Oklahoma
State Senate
Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
For Immediate Release: March 6, 2009
Sen. Bryce Marlatt
Senate Drives through Bill Creating Oversize/Overweight Annual
Permit for Truckers
The Senate approved legislation Wednesday that
will help trucking companies save time and money - cost savings
that can be passed on to customers. SB 1184, by Sen. Bryce
Marlatt, would create an oversize and/or overweight annual
permit to replace the current permits which have to be requested
with each delivery.
"The current permit system isn't working. Our permitting
offices are overwhelmed with calls and simply can't meet the needs
of all of the state's trucking companies, and our companies are
wasting time calling for a permit every time they have to make
a delivery," said Marlatt.
"Having an annual permit just makes good sense, good financial
sense for everyone involved."
Marlatt explained that for years, trucking companies and drivers
have experienced significant delays getting oversized and/or overweight
permits because of the Department of Public Safety's limited staff
and resources. Those delays directly impact oil-and-gas companies'
ability to safely and quickly move rigs and equipment, which adds
significantly to their cost and slows their ability to drill for
natural gas and oil. Each delay, depending on the time, can potentially
cost a company tens of thousands of dollars.
Other states like Texas and Louisiana currently offer annual permits.
Oklahoma’s annual permit would be modeled after Texas’,
which costs $4,000 a year.
SB 1184 would also require trucking companies to continue to stay
off weight-restricted highways and weight-limit bridges as determined
by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT). ODOT does
not track city or county roads so the permit would not apply.
The new annual permit would not apply to loads over 120,000 pounds
or those over twelve feet in width, fourteen feet in height or
110 feet in length. Heavy or oversized loads such as those would
still require individual load permits.
“The new permit will not create more truck traffic on the
roads, but will simply enable trucks carrying equipment to more
efficiently move their permitted loads without the delays encountered
in the current permitting process,” said Marlatt. “This
will allow us to address this problem without having to hire more
staff in our permit offices especially right now when the state
needs to be saving money, and it will also make a tremendous difference
for the companies who use these permits.”
SB 1184 will next be heard in the House.
For more information contact:
Sen. Marlatt's Office: 405-521-5626
