Sub. H.B. 30

127th General Assembly

(S. Highways & Transportation)

In regard to the requirement for a local authority to erect signs informing inbound traffic that the local authority utilizes traffic law photo-monitoring devices:

· Specifies that if a particular highway enters and exits the territory of a local authority multiple times, the local authority is required to erect the signs only at the locations in each direction of travel where inbound traffic on the highway first enters the territory of the local authority and is not required to erect additional signs along such highway each time the highway reenters the territory of the local authority.

· Allows a local authority to be in substantial compliance with the requirement to erect the signs (thereby avoiding the tickets being invalid) if the authority erects all signs as required and subsequently maintains and replaces the signs as needed so that at all times at least 90% of the required signs are in place and functional and the local authority also annually documents and at other times upon request certifies its compliance.

· Revises the requirement concerning the timing of yellow lights so that the steady yellow indication must exceed by one second the minimum duration for yellow indicators at similar intersections as established by the Ohio Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, rather than simply requiring the yellow lights to comply with those standards as in the version of the bill passed by the House.

Eliminates the requirement for operators of vehicles owned or leased by a kindergarten that are not equipped with seat belts to nonetheless use a child restraint system when transporting children who are required to be transported in a child restraint system.

Specifically allows the Department of Transportation to continue the planning and development steps of its project development process for any major new construction projects that were not selected by the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) on December 20, 2006, as Tier I projects for construction in fiscal years 2007 through 2013.

Revises a requirement from the current transportation appropriations act for the Department of Transportation to expend at least $400,000 in fiscal year 2008 for a pilot program involving portable signal preemption devices in the largest township by population, rather than by geographic area.

Provides that from July 1, 2008through June 30, 2009, the Director of Transportation or a local authority may issue special permits for transporting three or fewer steel coils in a single load on a state or local highway so long as the gross vehicle weight of the transport vehicle, including the coils, does not exceed 120,000 pounds, rather than 92,000 pounds as allowed by an uncodified law effective through June 30, 2009.

Requires the Department of Transportation to conduct a study of the impact of overweight vehicles operating under a permit and to issue the report by February 1, 2009.

H0030-127.doc/ss 05/21/08