KentuckySB 302026 Regular SessionSenateWALLET

AN ACT relating to motor vehicles.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

9 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 1 costs, 5 mixed.

Bigger permits for single-piece loads

The department issues single-trip and annual permits for nondivisible loads. A load is nondivisible if splitting it harms its use, destroys value, or takes over four work hours to take apart and rebuild. On the national truck network, fluid milk also counts. Under an annual permit, vehicles can be up to 16 feet wide, 120 feet long, 13.5 feet high, and up to 160,000 pounds gross. Some annual permits are capped at 120,000 pounds, or 100,000 pounds for fluid milk, and must stay on the permit route. Axle limits apply: single steering axle 15,000 lb; tandem 40,000 lb; tridem 65,000 lb; dual wheel axle 20,000 lb. These axle limits do not apply to permitted fluid milk hauls.

Permit rules: routes, bonds, and fees

The Cabinet can limit you to certain roads, exclude routes, or cancel a permit if the move is unsafe or blocks traffic. If you accept a permit, you agree to measure bridge and overhead clearances and take the risk for the trip. The department may require a bond with an approved surety to cover road or bridge damage. You must follow all permit terms. The department must give you the written restrictions for free and cannot add new permit fees by regulation. If you qualify for an annual permit under KRS 189.2716 or 189.2717, you must use that permit type. The Cabinet may deny a permit for a route with weak roads or structures.

Rules to move manufactured homes

Annual permits let you move manufactured homes up to 16 feet wide, 120 feet long, 15 feet high, and 160,000 pounds gross. Each truck must have GPS that records travel, and the Cabinet can inspect those records. A $1,000 fine applies if you run taller than 13 feet 6 inches in a Cabinet‑designated restricted area. Travel times are limited: no moves after daylight Monday through Saturday, and none on Sunday. For other permit travel, the Cabinet may limit weekday peak hours (6–9 a.m. and 3–6 p.m.) but not impose broader hour bans.

Which roads allow bigger trucks

The Transportation Cabinet can raise posted height, length, and weight limits on chosen state roads, within federal rules. Baseline limits apply: height 14 feet when hauling motor vehicles, 13.5 feet otherwise; semitrailers 53 feet; trailers 28 feet; motor trucks 45 feet; single axle 20,000 lb; tandem 34,000 lb; three-axle 48,000 lb; gross up to 80,000 lb. Off‑interstate, up to a 5% per‑axle tolerance is allowed. On most non‑designated highways, stricter limits apply, including bans above 11.5 feet tall, 96 inches wide, certain lengths, and over 36,000 lb gross (or 600 lb per inch of tire width, capped at 36,000 lb). Trucks hauling building materials to a road project, or under KRS 189.2226, may carry up to 80,000 lb gross without a permit.

No permit fee for parade floats

If you move an oversize parade float, you need a permit. When the float is used in a parade inside Kentucky, the department does not charge a permit fee. The waiver applies only to floats used in a Kentucky parade.

What counts as an electric scooter

A device is an electric low-speed scooter if it weighs under 100 pounds and is designed to go 20 mph or less on level ground. It must have wheels, handlebars, and a brake that can stop and park it. It is made to stand or sit on. It can be powered by an electric motor, by a person, or both.

Motor Vehicle Commission seats, pay, fund

The law sets a 12-member Motor Vehicle Commission. Eleven are appointed by the Governor; the 12th is the vehicle regulation commissioner. Appointees include one maker rep, one wholesaler rep, one consumer with no industry ties, four new dealers (no more than two from one maker), and four used dealers. No more than seven members may be from the same party, and seven of the eight dealer seats must come from different Supreme Court districts. Members serve three-year terms on a staggered schedule. Members get $200 per day for days worked, plus travel and needed expenses. The law creates a Motor Vehicle Commission Fund that keeps license fees and other money and carries balances to the next year. The commission hires an executive director to keep records and staff the office and may use help from other state agencies.

More private roads count as highways

Some private residential roads and parking lots under a KRS 61.362 agreement now count as highways. Off‑street parking open to the public also counts, except certain for‑hire lots named in KRS 189.700. These places must follow highway rules.

Farm equipment permits and escort caps

Annual permits to move farm equipment cost $80 if the equipment is 14 feet wide or less. If it is over 14 feet and moved between a dealership and a farm, or between dealerships, the fee is $150. Escort rules are capped. On two‑lane roads, a single vehicle over 12 feet wide needs at most one lead vehicle. On four‑lane roads, at most one trail vehicle is required.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Greg Elkins
Republican • Senate

Cosponsors

J.T. Payne
Republican • House
Rick Girdler
Republican • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 162 • No: 1

House vote • 4/1/2026

3rd reading, passed

Yes: 92 • No: 0

Senate vote • 4/1/2026

passed

Yes: 35 • No: 1

Senate vote • 1/23/2026