ORIGINAL SENATE
FILE NO. 0175
ENROLLED ACT NO.
57, SENATE
FIFTY-SIXTH
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2001
GENERAL SESSION
AN ACT relating to the
multistate highway transportation
agreement;
amending the multistate highway transportation
agreement as
specified; and providing for an effective
date.
Be It Enacted
by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 31-18-901 is amended to read:
31-18-901. Agreement provisions
generally.
The
Multistate Highway Transportation Agreement is enacted
into law and entered
into with all other jurisdictions
legally joining
therein in form substantially as follows:
ARTICLE
I
DEFINITIONS
SECTION
1. As used in this agreement:
(a) "Cooperating
committee" means a body composed of
the designated
representatives from the participating
jurisdictions;
(a)(b) "Designated
representative" means a legislator
or other person appointed by the governor and authorized
under
article IX to represent the jurisdiction;
(b)(c) "Jurisdiction"
means a state of the United
States or the District
of Columbia;
(c)(d) "Vehicle"
means any vehicle as defined by
statute to be subject
to size and weight standards which
operates in two (2) or
more participating jurisdictions.
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ARTICLE
II
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
SECTION
1. Qualifications for Membership.
Participation in this
agreement is open to jurisdictions
which subscribe to the
findings, purposes and objectives of
this agreement and
will seek legislation necessary to
accomplish these
objectives.
SECTION
2. Cooperation. The participating
jurisdictions, working
through their designated
representatives, shall
cooperate and assist each other in
achieving the desired
goals of this agreement pursuant to
appropriate statutory
authority.
SECTION
3. Vehicle Laws and Regulations. This
agreement shall not
authorize the operation of a vehicle in
any participating
jurisdiction contrary to the laws or
regulations of that
state.
SECTION
4. Interpretation. The final decision
regarding
interpretation of questions at issue relating to
this agreement shall
be reached by unanimous joint action
of the participating
jurisdictions, acting through the
designated
representatives. Results of all such actions
shall be placed in
writing. This section shall have no
effect on any judicial
decision.
SECTION
5. Restrictions, Conditions or Limitations.
Any jurisdiction
entering this agreement shall provide each
other participating
jurisdiction with a list of any
restriction, condition
or limitation on the general terms
of this agreement, if
any.
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SECTION
6. Additional Jurisdictions. Additional
jurisdictions may
become members of this agreement by
signing and accepting
the terms of the agreement.
ARTICLE
III
COOPERATING
COMMITTEE
SECTION
1. Each participating jurisdiction shall
have
two (2) designated
representatives. Pursuant to section 2,
article III II, the
designated representatives of each of
the participating
jurisdictions shall constitute a the
cooperating committee which shall have
the power to:
(a) Collect,
correlate, analyze and evaluate
information resulting
or derivable from research and
testing activities in
relation to vehicle size and weight
related matters;
(b) Recommend
and encourage the undertaking of
research and testing
in any aspect of vehicle size and
weight or related
matter when, in their collective
judgment, appropriate
or sufficient research or testing has
not been undertaken;
(c) Recommend
changes in law or policy with emphasis
on compatibility of
laws and uniformity of administrative
rules or regulations
which would promote effective
governmental action or
coordination in the field of vehicle
size and weight
related matters.
(d) Consider
mutual transportation problems of the
motor carrier industry
and recommend changes.
(e) Recommend
improvements in highway operations, in
vehicular safety and
in state administration of highway
transportation laws.
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(f) Perform functions
necessary to facilitate the
purposes of this
agreement.
SECTION
2. Each designated representative of a
participating
jurisdiction shall be entitled to one (1)
vote only. No action
of the committee shall be binding is
approved unless a majority of the
total number of votes
cast by the designated representatives of the
participating
jurisdictions are in
favor thereof.
SECTION
3. The committee shall meet at least once
annually and shall
elect, from among its members, a
chairman, a vice-chairman
and a secretary.
SECTION
4. The committee shall submit annually to the
legislature of each
participating jurisdiction, no later
than November 1,
committee during the
preceding year and including
recommendations
developed by the committee. The committee
may submit such
additional reports as it deems appropriate
or desirable. Copies of all such reports shall be made
available to the
Transportation Committee of the Western
Conference, Council of
State Governments and to the Western
Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials.
ARTICLE
IV
OBJECTIVES
OF THE PARTICIPATING JURISDICTIONS
SECTION
1. Objectives. The participating
jurisdictions hereby
declare that:
(a) It is the
objective of the participating
jurisdictions to
obtain more efficient and more economical
transportation by
motor vehicles between and among the
participating
jurisdictions by encouraging the adoption of
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standards
that will, as minimums, allow the operation on
all state highways,
except those determined through
engineering evaluation
to be inadequate, with a single-axle
weight of 20,000
pounds, a tandem-axle weight of 36,000
pounds and a gross
vehicle or combination weight of that
resulting from
application of the formula:
W = 500[LN/(N - 1) + 12N + 36] where W = maximum
weight in pounds
carried on any group of two (2)
or more consecutive axles
computed to the nearest
five hundred (500)
pounds;
L = distance in feet between the extremes of any group
of two (2) or more
consecutive axles;
N = number
of axles in group under consideration.
