Assembly Bill 305 – Authored by Rep. Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon)
Senate Bill 222 – Authored by Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin)
Status
The Senate passed Senate Bill 222 with a vote of 33-0 on October 20, 2011.
Senate Bill 222 was passed by the Assembly on October 25, 2011.
2011 Wisconsin Act 55 was signed into law by Governor Walker on November 9, 2011.
Summary
2011 Wisconsin Act 55 allows for the Department of Transportation to issue overweight permits for vehicle combinations that have six or more axels and that are transporting sealed containers for international shipment. Overweight loads cannot exceed 90,000 pounds.
Background
International trade requires containers to be inspected and sealed at the place where they are filled. This sealed container cannot be opened until it is delivered to its export point of delivery. Previous Wisconsin law prohibited overweight vehicles from operating on highways without a permit from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT). Wisconsin law also prohibited the DOT from issuing overweight permits for divisible loads.
Position
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation supported this legislation so that farmers may be competitive with our neighboring states when shipping agricultural products internationally. This law allows farmers who are shipping commodities bound for international destinations to utilize the filling capacity of their shipping containers. This provides efficiencies for farmers, shippers and customers in order to be more competitive in the market place.