S 0016 General Bill, By Leventis, Elliott and Washington
 A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 56-5-4140, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
 1976, RELATING TO GROSS WEIGHT OF VEHICLES, COMBINATIONS OF VEHICLES, AND
 LOADS OPERATED OR MOVED UPON A HIGHWAY, SO AS TO PROVIDE A PROVISION THAT
 REGULATES AXLE SPACING AND GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT FOR COTTON MODULAR VEHICLES;
 AND TO AMEND SECTION 57-3-160, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO A PERMIT FOR A COTTON
 MODULAR VEHICLE, SO AS TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT LOADED COTTON MODULAR
 VEHICLES MUST NOT BE OPERATED ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS.

   11/18/98  Senate Prefiled
   11/18/98  Senate Referred to Committee on Transportation
   01/12/99  Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-14
   01/12/99  Senate Referred to Committee on Transportation SJ-14

TO AMEND SECTION 56-5-4140, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO GROSS WEIGHT OF VEHICLES, COMBINATIONS OF VEHICLES, AND LOADS OPERATED OR MOVED UPON A HIGHWAY, SO AS TO PROVIDE A PROVISION THAT REGULATES AXLE SPACING AND GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT FOR COTTON MODULAR VEHICLES; AND TO AMEND SECTION 57-3-160, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO A PERMIT FOR A COTTON MODULAR VEHICLE, SO AS TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT LOADED COTTON MODULAR VEHICLES MUST NOT BE OPERATED ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAYS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 56-5-4140(2) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 461 of 1996, is further amended by adding the following subitem at the end:

"(d) Cotton modular vehicles are not required to conform to the axle spacing requirements of this section. However, the vehicle is limited to sixty-five thousand pounds gross vehicle weight and twenty-five thousand pounds for each axle plus scale tolerances."

SECTION 2. Section 57-3-160(A) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 32 of 1997, is further amended to read:

"(A) Notwithstanding Section 56-5-4030 or another provision of Chapter 5 of Title 56, the Department of Transportation shall issue, under terms and conditions in the public interest for safety on the highways, a permit for the use on the public highways of cotton modular vehicles. The permit must be issued annually, and it allows movement on the highways at any time. For the purposes of this section, 'cotton modular vehicle' is defined as a single motor vehicle used only to transport seed cotton modules, cotton, or equipment used in the transporting or processing of cotton. This cotton modular vehicle may not exceed a width of one hundred ten inches and may not exceed a length of fifty feet extreme overall dimensions, inclusive of front and rear bumpers and load. To be valid, the permit must be carried on the vehicle, and it is unlawful for a person to violate a provision, term, or condition of the permit. The fee for the permit is fifty dollars and authorizes the use of only one properly described cotton modular vehicle. Loaded cotton modular vehicles must not be operated on interstate highways."

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.