(b) It is the
further objective of the participating
jurisdictions that in
the event the operation of a vehicle
or combination of
vehicles in interstate commerce according
to the provisions of
subsection (a) of this section would
result in withholding
or forfeiture of federal aid funds
pursuant to section
127, title 23, U.S. Code, the operation
of the vehicle or
combination of vehicles at axle and gross
weights within the
limits set forth in subsection (a) of
this section will
authority by each
participating jurisdiction which could
legally issue the
permits prior to July 1, 1956, provided
all regulations and
procedures related to the issuance in
effect as of July 1,
1956, are adhered to
combinations in excess
of eighty thousand (80,000) pounds
gross vehicle weight
or statutory maximum lengths.
(c) The objectives of
subsections (a) and (b) of this
section relate to
vehicles or combinations of vehicles in
regular operation, and
the authority of any participating
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jurisdiction to issue special permits for the movement of
any vehicle or
combinations of vehicles having dimensions
or weights in excess
of
each participating
jurisdiction will not be affected.
(d)(c) It is the
further objective of the
participating
jurisdictions to facilitate and expedite the
operation of any
vehicle or combination of vehicles between
and among the
participating jurisdictions under the
provisions of
subsection (a) or (b) of this section, and to
that end the participating
jurisdictions hereby agree,
through their
designated representatives, to meet and
cooperate in the
consideration of vehicle size and weight
related matters
including, but not limited to, the
development of uniform
enforcement procedures; additional
vehicle size and
weight standards; operational standards;
agreements or compacts
to facilitate regional application
and administration of
vehicle size and weight standards;
uniform permit
procedures; uniform application forms; rules
and regulations for
the operation of vehicles, including
equipment
requirements, driver qualifications and operating
practices; and such
other matters as may be pertinent.
(e)(d) In recognition of the limited prospects of
federal revision of
section 127, title 23, U.S. Code, and
in order to protect
participating jurisdictions against any
possibility of
withholding or forfeiture of federal aid
highway funds, it is
the further objective of the
participating
jurisdictions to
may recommend that the
participating jurisdictions jointly
secure congressional
approval of this agreement and
specifically of the
vehicle size and weight standards set
forth in subsection
(a) of this section.
(f) In recognition of
desire for a degree of national
uniformity of size and
weight regulations, it is the
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further objective to encourage development of broad,
uniform size and
weight standards on a national basis, and
further that
procedures adopted under this agreement be
compatible with
national standards.
(e) It is the further
objective of the participating
jurisdictions to:
(i) Establish
transportation laws and
regulations to meet
regional and economic needs and to
promote an efficient,
safe and compatible transportation
network;
(ii) Develop standards
that facilitate the most
efficient and
environmentally sound operation of vehicles
on highways,
consistent with and in recognition of
principles of highway
safety;
(iii) Establish programs
to increase
productivity and
reduce congestion, fuel consumption and
related transportation
costs and enhance air quality
through the uniform
application of state vehicle
regulations and laws;
and
(iv) Facilitate
communication among legislators,
state transportation
administrators and commercial industry
representatives to
discuss unique highway transportation
issues in
participating jurisdictions.
ARTICLE
V
ENTRY
INTO FORCE AND WITHDRAWAL
SECTION
1. This agreement shall enter into force when
enacted into law by
any two (2) or more jurisdictions.
Thereafter, this
agreement shall become effective as to any
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7
other jurisdiction upon its
enactment thereof, except as
otherwise provided in
section 6, article II.
SECTION
2. Any participating jurisdiction may
withdraw from this
agreement by canceling the same but no
such withdrawal shall
take effect until thirty (30) days
after the designated
representative of the withdrawing
jurisdiction has given
notice in writing of the withdrawal
to all other
participating jurisdictions.
ARTICLE
VI
CONSTRUCTION
AND SEVERABILITY
SECTION
1. This agreement shall be liberally
construed so as to
effectuate the purposes thereof.
SECTION
2. The provisions of this agreement shall be
severable and if any
phrase, clause, sentence or provision
of this agreement is
declared to be contrary to the
constitution of any
participating jurisdiction or the
applicability thereto
to any government, agency, person or
circumstance is held
invalid, the validity of the remainder
of this agreement
shall not be affected thereby. If this
agreement shall be
held contrary to the constitution of any
jurisdiction
participating herein, the agreement shall
remain in full force
and effect as to the jurisdictions
affected as to all
severable matters.
ARTICLE
VII
FILING
OF DOCUMENTS
SECTION
1. A copy of this agreement, its amendments
and rules or
regulations promulgated thereunder and
interpretations
thereof shall be filed in the highway
department in each
participating jurisdiction and shall be
made available for
review by interested parties.
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ARTICLE
VIII
EXISTING
STATUTES NOT REPEALED
SECTION
1. All existing statutes prescribing weight
and size standards and
all existing statutes relating to
special permits shall
continue to be of force and effect
until amended or
repealed by law.
ARTICLE IX
SELECTION OF DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES
SECTION 1. The process for selecting the designated
representatives to the
cooperating committee shall be
established by law
under this article.
SECTION 2. The persons authorized to represent the
state of Wyoming as
the designated representatives to the
committee shall be the
chairman of the senate
transportation and
highways committee and the chairman of
the house
transportation and highways committee, or a
legislator or a state
agency official each chairman may
designate.
SECTION 3. The chairmen of the senate and house
transportation and
highways committees shall also designate
one (1) alternate
representative who shall also be a
legislator or state
agency official to serve in the absence
of the representative
designated under section 2 of this
article.
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Section 2. This act is
effective July 1, 2001.
(END)
Speaker of
the House President of
the Senate
Governor
TIME APPROVED: _________
DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the
Senate.
Chief Clerk
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