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Minutes for SB267 - Committee on Transportation
Short Title
Clarifying that a violation of the statute requiring secured vehicle loads is a traffic infraction.
Minutes Content for Mon, Feb 10, 2020
The Chair opened the hearing on SB267.
Staff Adam Siebers explained that the bill clarifies the penalty for a secured-load violation; the bill changes the penalty from being a civil misdemeanor to a traffic violation.
PROPONENTS
Senator John Doll, District 93, testified as a proponent for the bill. He stated that some silage trucks transporting silage from the field to market are uncovered, causing the loose silage to blow onto the highway (Attachment 1). The bill intends to make clear that such an occurrence is not a civil misdemeanor but a traffic infraction. Mr. Siebers, addressing members' concerns, said the bill would apply to all unsecured loads such as couches or trash falling from a truck.
Two individuals provided written testimony:
- John Donley, Kansas Farm Bureau (Attachment 2)
- Randy Stookey, Vice President, Kansas Grain and Feed (Attachment 3)
OPPONENTS
Joel Skelly, Director of Policy, Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR), spoke as an opponent to the bill. He expressed concern that the bill as written removes the penalty for an unsecured-load violation without inserting a commensurate penalty under the statutory uniform schedule of fines. He explained that unsecured loads pose a safety issue for the public and that a fine provides a deterrent for such occurrences (Attachment 4).
Written-only testimony was provided by Colonel Herman T. Jones, Kansas Highway Patrol (Attachment 5).
NEUTRAL
Aaron Popelka, Vice President, Kansas Livestock Association, presented neutral testimony on the bill (Attachment 6). He recommended an amendment that would identify agricultural products hauling intrastate from the place of production to market or to storage as excluded from the secured-load statute. Members discussed various applications of the amendment, such as a lawn service hauling grass clippings. A member noted that a truck hauling round bales often will take the bales from the field to storage and then to market, a pattern which does not fit the sequence of the proposed amendment.
Deborah Barnes, Attorney, Kansas League of Municipalities, questioned whether the bill is necessary, since extant statutes already address the issues raised by the bill (Attachment 7).
The Chair closed the hearing on SB267.
