Longer combination vehicles-compact agreement.

WORKING DRAFT

ORIGINAL
House
JOINT RESOLUTION
No
.
HJ0008

ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 2,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2015 General Session

A JOINT RESOLUTION requesting Congress to eliminate the freeze on longer combination vehicles and consent to the creation of a voluntary compact between Western states that will establish uniform size and weight limits, routes, configuration and operating conditions for longer combination vehicles.

WHEREAS,
o
ne of the most significant ways to improve freight

system performance on the highways of the western United States is

through the use of more efficient trucks and truck combinations; and

WHEREAS,
o
ver the past
two (
2
)
decades, longer combination vehicles
(
LCVs), which are tractor-trailer combinations with
two (
2
)
or more trailers that

have a gross vehicle weight exceeding
eighty thousand (
80,000
)
pounds, have demonstrated
c
onsiderable benefits to the general public through increased

productivity,
h
igher safety ratings, increased fuel savings, emissions reductions and

congestion mitigation; and

WHEREAS,
a
Federal Highway Administration freeze on state

authority to expand the use of LCVs has been in place since

1991, and

since that time there has been substantial

population
, traffic congestion
and vehicle

registration growth
and
a significant increase in vehicle miles traveled and

vehicle emissions; and

WHEREAS,
eliminating the freeze on LCVs
for the affected states, including Wyoming,
will
give these states the flexibility to establish uniformity in LCV oversight and find ways to benefit from LCV operations in each of the affected states and throughout the western United States; and

W
HEREAS,

consenting to
a voluntary compact or agreement between the states of Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Ut
ah, Washington and Wyoming will
allow these states to establish uniform size and weight limits for LCVs, which are not to exceed one hundred twenty-nine thousand (129,000) pounds gross vehicle combination weight or one hundred (100) foot cargo carrying length, and adopt LCV routes, configurations and operating conditions.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1.

That
Congress is urged to lift the freeze on longer commercial vehicles for the affected Western states, including Wyoming, in order to take advantage of new transportation strategies to improve highway efficiency and reduce vehicle miles traveled, traffic congestion, fuel consumption and air pollution emissions.

Section 2.

That Congress consent to
the creation of a voluntary
compact or agreement between the states of
Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming
that will establish uniform LCV
size capacity, routes, configurations and operati
ng conditions
.

Section
3
.

That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress and to the Wyoming Congressional Delegation.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.

Chief Clerk

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