OOIDA Call to Action - Kentucky Members
March 4, 2003

Attention: Kentucky truckers! Legislation in the state Senate needs your support.

State senators have added provisions to two bills that would give truckers a break from heavy usage taxes in the state.
The tax relief had been offered earlier in HB349. However, that bill's prospects were considered uncertain, and supporters said they hoped to amend its provisions into a bill in the Senate.
That effort bore fruit March 3 when a provision to exempt large trucks from the state's usage tax was added to HB255. The amendment to the bill would not increase registration fees, and it would charge a county clerk fee of $10, not $20.
The measure has been sent to the Senate Rules Committee, which will vote this week on whether to pass it to the full Senate.
Today, another bill (HB293) was amended with the usage tax break. The amended version of the bill would exempt semis larger than 40,000 pounds from the usage tax, and would increase registration fees $150 a year for the largest trucks, while the next three weight categories would see registration fees rise $125 a year. Those registration fees would be subject to apportionment.
The amendment to HB293 passed the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee by a unanimous vote.
Under the rules for this session, for either amended bill to become law, they must first pass the Senate before Thursday, March 6, and then pass the House.
It is vital you contact the Senate Rules Committee members as well as members of the full Senate and let them know how important these bills are to you as a Kentucky trucker.

Senate Rules Committee members to contact:

Sen. David L. Williams, Chair
Sen. Daniel Kelly, Vice Chair
Sen. Charlie Borders
Sen. Bob Jackson
Sen. Richard Roeding
Sen. Elizabeth Tori
Sen. Johnny Ray Turner
Sen. Ed Worley

For contact information for the committee members and the full Senate, visit www.lrc.state.ky.us/senate/senadd.htm, or call OOIDA's membership department at 1-800-444-5791 and they'll look it up.