Milk Hauling Bill Approved by PA Senate

On June 26, 2013, the PA Senate approved a bill that will allow dairy haulers to obtain a permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to increase the weight of their shipments of milk to 95,000 lbs. The bill will amend the PA Vehicle Code (Title 75) to authorize overload permits for trucks hauling bulk fluid, condensed, and evaporated milk. Currently in Pennsylvania, dairy haulers can only ship 80,000 lbs. of milk at a time. Senator Gene Yaw introduced the bill, SB 1010, because he believes that Pennsylvania dairies are at a disadvantage compared to New York where shipping 95,000 lbs. at a time is legal. Senator Yaw stated that this bill will make PA dairies more competitive in the milk market.

The next step will be for the PA House’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee to consider the bill.

Written By Sarah Doyle - Research Assistant

The Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center

June 28, 2013

Recent legislation and amendments relating to agriculture

Senate Bill 1298: amending the Pennsylvania Farmland and Forest Land Assessment Act of 1974 to include compost within the definition of agricultural commodity, and providing for special circumstances for roll back taxes.

Click here to read the full text of Senate Bill 1298

House Bill 1813: amending the Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act by adding a section for land reclamation financial guarantees.

Click here for the full text of House Bill 1813 

House Bill 2371 and 2372: amending Title 75 (Vehicles) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statute. Amendments include: changes to section 4921(b) concerning the widths of special vehicles, changes to the definitions of “commercial implement of husbandry” and “multipurpose agricultural vehicle,” additional provisions for registration and exemptions from registration.

Click here for the full text of House Bill 2371

Click here for the full text of House Bill 2372

House Bill 2562: amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes revising provisions concerning emergency management services, and adding a chapter titled Public Health Emergency Measures.

Click here for the full text of House Bill 2562

 

Written by Anna Leonenko, Research Fellow
Penn State Law, Agricultural Law Center

November 6, 2012