Date of enactment:
2023 Senate Bill 431 Date of publication*:
2023 WISCONSIN ACT
AN ACT to amend 348.15 (5r) and 348.25 (4) (intro.); and to create 348.27 (20) of the statutes; relating to: permits
for the overweight transport of certain fluid milk products.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in
senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 348.15 (5r) of the statutes is amended to
read:
348.15 (5r) Irrespective of sub. (5), in determining
overweight under sub. (3) the results of weighing by
means of either portable scales or certified stationary
scales shall be admissible as evidence. In all cases where
a vehicle is weighed on a certified stationary scale, axles
less than 6 feet apart shall be weighed as one unit.
SECTION 2. 348.25 (4) (intro.) of the statutes is
amended to read:
348.25 (4) (intro.) Except as provided under s.
348.26 (4), (6), or (7) or 348.27 (3), (3m), (4m), (9), (9m),
(9r), (9t), (10), (12), (15), (16), (18), or (19), or (20), per-
mits shall be issued only for the transporting of a single
article or vehicle which exceeds statutory size, weight or
load limitations and which cannot reasonably be divided
or reduced to comply with statutory size, weight or load
limitations, except that:
SECTION 3. 348.27 (20) of the statutes is created to
read:
348.27 (20) TRANSPORTATION OF CERTAIN FLUID MILK
PRODUCTS. (a) In this subsection, “fluid milk product”
includes raw milk and liquid milk products and byprod-
ucts, including liquid whey and whey byproducts.
(b) Subject to par. (c), the department may issue
annual or consecutive month permits for the transporta-
tion of fluid milk product to processing facilities in vehi-
cle combinations that exceed the maximum gross weight
limitations under s. 348.15 (3) (c) by not more than
18,000 pounds if the vehicle combination has 6 or more
axles and the gross weight imposed on the highway by the
wheels of any one axle of the vehicle combination does
not exceed 18,000 pounds, except that the gross weight
imposed on the highway by the wheels of any steering
axle on the power unit may not exceed the greater of
13,000 pounds or the manufacturer’s rated capacity, but
not to exceed 18,000 pounds. Notwithstanding s. 348.15
(8), any axle of a vehicle combination that does not
impose on the highway at least 8 percent of the gross
weight of the vehicle combination may not be counted as
an axle for the purposes of this paragraph. A permit
issued under this subsection does not authorize the opera-
tion of any vehicle combination at a maximum gross
weight in excess of 98,000 pounds. This paragraph does
not apply on any highway that is a part of the national sys-
tem of interstate and defense highways.
(c) The department may not differentiate between
types of fluid milk product in imposing conditions for
permits under this subsection.
* Section 991.11, WISCONSIN STATUTES: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor’s
partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.” − 2 −2023 Wisconsin Act 2023 Senate Bill 431
(d) 1. The department shall suspend a permit issued
under par. (b) if the person operating under the permit
does any of the following:
a. Violates any weight limitation specified in the per-
mit more than 2 times during the valid period of the per-
mit.
b. Violates any weight limitation specified in the per-
mit by exceeding the weight limitation by 10,000 or more
pounds.
2. A suspension under subd. 1. shall be for a period
of 6 months. If the remaining valid period of the permit
at the time of the suspension is less than 6 months, the
person may not apply for, or operate under, any other per-
mit issued under par. (b) for a period of 6 months from the
suspension.