Prescott bill is heading to House

INDIANAPOLIS — A bill being sent to the Indiana House of Representatives would shorten the statute of limitations for fines related to oversized loads.

House Bill 1150 authored by State Rep. J.D. Prescott (R-Union City), who represents Jay and Randolph counties and part of Delaware County, was amended and passed 11-0 out of the House Roads and Transportation Committee on Tuesday.

“We’ve had some problems in the civil penalty being issued to the owner/operator a year and a half or two years later,” Prescott said while introducing the bill.

There’s currently no limit to when the state’s department of revenue can fine the owner of a truck or agriculture vehicle that is caught with an oversized load. The bill as amended would require that fine — which ranges from $500 to $1,000 — to be issued within a year of the department of revenue being notified of the violation by the Indiana State Police.

Two fines are issued whenever a truck or other vehicle is found to have an oversized load: one to the driver and one to the vehicle’s owner.

However, such violations don’t always result in a civil penalty for the owner. A warning is issued for the first offense, according to the department of revenue. It reports that 13,414 fines of this nature were issued between 2018 and 2020.

Prescott noted that often times whoever is driving an agriculture vehicle is also the owner. That isn’t always the case with trucks or semis hauling loads, he said, which can create some paperwork delays for violations.

An amendment was added to the bill Tuesday that aims to close a loophole that allowed permit-less drivers and owners to be exempt from an oversize load fine. Ross Teare from the department of revenue reported to the committee that 8,700 would-be-violators were exempt because of that loophole from 2018 to 2020.

Another amendment, which Prescott said he wasn’t notified about until Tuesday morning, would increase the maximum storage fee for a towed trailer or other large vehicle or load from $2,000 to $5,000.

The amendment, which was introduced by Rep. Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne), was passed by consent of the committee, with direction from chairman Jim Pressel for Morris to consult with the Indiana Department of Insurance and the Indiana Towing & Wrecker Association on the provision.

“It’s a work in progress,” Prescott said about the bill after the committee meeting.



New bill

After pausing for a week because of the threat of violence at the Indiana Statehouse, the Senate reconvened Monday.

State Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle) introduced Senate Bill 364, which would establish procedures for the Indiana Grain Buyers and Warehouse Licensing Agency and would give it further oversight over licensees.

Holdman, who represents parts of northeastern Indiana including Jay County, also proposed an amendment to Senate Bill 99 that was later enacted during Monday’s session.