2007 Montana Legislature

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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 22

INTRODUCED BY COCCHIARELLA

 

A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA REQUESTING CONGRESS TO ADOPT LEGISLATION TO MODIFY THE LIMITS ON THE LENGTH AND WEIGHT OF LONG-HAUL TRUCKS.

 

     WHEREAS, the national highway system is not adequate to meet the nation's needs, both today and in the future, because there is a predicted growth of commercial vehicles of 70% from 1998 to 2018, and yet there has been an increase in highway lanes of only 3.4% from 1994 to 2004; and

     WHEREAS, the western states have pioneered in the development of productive vehicle systems, in cooperation with the western departments of transportation, to meet the demands of large geographic distances to market, safety, air quality, and congestion mitigation; and

     WHEREAS, the truck size and weight limits, from state to state, are frozen by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), which prohibits the states from allowing any vehicles longer or greater in weight than those in operation on June 1, 1991; and

     WHEREAS, a coalition is being established to seek to gain passage of federal legislation that allows western states to harmonize certain truck sizes, weights, and routes for long combination vehicle types; and

     WHEREAS, the uniform sizes and weights sought by the Multistate Highway Transportation Agreement (MHTA) will bring safe options to the transportation industry and encourage economic development.

 

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

     That the members of the Montana Legislature agree with the Multistate Highway Transportation Agreement and hereby encourage the Congress of the United States to act in an expeditious manner to enact federal legislation that lifts the freeze and allows western states to harmonize certain truck sizes, weights, and routes for long combination vehicle types.

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Montana and other western states seek to pass state legislation to harmonize the truck size and weights set out on this resolution when they are successful in seeking passage of federal legislation to do so.

- END -

 


Latest Version of SJ 22 (SJ0022.ENR)
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