Louisiana truck-fee bill withdrawn

A bill that would have boosted the fee for registering an 80,000 lb. truck by 200% in Louisiana to fund highway projects was deferred yesterday, reported The Times-Picayune.

The Louisiana Motor Transport Assn. (LMTA), which led a lobbying effort to kill the bill, noted on its website that the proposed legislation would increase the registration fee to $1,536 from the current $504 charge.

Emphasizing that the bill unfairly targets the trucking industry, LMTA stated, “The best part is that they want you to pay an annual registration of $1,536 for an 80,000 lb. vehicle, but farmers would pay only $120 for the same weight class traveling on the same highways.”