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Senate committees defer and pass a trio of transportation bills: left-lane restriction deferred, road-resurfacing liability and EV fee language advanced
Summary
Committee deferred action on HB229 (left-lane restrictions) to March 20, passed HB860 to allow limited resurfacing on disputed roads with liability limits, and passed HB1161 with amendments expanding highway fund use and prohibiting extra county EV fees.
Senate committees handling transportation and energy matters addressed multiple bills March 18, deferring one measure and passing two others with committee amendments.
Left-lane restriction bill deferred: The committee deferred action on House Bill 229, HD1, which would restrict vehicles over 10,000 pounds and vehicles actively towing from using left lanes on roads with three or more lanes in the same direction. The committee agreed to take the matter up at a later meeting, scheduling it for Thursday, March 20 at 3:02 p.m. for additional clarification of population thresholds and penalty amounts.
Roads-in-limbo resurfacing: House Bill 860, HD1 — a measure aimed at permitting limited resurfacing of roads with disputed jurisdiction between state and county — passed with a package of amendments agreed with the Department of Transportation and county representatives. Amendments remove immunity from liability, allow state or county limited resurfacing of existing road surfaces (excluding bridges or culverts) even when jurisdiction is unclear, limit resulting liability to resurfacing work rather than underlying defects, provide proportional liability allocation in incidents based on fault and contributing cause, and include a five-year sunset. A committee member noted many contested roads in rural districts, saying the bill is a pragmatic way to allow maintenance where neither state nor county has accepted ownership. The chair recorded an aye vote and the committee recommendation was adopted.
EV fees and highway fund changes: House Bill 1161, HD2 passed with three amendments: adopt Department of Transportation recommendations to remove a hybrid formula inclusion and report back on formula calculations; insert language into SB1480 to expand allowable uses of the state highway fund for multimodal purposes; and adopt Alliance for Automotive Innovation language prohibiting counties from assessing additional fees on zero-emission vehicles beyond the average paid by gasoline vehicles. The chair recorded an aye recommendation and the measure passed out of committee with amendments.
Next steps: HB229 was deferred for further committee work and will be taken up March 20. HB860 and HB1161 advance with amendments for further committee processing or floor consideration.
