Lee Pulaski, lpulaski@shawanoleader.com
A bill that will ease road restrictions for agricultural equipment is heading back to the state Senate for one more vote.
Senate Bill 509 was amended by the Assembly last week, so the Senate must vote on the amendment before the bill can go to Gov. Scott Walker’s desk for approval. The Senate has one more day left in its session, April 1, and the bill is scheduled to be discussed then.
Rep. Gary Tauchen, R-Bonduel, said earlier this week that many people thought farm equipment was exempt from vehicle weight restrictions, but reports of tickets being issued to equipment operators in Marathon and Kewaunee counties led to SB 509.
“It became a necessity to look at this year because the last two years, people were getting tickets for overweight farm machinery,” Tauchen said. “We’ve been working to develop some legislation that will bring some common sense to the vehicles that we use on the farm.”
The bill increases the maximum axle weight and total weight for agricultural equipment by 15 percent to 23,000 and 92,000 pounds, respectively. It also allows machinery over 15 feet wide to be operated on the road without a permit if it meets marking and lighting standards.
There is a provision in the bill that would allow towns and counties to pass ordinances if they want a permitting process for agricultural equipment. No-fee permits for specific state roads would be issued by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and would automatically renew annually unless the road changes or the farmer amends the permit.
“The information can only be used by law enforcement and the Department of Transportation,” Tauchen said. “It’s not open records.”
The bill includes a moratorium on State Patrol enforcement of the weight limits until 2015, but Tauchen pointed out that local and county law enforcement are not under such an obligation.
The regulations are expected to be reviewed in five years, Tauchen said. There is a sunset clause that ends the higher weight limits and permitting provisions in 2020 unless the Legislature extends or changes them.