GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

H	2 

HOUSE BILL 382
Committee Substitute Favorable 7/11/91

Short Title:  No Stacking of Overweight Penalties.	(Public)
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Sponsors:
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Referred to:  
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March 28, 1991

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT THE STACKING OF OVERWEIGHT PENALTIES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 20-118(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Penalties. –
(1)	Except as provided in subdivision (2) of this subsection, for a violation of the single-axle or tandem-axle weight limits set in subdivisions (b)(1), (b)(2), or (b)(4) of this section, the Department of Transportation shall assess a civil penalty against the owner or registrant of the motor vehicle in accordance with the following schedule: for the first 1,000 pounds or any part thereof, four cents (4¢) per pound; for the next 1,000 pounds or any part thereof, six cents (6¢) per pound; and for each additional pound, ten cents (10¢) per pound. The penalty may not exceed the amount computed on the highest axle-group weight that exceeds the allowable limit.
(2)	For a violation of the single-axle or tandem-axle weight limits set in subdivisions (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section by a motor vehicle that is transporting processed or unprocessed seafood from boats or any other point of origin to a processing plant or a point of further distribution, meats or agricultural crop products originating from a farm to first market, forest products originating from a farm or from woodlands to first market, or livestock or poultry by-products from their point of origin to a rendering plant, or that is fully enclosed, is designed specifically for collecting, compacting, and hauling garbage from residences or from garbage dumpsters, and is being operated for that purpose, the Department of Transportation shall assess a civil penalty against the owner or registrant of the motor vehicle equal to the amount produced by applying one-half of the rate indicated in the schedule in subdivision (1) of this subsection. 
(3)	Except as provided in subdivision (4) of this subsection, for a violation of an axle-group weight limit set in subdivision (b)(3) of this section, the Department of Transportation shall assess a civil penalty against the owner or registrant of the motor vehicle in accordance with the following schedule: for the first 2,000 pounds or any part thereof in excess of the limit, two cents (2¢) per pound; for the next 3,000 pounds or any part thereof, four cents (4¢) per pound; for each pound in excess of 5,000 pounds, ten cents (10¢) per pound. The penalty may not exceed the amount computed on the highest axle-group weight that exceeds the allowable limit.
(4)	For a violation of any weight limit set in subdivision (b)(3) of this section by a motor vehicle that is transporting processed or unprocessed seafood from boats or any other point of origin to a processing plant or a point of further distribution, meats or agricultural crop products originating from a farm to first marker, forest products originating from a farm or woodlands to first market, or livestock or poultry by-products from their point of origin to a rendering plant, or that is fully enclosed, is designed specifically for collecting, compacting, and hauling garbage from residences or from garbage dumpsters, and is being operated for that purpose, the Department of Transportation shall assess a civil penalty against the owner or registrant of the motor vehicle equal to the amount produced by applying one-half of the rate indicated in the schedule in subdivision (3) of this subsection.
(5)	The civil penalties provided in this section shall constitute the sole penalty for violations of limits in this section and violators thereof shall not be subject to criminal action except as provided in G.S. 20-96 and as provided in G.S. 136-72 for any vehicle or combination of vehicles exceeding the safe load carrying capacity for bridges on the State Highway System as established and posted by the Department of Transportation."
Sec. 2.  This act is effective upon ratification.