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[DOCID: f:s1345is.txt]






107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1345

  To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a commercial 
    truck safety pilot program in the State of Maine, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2001

Ms. Snowe (for herself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Transportation to establish a commercial 
    truck safety pilot program in the State of Maine, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Commercial Truck Safety Pilot 
Program Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) concerning commercial motor vehicles, public safety 
        should be the first priority of the United States;
            (2) the Federal vehicle weight limit of 80,000 pounds on 
        the nonexempted portion of the Interstate System within the 
        boundaries of the State of Maine has forced heavy tractor-
        trailer and tractor-semitrailer combination vehicles traveling 
        into Maine from neighboring States and Canada to divert onto 
        smaller State and local roads that permit higher vehicle weight 
        limits under Maine law;
            (3) the diversion of those vehicles is posing significant 
        economic hardships and safety challenges to the small 
        communities in which those roads are located; and
            (4) permitting those vehicles to travel on the Interstate 
        System would--
                    (A) reduce the net highway maintenance costs in the 
                State of Maine because the Interstate System, unlike 
                vulnerable secondary roads, is built to accommodate 
                those heavier vehicles; and
                    (B) enhance safety by resulting in fewer heavy 
                vehicles (such as tanker trucks carrying hazardous 
                material and fuel oil) traveling on town and city 
                streets in the State of Maine, thereby reducing 
                dangerous interactions between those vehicles and 
                school buses and private vehicles.

SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF COVERED HIGHWAY.

    In this section, the term ``covered highway'' means a highway on 
the Interstate System within the State of Maine that was not exempt 
from section 127 of title 23, United States Code, as of the day before 
the date of enactment of this Act under the last sentence of subsection 
(a) of that section.

SEC. 4. MAINE PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation shall establish a 3-year 
pilot program to improve commercial motor vehicle safety in the State 
of Maine.
    (b) Waiver of Vehicle Weight Limits.--Notwithstanding section 
127(a) of title 23, United States Code, during the 3-year period of the 
pilot program--
            (1) the State of Maine shall not lose, under section 127(a) 
        of that title, any apportionment to the State by reason of 
        noncompliance with any of the vehicle weight provisions of 
        section 127 of that title applicable to the use of certain 
        combination vehicles weighing over 80,000 pounds on any covered 
        highway; and
            (2) combination vehicles consisting of a 3-axle tractor 
        unit hauling a single trailer or semitrailer that exceed 80,000 
        pounds gross vehicle weight and that were permitted to use non-
        Interstate System highways in the State of Maine under the 
        vehicle weight laws of the State as of the date of 
        establishment of the pilot program under subsection (a) shall 
        be permitted to use any covered highway.
    (c) Data Collection and Review.--
            (1) In general.--Under the pilot program, the Maine 
        Department of Transportation shall--
                    (A) collect data on the effects of the waiver 
                granted under subsection (b) (particularly the effects 
                on accident rates involving heavier trucks);
                    (B) establish a safety committee to review the 
                data; and
                    (C) establish rules and operating procedures for 
                the pilot program.
            (2) Safety committee.--The safety committee--
                    (A) shall be chaired by the Maine Commissioner of 
                Transportation (or a designee); and
                    (B) shall consist of representatives of State 
                agencies, safety organizations, municipalities, and the 
                commercial trucking industry.

SEC. 5. PERMANENT WAIVER.

    At the end of the 3-year period of the pilot program under section 
4, unless the Secretary, with the advice of the safety committee 
established under section 4(c), determines that the waiver under the 
pilot program under section 4 has resulted in an adverse impact on 
highway safety in the State of Maine and publishes the determination in 
the Federal Register, the waiver described in section 4(b) shall be 
deemed to be permanent.
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