• SB 199, Transportation technical changes, including vehicle licensing procedure, CDL training and licensing; $5 fee may be charged for issuing personal ID; clarifies that gross vehicle weight rating for commercial vehicles includes weight of fuel, cargo and passengers; allows Department of Revenue to adopt a used vehicle valuation guide (other than NADA). The bill was signed by the governor on April 9, and becomes effective Jan. 1, 2025. • HB 5, Comprehensive bill on crimes and punishment, imposes penalties for sleeping in a vehicle on roadsides or at unauthorized places, unless the sleep time is less than 12 hours. HB 5 was vetoed by the governor. The veto was overridden. • HB 7, Authorizes autonomous vehicles without a human driver in the vehicle for use on state roads. The bill was amended to require that a CDL driver must be in a vehicle with gross vehicle weight 62,000 plus pounds until July 31, 2026. Platooning with a driver in only the lead vehicle becomes effective Aug. 1, 2026. HB 7 was vetoed by the governor and his veto was overridden. • HB 43, Public hearing required on changes proposed by fire protection services that may downgrade fire service rating. The bill was signed by the governor on April 5. • HB 167, Towing company reporting of fee schedule requirements and penalties for failure to post. This provision was also passed in SB 109. HB 167 was signed by the governor on April 4. • HB 265, Transportation Cabinet Biennial Budget for the two fiscal years beginning July 1, 2024, appropriation is $7,156,155,300. • HB 266, Biennial Highway Construction Plan. State and Federal funds appropriated for road and bridge construction and maintenance $5,797,564,395. Gov. Beshear signed the bill on April 9. • HB 592, Dealer compensation from OEM or other manufacturer shall not be less than cost of parts or service. This bill became law without the governor’s signature. All bills enacted by the 2024 General Assembly become effective ninety day after the session ended. That effective date will be July 14, 2024, except for bills enacted with a different effective date. Several bills we were supporting or opposing did not pass. These include: • SB 148, Third-party litigation funding companies to be licensed by Banking Commissioner for nonrecourse advances up to $500,000 max at 36% annual interest plus $5,000 service charge. The bill was assigned to the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on Feb. 1. We succeeded in killing it. • SB 215, Prohibit Transportation Cabinet or any other state or local agency from enforcing vehicle emission standards. The bill passed in the Senate 32-6 on March 5, and was assigned to the House Transportation Committee on March 15. The bill did not get to the House floor for a vote. • HB 45, Automated license plate reader and aerial surveillance use. Digital fake transmissions prohibited. The bill was reported favorably by the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 16, passed by the full House on Feb. 27, and was assigned to the Senate Transportation Committee on March 7. It died there. • HB 356, Fire departments would be allowed to charge up to $3,500 (now $500) nonitemized to a nonmember/ nonsubscriber for making an emergency run to an accident scene. The bill as written would significantly increase fees paid by trucking companies to fire departments for working traffic accidents because the departments would be allowed to charge up to $3,500 without any itemized accounting of expenses. This bill never got a committee hearing. • HB 620, Hand-held cell phones/electronics devices prohibited while operating a motor vehicle. This bill did not get a committee vote or hearing during the 2024 General Assembly. Maybe next year. Kentucky trucker | 9
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