A Georgia state law that establishes weight limits for truckers is set to expire in 2025, but the Georgia Poultry Federation (GPF) is communicating with legislators to make sure that it stays intact.
Speaking during the Georgia Layer Conference on September 23, Mike Giles, president of the federation, explained the history of the law, and why the organization wants it to remain on the books.
Two years ago, GPF was “very involved in” legislation to seek to increase weight limits for trucks such as those that are hauling both live poultry and poultry feed. Such a bill passed, effectively increasing the weight limit from 84,000 to 88,000 pounds, Giles said.
“It doesn’t sound like a lot, but with the number of trips that are taken in our industry, it is significant and represents a significant savings in fuel costs and miles driven,” Giles said.
Even though the bill did pass, there was a caveat. When the bill was passed, a compromise was reached that there would be a “sunset” in that the 88,000-pound limit would revert back to the former limit on June 30, 2025, unless subsequent legislative action followed.
“This was done so we could see what impacts there might be and what changes there might be going forward,” he explained.
Giles said GPF will continue to communicate with legislators, as it sees no problems with the new limits.
“We will be working with our other legislative partners to take the sunset off and make it permanent,” he said.
