The House has voted 49-18 in favor of SB 1117, the statewide extra-heavy trucks bill. “This is about local control, and we’ve pointed out that the state highway (department) does have jurisdiction on the state highway going through your community,” Rep. Marc Gibbs, the bill’s sponsor, told the House. “But we also have spoken many times about the fact that local communities have the ability to set speed limits … I don’t think that there’s any way if the local community is dead-set against it, that the highway department's going to come in here and create this route for you. But there are places where … I think 129,000 pounds is going to make more sense. … It can be done, it can be done safely”/Betsy Russell, SR. More here.

When you see extra-heavy trucks going through your North Idaho communities, you can thank the following representatives (particulary from North Idaho) who voted yes:

Voting yes: Reps. Anderst, Andrus, Barbieri, Barrett, Bateman, Batt, Bedke, Bell, Bolz, Clow, Collins, Crane, Dayley, DeMordaunt, Denney, Erpelding, Gibbs, Hancey, Harris, Hartgen, Hixon, Holtzclaw, Horman, Kauffman, Loertscher, Malek, McMillan, Meline, Mendive, Miller, Monks, Moyle, Nielsen, Packer, Palmer, Patterson, Perry, Raybould, Romrell, Shepherd, Sims, Stevenson, Thompson, Trujillo, VanOrden, Vander Woude, Wood(27), Wood(35), and Youngblood.

Voting no: Reps. Agidius, Anderson(01), Anderson(31), Boyle, Burgoyne, Chew, Eskridge, Gannon, Gestrin, King, Kloc, Luker, Pence, Ringo, Rusche, Smith, Ward-Engelking, and Woodings.

Absent: Reps. Henderson, Morse and Wills.