Kentucky Lawmakers Defeat Higher Weight-Limit Bill

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

entucky lawmakers defeated a bill that that would have raised weight limits for some trucks, the Associated Press reported.

The state’s House rejected the measure 50-33 after the proposal cleared the Senate by a 23-12 vote, AP said.

Currently only trucks hauling coal are allowed a state exemption permitting them to carry up to 120,000 pounds. Other trucks are capped at 80,000 pounds.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Howard Cornett (R), said the bill was aimed at pre-empting a pending lawsuit that has challenged the constitutionality of the state's trucking regulations, AP said.

Cornett maintained the bill would have made the trucking industry fairer by allowing trucks carrying other natural resources the same benefits as those transporting coal, AP reported.