HF 2518 (LSB 5556HV (1) 89)

HOUSE FILE 2518

BY  COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

(SUCCESSOR TO HF 2207)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to oversize and overweight permits for cranes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 321E.7, subsection 1, paragraph a, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Cranes being temporarily moved on streets, roads, or highways may have a gross weight of twenty-four thousand pounds on any single axle.  Cranes being moved under a permit issued in accordance with this chapter shall obtain route approval from the permit-issuing authority.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   Under current law, the gross weight on any one axle of a vehicle or combination of vehicles, including such vehicles traveling under any permit issued under Code chapter 321E (vehicles of excessive size and weight), is generally limited to 20,000 pounds. There are a wide variety of permits issued under Code chapter 321E, including single-trip, multi-trip, and annual permits. One of the exceptions to the single axle load limitation provided under current law allows cranes being temporarily moved on streets, roads, or highways to have a gross weight of up to 24,000 pounds on any single axle. Based on this provision, the department of transportation’s administrative rules provide for single trip permits for cranes with a single axle load not exceeding 24,000 pounds, but do not provide for annual permits or other permits for such cranes.
   This bill strikes the word “temporarily” from the exception, thereby allowing cranes with a single axle load not exceeding 24,000 pounds to be eligible for any type of permit issued under Code chapter 321E, including annual permits, provided the crane conforms to the vehicle dimension and other requirements set forth under current law for that permit. The bill specifies that a crane must obtain route approval from the permit-issuing authority.