Oklahoma Republican Senator James Inhofe has introduced a bill the American Farm Bureau Federation says will relieve farmers and ranchers from undue burdens and regulations when they transport their crops and livestock across state lines. The bill would define the weight of a commercial motor vehicle for ag-related purposes as the minimum weight of the commercial vehicle in the state in which the vehicle is being operated.

A commercial motor vehicle is defined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as having a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more. Those same regulations allow a state to exempt commercial motor vehicles up to 26,001 pounds if they’re solely engaged in intrastate commerce. But crossing state lines changes the classification to interstate carrier - triggering commercial requirements - even if both states recognize the exemption. Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman says his group believes farmers and ranchers hauling their own products in their own vehicles should not be subject to the same regulations intended to govern full-time commercial truck drivers. The Inhofe measure - S. 3271 - would allow farmers and ranchers to drive between states without triggering the 10,001 pound definition for interstate commerce.

The bill is similar to legislation Oklahoma Representatives Dan Boren and Mary Fallin introduced in the House. That measure has been referred to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.