SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Operators of farm machinery in Illinois would not be required to obtain commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) or be subject to hours of service (HOS) laws during the 2015 harvest, under terms of legislation recently advanced by state Sen. Scott M. Bennett (D-Champaign).
Bennett’s House Bill 2515 ensures Illinois’ compliance with federal regulations set forth by Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, a 2012 transportation bill that included regulatory exemptions for agriculture including HOS requirements, CDLs, controlled substance and alcohol testing, physical qualifications and examinations and inspection, repair and maintenance of farm vehicles.
"This law makes us consistent and keeps our farmers on a level playing field with our neighbors. Illinois had not caught up to some of the 2012 federal regulations affecting the small farmer, like some of our neighboring states had," Bennett explained.
"A small farmer who drives a farm vehicle during limited hours was subject to the same regulations as an over-the-road truck driver with a CDL. That’s not how the law was intended. This recognizes that the safety needs for the two are different."
Under Bennett’s bill, the state’s CDL requirement for Illinois farmers would be waived for producers delivering farm commodities. This and other facets of the bill have earned the full support of the Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB), said Russell Orrill, assistant director of state legislation for IFB.
"Especially during harvest season, there are a lot of farmers on the road and a lot of need to get crops out of fields and into grain bins or elevators. This bill helps alleviate those problems. It allows for a speedier process for getting grain from one point to another," Orrill explained.
"The truck must be farm-plated, and weight limits apply. If it is under 26,000 pounds and is farm-plated, that vehicle could be transported anywhere in the U.S. But if it is over 26,000 pounds, it could only be driven in Illinois or 150 air-miles from the farm."
He stressed the exemptions allowed by the 2012 MAP transportation bill and Bennett’s state-level statute apply only to the movement of agricultural commodities – such as livestock and grain – and not to hazardous inputs such as fuel or fertilizers. "It doesn’t apply to any cargo that has to be placarded as hazardous," Orrill said. "If you are traveling, for instance, with an anhydrous nurse tank, these exemptions would not apply."
IFB is in full support of HB 2515, in part because it "directly applies to the CDL requirements to put state statutes on federal regulations," he added.
"The main concern is helping out farmers by getting these regulations off their backs," Bennett concluded, "but the way the federal law is written, (Illinois) would actually lose out on federal highway funds and program grants if we don’t bring state law into compliance with federal law."
HB 2515 has passed the Illinois House and state Senate Transportation Committee and is now in the hands of the full Senate. If passed the measure would take effect July 1, in time for harvest. Bennett said he hopes his measure sees Illinois Senate passage this week.
"Agriculture is the backbone of Illinois’ economy. We need to continue to ensure we are meeting the needs of our farmers by streamlining regulations and staying consistent with states across the country," said Bennett, a former assistant state’s attorney for Champaign and McLean counties who grew up in the farming community of Gibson City.
