LANSING – The Michigan Senate on Tuesday rejected by a wide margin a bill that would reduce Michigan’s 164,000-pound gross weight limit for trucks to 80,000 pounds, but Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said the bill isn’t quite dead yet.

There was much debate about SB 1150 , but in the end, it was defeated 15-22, with all Democrats and Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R-Harrison Township), Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton Township), and Sen. Tory Rocca (R-Sterling Heights) voting to support the bill. Sen. Jim Marleau (R-Lake Orion) was absent from session.

Sen. Coleman Young II (D-Detroit) kicked off the debate by arguing that bringing Michigan’s truck limits in line with those of other states would follow the call of “shared sacrifice” that Governor Rick Snyder and legislative Republicans have chanted when it comes to fixing the state’s roads.

“Overweight trucks do more damage to Michigan roads than the average passenger car,” Young said. “If we’re trying to have a conversation about comprehensive, transformative policy that moves this state forward … we are going to have to do something about the issue of truck weights in this state. It is outrageous that we are not in line with other Great Lakes states when it comes to truck weights.”

He also said Michigan could not expect to lead in a 21st century economy if it had roads that looked like they came out of a post-apocalyptic story.

But Sen. Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba), an ardent opponent of imposing any greater fees or restrictions on such trucks (he used to run a family log-hauling business), said this legislation would put an undue burden on small businesses and truckers who are just trying to earn an honest living.

Sen. Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw Township), Sen. John Pappageorge (R-Troy), and Sen. Mike Green (R-Mayville) also opposed the bill, some arguing that by spreading more weight over fewer axles, the state could suffer even more damage to the roads.

“It appears there’s a philosophical difference in opinion about what the facts are,” Kahn said. “There’s also a difference in opinion about what we’re going to do about that.”

And Green said it could do much harm to the heart of his district, the agriculture industry.

“Agriculture lives and dies on transportation,” he said. “If we cut back on axle weights today, we will add as many trucks as we have moving products to double the size, having the same problem we do now.”

But bill sponsor Sen. Steve Bieda (D-Warren) disagreed, saying Michigan has found that only 5 percent of all trucks using Michigan roads carry more than 80,000 pounds, and that trucks used for agriculture, as Green argued about, actually pay less in truck fees already.

Upon the defeat of the bill, Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-West Olive) moved to reconsider the vote by which the bill failed and then passed the item for the day. Richardville (R-Monroe), speaking to reporters after session, said the defeat of the bill did not necessarily mean that bill will never see the light of day again, but he did not indicate when the Senate might reconsider it or what changes could be made to better appeal to his caucus.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com