HB164: HB164 Highways, bridges, and ferries; allowable variance for weight limitations upon a vehicle or load; repeal automatic repeal provisions

Georgia law currently allows trucks hauling certain farm products, agricultural finished goods, and recovered materials to exceed standard weight limits by up to 10 percent within 150 miles of their starting point, as long as the truck and trailer are certified for the extra weight. That allowance was due to automatically expire on July 1, 2025. This bill removes that expiration so the variance continues without a new deadline. The bill also rewrites several sections of Georgia's truck weight law (O.C.G.A. Title 32, Chapter 6) to give local law enforcement officers, not just the Georgia Department of Public Safety, authority to issue warnings and citations for overweight vehicles on county roads and certain bridges, to inspect weight permits, and to stop, weigh, and inspect trucks they suspect are violating weight limits. Local officers must first receive training equivalent to the state's Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section.

• Removes the July 1, 2025 automatic expiration date on the 10 percent weight variance for trucks hauling farm products, agricultural goods, and recovered materials.
• Gives local law enforcement officers, in addition to the Department of Public Safety, authority to issue citations or warnings for overweight trucks on designated local truck routes and certain bridges.
• Allows trained local law enforcement officers to stop, weigh, measure, and inspect trucks they suspect are violating weight limits on roads within their jurisdiction.
• Requires local officers exercising this new stopping and inspection authority to have training equivalent to the state's Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section.
• Confirms that weight permits must be open to inspection by local law enforcement officers as well as state troopers and department agents.
• Keeps existing penalties in place, including a misdemeanor charge with a fine up to $200 and a possible bond up to $400 for refusing to stop for a weight inspection.

Truck drivers and trucking companies hauling farm products, agricultural finished goods, or recovered materials, farmers relying on this hauling capacity, county and municipal police departments and sheriffs, the Georgia Department of Public Safety and Department of Transportation, and drivers whose vehicles cross weight-restricted county roads or bridges.

Without this change, the 10 percent weight variance for certain agricultural and recycling haulers would have expired on July 1, 2025, forcing those trucks back to standard weight limits. The bill also expands who can pull over and cite overweight trucks, giving local police a bigger role alongside state troopers in enforcing road and bridge weight limits.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 32-6-26(g)(5) to eliminate the sunset clause that would have repealed the 10 percent weight variance for certain haulers on July 1, 2025.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 32-6-27(a.1) to authorize local law enforcement officers, not just the Department of Public Safety, to issue citations or warnings for overweight vehicles on designated local truck routes and certain bridges.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 32-6-28(a)(3) to require weight permits be open to inspection by local law enforcement officers as well as state troopers and department agents.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 32-6-29 to state that local law enforcement officers share responsibility with the Department of Public Safety for enforcing the article's weight and size rules.
• Section 5 revises O.C.G.A. § 32-6-30 to let trained local law enforcement officers stop, weigh, measure, and inspect vehicles suspected of weight violations, requiring training equivalent to the Motor Carrier Compliance Enforcement Section.
• Section 5 keeps existing penalties for refusing to stop for inspection, including a misdemeanor fine of up to $200, a bond option up to $400, and possible driver's license suspension for up to 90 days.
• Section 6 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-13Act 174
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-08House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-27Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-03-20Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2025-03-18Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Steven Meeks (R, HD-178)Primary sponsor
• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)
• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)
• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)
• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 24, 2025

   164 yea, 9 nay (1 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #76

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2025

   55 yea, 1 nay

   Passage: Senate Vote #297

• truck weight limits
• agriculture transportation
• local police enforcement
• road and bridge safety