Sponsor
Ron Johnson
Senator · R-WI
Senator · R-WI
The bill lets timber carriers haul heavier loads over limited distances to cut trips, costs, and fuel use, but shifts risks onto public infrastructure, road safety, and interstate regulatory consistency.
Logging and timber carriers can carry heavier loads on the Interstate for up to 150 air miles, reducing trips and hauling costs for logging businesses.
Timber haulers will make fewer roundtrips, lowering fuel use and reducing wear on trucks and associated operational costs for carriers.
State governments retain authority because waivers are limited to State legal weight tolerances in effect at enactment, giving states and operators regulatory predictability.
Taxpayers and state governments may face higher pavement and bridge repair costs because heavier logging trucks can accelerate road and bridge wear.
Other drivers and communities face increased safety risks if heavier loads degrade braking or handling, especially on mixed routes used by passenger traffic.
Carriers operating across state lines may face inconsistent and locked-in weight rules because waivers are limited to tolerances in effect at enactment, complicating interstate commerce and enforcement.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Permits a federal waiver of Interstate weight limits for logging trucks hauling raw/unfinished forest products up to 150 air miles when those trucks meet State weight tolerances in effect at enactment.
Official title: Amend title 23, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transportation to waive vehicle weight limitations for certain logging vehicles, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 13, 2025 by Ron Johnson · Last progress March 13, 2025
Allows heavier logging trucks on the Interstate System in certain cases by instructing the Secretary of Transportation to waive federal vehicle weight limits for defined "covered logging vehicles" when those trucks comply with the State weight tolerances that were in effect on enactment. The exemption applies only to vehicles hauling raw or unfinished forest products up to 150 air miles on the Interstate System and only if they meet the vehicle configurations and State legal weight tolerances in every State they operate through.