BISMARCK — The North Dakota House has killed a bill that would increase the interstate speed and require permits for tractors that hope to drive on the busy highways.
In an overwhelming 91-2 vote with little discussion, the House failed HB 1421 on Thursday, Jan. 30. The bill would have bumped up the speed limit for Interstates 94 and 29 to 80 mph and set a minimum speed of 40 mph.
It also would have let the North Dakota Department of Transportation reduce the maximum speed limit in a “high-accident zone,” such as spots with curves. The DOT could have also brought down speeds during inclement weather, the bill said.
The bill faced strong opposition from agricultural groups because it would have forced farmers to get annual permits for their tractors. Each tractor would need the $25 permit and a follow vehicle to go on the interstates.
The DOT has in the past been against increasing the maximum speed on North Dakota’s interstates without setting a minimum speed limit, said Rep. Eric Murphy, a Republican from Grand Forks who sponsored the bill.
The maximum speed for most modern tractors is 25 mph. Requiring a permit for tractors would have encouraged farmers to seek alternative routes, Murphy said.
"That was not tremendously popular in committee," Rep. Ben Koppleman, R-West Fargo, said Thursday on the House floor. "I think the intent was to reduce the possibility of collisions between vehicles that are going at 75 or 80 mph on the interstate and a farm vehicle that could only go 25 to 45 mph."
The bill was a compromise that left no one happy at the expense of farmers, Koppleman said in committee. His 80 mph legislation, House Bill 1298, does not set a minimum speed limit for interstates. The House approved the bill last week 69-22, sending it to the Senate.
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