SB 2343

Abstract

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that a vehicle transporting agricultural cash crops or loads of fruits or vegetables on an interstate, designated, or non-designated highway, during the harvest season only, is in compliance with weight restrictions if its gross weight is less than 80,000 pounds and exceeds the permitted gross weight by not more than 10% and the vehicle is traveling from the field to the first point of processing. Provides that the operator of the vehicle must abide by posted bridge weight limits. Provides that the State Police are prohibited from routinely stopping and weighing vehicles transporting a particular commodity or vehicles in a particular geographic location. Provides that the Department of State Police shall provide training and continuing education to State Police officers concerning the prohibition. Provides that, beginning January 1, 2005 and through December 31, 2005, a State Police officer issuing a citation for an alleged violation of the maximum weight limits of the Code must record the make and year of the vehicle stopped, the date and time of the stop, the county and location of the stop, the type of commodity being transported, the weight of the vehicle, and the amount, if any, by which the weight of the vehicle exceeds the permitted weight. Provides that the Department of State Police shall, by February 1, 2006, compile the required data. Provides that the Department of State Police, in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, shall, by March 15, 2006, analyze the data and submit a report of the findings to the General Assembly. Effective immediately.