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Truckers closer to
streamlined approach for weighing hay and straw
Senate unanimously approves Hinkle's bill
With unanimous support
from the Senate,
House Bill 2923 is now just one signature away from becoming law and
streamlining how truck drivers weigh and transport hay and straw. The
bill also passed the House unanimously on Feb. 12.
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Bill Hinkle, would allow hay or
straw processing facilities to provide weight tickets to truck drivers
when they pick up their loads, providing the scale used is approved by
the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
"I am very pleased
with the support from both the Senate and the House for a bill that
will help our hard-working truck drivers," said Hinkle, R-Cle Elum. "We
just need one more 'yes' from the governor to ensure truckers can get
hay and straw to market more efficiently."
The bill would provide a
technical fix to a gap in current law. As it stands, truck drivers must
load their vehicles with hay or straw and then drive to the closest
certified weigh station. However, without knowing whether the truck is
overweight, the state patrol can pull it over and issue a
citation. The other challenge for truck drivers is they may have to
detour miles off their intended route to get their load weighed and
certified.
"This bill is a
common-sense fix," adds Hinkle. "If a processing facility has a
certified scale, it should be able to weigh a
trucker's load."
The bill will now be
sent to the governor for signature.
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For more information, contact:
Mike Deising, Public
Information Officer - (360) 786-7698
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