After clearing the State Senate, the fate of legislation regulating logging truck weight now rests in the House.
Senate Bill 110, which caps the number of logging trucks that can be pulled over at one time at five per portable scale, passed unanimously after an amendment was added to remove a controversial measure that would have increased a truck's allowable weight per axle.
Concern over that bill in its original form was sparked by “bad propaganda,” according to Heath Allbright, a Republican running in the special election for House District 11.
He and fellow GOP candidate Don Fallin were asked during a public forum hosted by the Cullman County Republican Women on Tuesday if they would have supported SB110 in its initial iteration. The questioner said increasing the weight of the trucks would damage roads and bridges. State Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville), who proposed the bill’s amendment, had expressed the same concerns.
“That came from some bad propaganda,” Allbright said. “The legal weight limit in Alabama for a heavy truck is 80,000 pounds. Because we haul raw material, you have a 10% variance on that load,” Allbright said. “If you’re weighed on a portable scale, that’s why you have that 10% variance. You’re able to haul, legally, on a portable scale, 88,000 pounds. That bill did not increase that weight limit at all. We’re still hauling less than 88,000 pounds… That bill was designed to get the same 10% variance on an axel, not increase the whole load by 10%.”
Allbright, who owns and operates Brighton Forestry Services in Holly Pond, said the measure would help reduce insurance rates and the number of drivers ticketed by ALDOT weight violations.
In his response, Fallin said his concern would first be for HD11 constituents.
“I know when that bill was first introduced, there was certainly some concern here in Cullman because, you know, road infrastructure is probably the number one thing people hear about,” he said. “As an elected official, my position is, if you look at a bill that comes forward, the simple answer is, who is it going to benefit? It should benefit the people.”
To connect with the story's author or comment, email [email protected] or find him on X and Facebook.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
