A bill that would allow more overweight trucks on Indiana roadways is pitting manufacturers and farmers against railway and police groups.
Those in favor say the bill will reduce costs and allow for more fair and efficient trucking. Opponents say allowing more overweight trucks would damage roads, put regular vehicles in danger and take business from railroads.
The bill passed out of the House Roads and Transportation committee Tuesday morning, though the vote was close and five of the seven representatives who voted in favor expressed reservations.
How permits work now
Indiana law says truck loads that can be broken up into smaller loads â think a truck hauling corn versus a truck hauling a huge piece of machinery â may not exceed 80,000 pounds. For comparison, passenger cars typically weigh between 2,000 and 7,000 pounds.
(INDIANAPOLIS) Indiana’s legislative session is less than a month old, and leaders are already
resigned to coming back this summer.
The Census Bureau announced this week it won’t complete the population data states need to
redraw congressional maps until April 30, a day after the General Assembly is required by law to
adjourn. And it’ll be July before it delivers the more detailed data needed to draw state legislative
maps. House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) and Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray (R-
Martinsville) say legislators will have to come back to write the new districts, probably in late
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A bill that would gradually expand assistance for impoverished Hoosiers with children easily passed a committee vote Monday with only two senators opposing it. It now goes to the Senate floor.
Each year, Indiana receives about $200 million from the federal government to give cash assistance, child care and work training to some of the state’s poorest parents. It funds a program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or simply TANF.
Although it s federally funded, the state gets to decide who is eligible for that assistance and how much money they get.