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Committee amends engine-brake bill to target commercial vehicles and allow local posting
Summary
The committee advanced Senate Bill 22-53 with amendments limiting prohibitions on engine-compression brakes to commercial motor vehicles that create a noise disturbance and explicitly authorizing cities or counties to post prohibiting zones.
The House Transportation Committee discussed and amended Senate Bill 22-53 to address complaints about loud engine-compression brakes. Chairman Ruby summarized the bill and noted that enforcement had relied on noise ordinances in some cities.
Representative Koppelman and others raised concerns about unintentionally penalizing vehicles with factory-installed engine brakes and suggested limiting enforcement to commercial motor vehicles rather than passenger pickups. Representative Koppelman proposed language to restrict the prohibition to commercial motor vehicles and to tie enforcement to "noise disturbance" in posted zones.
"An operator of a commercial motor vehicle may not use an engine compression brake device that creates a noise disturbance in a zone posted as prohibiting the use of an engine compression brake device," Representative Koppelman said when describing the proposed amendment; the committee left the emergency-use subsection intact.
Representative Freilich moved a do-not-pass motion but later withdrew it after members agreed to pursue amended language. Representative Coblin requested the committee hold the bill to let staff finalize language; ultimately the committee voted to adopt the amendment as described and then took a due-pass as amended.
Why it matters: The amendment narrows the bill to target commercial vehicles and ties enforcement to posted zones and a demonstrable noise disturbance, addressing concerns from truck operators and agricultural vehicle owners about overbroad enforcement.
Votes at a glance: The committee adopted the amendment and later voted to give Senate Bill 22-53 a due pass as amended (committee tally reported: 6 yes, 5 no, 3 absent).
