State Watch – March/April 2022

Since the first of the year, lawmakers throughout the country have been working to advance their agendas. A portion of those efforts are included on the following pages. For a complete rundown of state legislation, visit LandLine.Media.

Alabama

One Alabama House bill is intended to discourage aggressive ticketing practices.

HB129 would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from establishing ticket quotas. Agencies would also be forbidden from providing incentives for issuing traffic tickets.

Delaware

A bill nearing passage in the Delaware Legislature would require drivers to remove accumulated ice or snow before driving on roadways.

SB64 would let law enforcement officers pull over vehicles simply for failure to remove ice or snow from atop vehicles. Fines would be set at $25 to $75. Incidents that cause property damage or physical injury would result in penalties from $200 to $1,000 for motorists. Truck drivers could face fines of $500 to $1,500.

The bill would limit citations to affected vehicles to once per 24-hour period. Drivers would be exempt when accumulations occur while the vehicle is in operation.

Indiana

Two bills would authorize the use of cameras in highway work zones to enforce speed limits.

State law now authorizes fines of $300 to $1,000 for speeding in work zones. The law does not allow nor prohibit the use of speed cameras.

HB1035 calls for vehicle owners to receive $75 fines in the mail for exceeding the posted speed by at least 12 mph. The devices would be in use when workers are present.

A nearly identical bill, SB179, would authorize fines up to $150 for exceeding the posted speed in work zones by at least 11 mph.

Another Senate bill covers the placement of median cable barriers.

Indiana law requires the placement of a steel cable-barrier system in a median that is less than 60 feet wide along a highway. Cable barriers also can be installed in areas based on cross-median crash history and through an assessment of the risk for cross-median crashes.

SB201 would revise the rule to require cable barriers to be installed between highway lanes that are less than 65 feet wide.

Iowa

In Iowa, HF2059 would require local governments with jurisdiction over a highway to construct rumble strips prior to all stop signs and traffic-control signals on a highway where the road enters or crosses a primary highway.

Kansas

A House bill would prohibit vehicle spot inspections by the Kansas Highway Patrol on any highway with a posted speed limit above 40 mph. HB2475 would allow commercial vehicle spot inspections on the shoulders at any highway entrance or exit “where there is adequate space to safely perform the inspection.”

Massachusetts

A Massachusetts House bill singles out trucks for removal of snow or ice from vehicles.

H3518 would prohibit commercial vehicles from operating on roadways with any accumulation of snow or ice on the vehicle roof.

Violators would face fines starting at $500. Offenses that result in injury or property damage could result in fines starting at $1,000.

Pennsylvania

One Pennsylvania bill would direct the Pennsylvania DOT to establish an electronic weigh station bypass system for trucks moving across the state.

HB1410 would create a GPS- or infrastructure-based program to provide PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission with authority over weigh-in-motion stations.

Another bill would authorize the operation of highly automated, or self-driving vehicles, with or without a person in the vehicle. The rule would apply to cars and trucks.

Since 2018, Pennsylvania law has required a licensed driver to be seated in the driver’s position at all times and to be in physical control of the vehicle.

SB965 would allow a highly automated vehicle to be operated with a driver in the driver’s position, a driver in a remote location, or exclusively by the automated driving system. The rule would apply to vehicles owned by an educational institution or business.

Utah

A Utah House bill would clarify how drivers need to merge along multiple-lane roadways into one lane.

State law now mandates that drivers in the lane ending must yield to drivers in the lane that continues.

HB76 would require vehicle operators to use the “zipper” method when two traffic lanes merge into one traffic lane. The method has drivers fill both lanes to the point where one ends, and then take turns moving into the single lane.

Virginia

In Virginia, a bill would require removal of snow or ice accumulation.

HB1183 would let police pull over motorists and truck drivers for failing to clear their vehicles of snow and ice before hitting the road. Violators would face $100 fines.

Drivers would be exempt from the requirement if precipitation accumulates while the vehicle is out on the road.

Washington

Two identical bills in Washington pursue the removal of tolls from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

SB5488/HB1602 would transfer $772 million from the state’s general fund to various highway accounts to pay remaining debts on the bridge. Once paid in full, the tolls must be removed.

The bills would tap $672 million from outstanding principal and interest payments on bonds to cover debt retirement. Another $57 million would come from deferred sales tax from bridge construction and another $43 million would be from transfers made between fiscal years 2020 and 2023.

West Virginia

Two West Virginia bills are of note. SB66 would increase the maximum speed limit on rural portions of interstate.

State law allows 70 mph travel on rural interstates. In 2019, a House resolution approved by the legislature gave the West Virginia Department of Transportation authority to increase the speed limit on interstate highways from 70 mph to 75 mph.

SB66 would authorize 80 mph speed limits on affected roadways. The bill provides an exception for portions of those highways passing through city limits.

HB2203 calls for ridding the state of toll collection.

Toll collection would end on the turnpike as of July 1, 2022. The Parkways Authority also would be forbidden to implement any future tolls.

Responsibility for operating the West Virginia Turnpike would shift entirely to the state’s road fund. LL