry moves grain all year long, and much depends on the market, crops in Argentina, buying contracts in China, and many other factors. She stated the co-ops move grain more quickly at harvest time, and the industry and Kansas regulations (KAR 82-4-3) define harvest related to hours of service as year round. Senator Petersen asked about Minnesota's season. Harvest in Minnesota is "beginning of harvest to November 30 for movement of sugar beets, carrots, and potatoes from the field of harvest to the point of the first unloading."
Senator Goddard asked about inventory of trailers that have the triple axles. Mr. Whitaker noted there are trailer manufacturers that make this particular trailer now, but for carriers to modify or replace, this will take some time. There are livestock haulers that have the triple axle because they haul in Nebraska and they would not have the transition. It is easier to add axles to grain trailers than livestock trailers with possum bellies that limit the space on the axles.
Senator Hawk noted every states on the list Mr. Stookey provided with his testimony have weight limits over 90,000 pounds, so why not just change to 90,000? Mr. Stookey said this bill was requested at 90,000 and 6 axles because proponents had met with the railroads last session, and looked at what they did in Iowa in 2006. In 2010, that state changed 90,000 on 6 or 96,000 on 7 axles. That was rebuffed. Over the summer we continued dialogue with the railroads and compromised to introduce a bill that was a reasonable limited increase. This was lower than the 92,000-pound weight on six axles that KDOT indicated would mitigate wear and tear on roads.
The hearing for proponents on this bill was closed.
