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House passes bill giving
dairy farmers relief on weight limits
Dairy farmers in
Washington would be able to move overweight manure spreaders on county
roads under a measure passed by the Washington State House of
Representatives today.
House Bill 1117, prime
sponsored by Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, permits the movement of
overweight manure spreaders on county roads and also calls on the
Legislature to look into policies regarding the movement of all farm
implements.
“This is incredibly
important to farmers in Whatcom County. When I spoke with dairy farmers
last summer they expressed concerns that their manure spreaders were not
legal to move on local roads,” said Ericksen. “This measure will provide
them the necessary relief and, on a larger scale, allow us to look at
the issue of movement of all farm implements on our roadways. This is a
step in the right direction for all of agriculture.
“In passing this bill today, the House collectively agreed that we
shouldn’t place undue restrictions on these kinds of traditional farming
practices,” said Ericksen. “I’m happy we’ve been to accommodate the
needs of local farmers in the 42nd District. We’ve had a lot of
overweight farm implements on our roadways over the years and it has
never really been a problem. It’s come to light recently that the law
doesn’t account for this kind of traditional farming activity. With the
input of farmers, we hope to take a closer look at this issue to see if
we can create a comprehensive solution that will allow for the continued
movement of farm implements on our roadways.”
House Bill 1117 passed on a 95-0 vote and has been referred to the
Senate Transportation Committee.
The 2005 legislative began
on January 10 and is scheduled to run 105 days.
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For more information, contact:
John
Handy, Assistant Director: (360) 786-5758
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