Date: 03/17/2009

Final
BILL SUMMARY for HB09-1042

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
Moved that House Bill 09-1042 be referred to the CPASS


01:40 PM

Senator Gibbs, Chairman, called the meeting to order.

01:40 PM -- House Bill 09-1042

Senator Gibbs, prime sponsor, presented House Bill 09-1042, concerning a prohibition on a slow-moving motor vehicle impeding highway traffic. He spoke of his experiences with traffic backups in the mountains. He said that he believes that House Bill 09-1042 will result in drivers having a greater awareness of their surroundings. He commented on an amendment to House Bill 09-1042 addressing truck traffic that was adopted in the House of Representatives. He discussed the requirement in the bill for a vehicle to pull over if the forward movement of five or more vehicles is impeded.

The following persons testified in regard to House Bill 09-1042:

01:54 PM -- Landon Gates, representing the Colorado Farm Bureau, opposed House Bill 09-1042. He said that his organization opposes House Bill 09-1042 due to the "nature of farm vehicles." He noted that some farm vehicles are loaded with livestock or hay, and accordingly, move slowly for safety reasons. Senator Gibbs noted that House Bill 09-1042 will not apply to such vehicles in any event, and that these vehicles are currently marked as "slow-moving vehicles."

01:58 PM -- Peg Ackerman, representing the County Sheriffs of Colorado, noted that her organization has voted unanimously to support House Bill 09-1042. She said that the five-car standard in House Bill 09-1042 is the point at which it becomes extremely unsafe for a driver to attempt to pass the line of cars.

02:00 PM -- Bobby Juchem, representing the Colorado State Patrol, said that House Bill 09-1042 will better define "impeding traffic" in Colorado law. He said that the State Patrol uses its discretion in determining which vehicles to pull over for impeding traffic. For example, he noted that the State Patrol would not pull over a large truck climbing a steep grade since it would be difficult for the truck to re-enter traffic.
BILL:HB09-1042
TIME: 02:06:34 PM
MOVED:Gibbs
MOTION:Moved that House Bill 09-1042 be referred to the Committee of the Whole. The motion passed on a 4-3-0 roll call vote.
SECONDED:
VOTE
Kopp
No
Renfroe
No
Romer
Yes
Spence
No
Veiga
Yes
Williams
Yes
Gibbs
Yes
Final YES: 4 NO: 3 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS