House committee approves change in trucking permit process

By Jeff Packham

The Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill automating the permitting process for overweight and oversized trucks through tag agencies was approved Thursday by members of the House Transportation Committee.

The permitting process currently runs through the Department of Public Safety while the Department of Transportation handles the routing. House Bill 2822, however, will have the tag agencies handle all of the permitting, all of which will be processed online.

State Rep. Dale DeWitt, R-Braman, said this appeared to be the best method to accomplish fixing a process that currently hampered the trucking industry. He said DPS would still be involved in the rulemaking process for the trucking permits.

Capt. Van Guillotte, legislative liaison for DPS, said ensuring the safety of the public was the most important aspect of the permitting process. Mike Patterson, representing ODOT, said the agency was interested in working with the Legislature to iron out any “kinks” in the bill.

In favor of the proposal were members of private industry, including a representative of Chesapeake. Hopper Smith said the company had 31 active rigs in Oklahoma, and he pointed out that when one wasn’t able to move due to delays in permit processing, it was at a cost of $1,000 an hour.

“That’s gas that’s not being located and produced,” Smith said.

Dan Case of the Oklahoma Trucking Association urged the members to move quickly with the legislation so that an industry that was constantly waiting on permit approvals could have some consistency in that area.

“We’ve been working with a system that’s been outdated,” Case said.

Although not a member of the committee, state Rep. Danny Morgan, D-Prague, was allowed to speak on the proposal. Morgan encouraged the members to gain a complete understanding of what the problems were from every side before making a decision on overhauling the system.

“It’s a squirrelly process,” Morgan admitted. “This is a big puzzle.”

State Rep. Mike Mass, D-Hartshorne, said his focus when considering this issue had to do with public safety. He said he was concerned about overweight and oversized trucks on the narrow two-lane roads that make up much of rural Oklahoma, which he said are popular traveling routes for truckers.

“There have been people killed and seriously injured because of wide loads,” Mass said. “I would hate to take public safety plum out of the loop.”

DeWitt insisted that public safety was still the major issue when it came to the permitting process. He said he was more than willing to work with members and those involved in the system as the bill made its was through the legislative process