Slow going for idle-reduction weight exemptions

The 2005 Energy Policy Act, which provided for a 400-lb weight exemption for on-board idle-reduction systems, has turned out to be a good news/bad news joke of sorts for fleet owners and owner-operators. Contrary to the intentions of measure sponsors, the language of the new policy was interpreted to mean that each state would have to adopt the weight exemption and implement it, state-by-state.

Nearly two years later, only three states have taken action—Kansas, Oregon and Maine. According to the U.S. Department of Energy National Idling Reduction Network News, the governor of Kansas approved a bill implementing the exemption this April; Oregon’s governor approved a similar bill in May; and Maine is in the process of considering legislation that would implement the weight exemption there.