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Minutes for SB375 - Committee on Transportation
Short Title
Relating to the maximum length of certain vehicle combinations.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 7, 2018
Chairperson Petersen opened the hearing on this bill. Scott Wells, Revisor's Office, gave a briefing. This bill increases the allowable length for a combination vehicle to 82 feet for a trailer transporter towing unit and two trailers or semitrailers with a total weight not exceeding 26,000 pounds.
Joel Skelley, Director of Policy, Kansas Department of Transportation, provided proponent testimony (Attachment 1). He said this bill would bring the state into compliance with the federal law. The current limit is 62 feet.
Chairperson Petersen asked if this is a federal guideline and whether the state would lose funding if it did not implement this change. Mr. Skelley said it is a federal law, and the state has not been officially notified they would lose any funding.
Senator Schmidt asked under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act if there are other areas in which Kansas is not compliant. Mr. Skelley said the FAST law became official a couple of years ago. He added there is one more area which will be dealt with in a bill next week, and the state will then be in full compliance. In response to a question, Jill Shelley, Legislative Research, said the FAST Act was effective December 2015.
Asked his response to the bill, Tom Whitaker, Executive Director, Kansas Motor Carriers Association, said this bill pertains to a one-ton pickup hauling goose neck empty trailers to trailer dealers. This bill makes Kansas uniform with the 82-foot limit in federal law and in other states.
There was no opponent or neutral testimony.
The hearing was closed.
