As many of our members know, we have been addressing the increasingly troubling situation involving the imposition and enforcement of haul route permit requirements by the various county road commissions.
With the invaluable assistance of State Representative Dan Acciavatti and the input of MITA legal counsel, we have obtained the formal Opinion of the Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox declaring that County Road Commissions in Michigan do not have the legal authority to establish or enforce Haul Route Permit Requirements upon the trucking of construction materials to and from project sites over county roads as long as the trucks and loads comply with the requirements of the Michigan Motor Vehicle Code. In other words, if your trucks are hauling “legal loads” over county roads which are not otherwise restricted for truck traffic, the County Road Commission (CRC) cannot legally require you to first obtain a haul route permit to do so.
We have already formally written the County Road Association of Michigan (CRAM) to obtain the voluntary compliance of all CRCs in terminating Haul Route Permit practices. We have also sent a letter to MDOT for the purpose of addressing the issue in connection with all MDOT construction projects statewide. This formal Attorney General Opinion has the binding force of law (unless overturned by a court) upon all state agencies and carries great weight with all Michigan courts should any CRC not conduct itself in accordance with the Opinion. A copy of the letters to CRAM and MDOT are attached to this packet.
While the process of implementing CRC compliance with the Attorney General’s Opinion is ongoing, we are requesting that all contractor members keep us informed of any haul route permit requirements being imposed on your operations by a CRC. Click here to access a short “Haul Route Permit Information” form that we ask you to print and complete for each Haul Route Permit currently in effect on any of your operations. The completed Haul Route Permit Information forms should be returned to MITA, Attention: Bob Patzer as soon as possible.
The termination of these burdensome and unfair haul route permit requirements will directly benefit both you and your customers as you proceed with the construction of infrastructure projects throughout Michigan.
