PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Mar 14, 2025
Safe Routes Act of 2025
This bill directs the Department of Transportation to waive vehicle weight limits for covered logging vehicles, thus allowing logging vehicles to travel on interstate highways in certain circumstances.
The term covered logging vehicle means a vehicle that (1) is transporting raw or unfinished forest products, including logs, pulpwood, biomass, or wood chips; (2) is traveling a distance not greater than 150 air miles on interstate highways from origin to a storage or processing facility; and (3) meets state legal weight tolerances and vehicle configurations for transporting raw or unfinished forest products within the state boundaries in which the vehicle is operating.
People & committees
Rep. Wied, Tony [R-WI-8] · R–WI
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 19, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-03-14 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Safe Routes Act of 2025 would require an exemption from federal vehicle weight limits under the amended section for qualifying vehicles carrying raw or unfinished forest products. Vehicles would qualify only for Interstate travel of no more than 150 air miles from origin to a storage or processing facility, while meeting applicable state weight and vehicle configuration requirements. The exemption would apply only to state weight tolerances in effect when the provision is enacted.
This Act may be cited as the Safe Routes Act of 2025.
The Secretary shall waive, with respect to a covered logging vehicle, the application of any vehicle weight limit established under this section.
(A) is transporting raw or unfinished forest products, including logs, pulpwood, biomass, or wood chips; (B) is traveling a distance not greater than 150 air miles on the Interstate from origin to a storage or processing facility; and (C) meets State legal weight tolerances and vehicle configurations for transporting raw or unfinished forest products within the State boundaries in which the vehicle is operating.
The waiver in this subsection shall only apply with respect to a State legal weight tolerance in effect on the date of enactment of this subsection.
Section 2 would add a logging-vehicle exemption to section 127 of title 23, United States Code. It directs the Secretary to waive any vehicle weight limit established under that section for qualifying vehicles; this is a requirement, rather than discretionary authority.
Section 127 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (z) Certain logging vehicles (1) In general The Secretary shall waive, with respect to a covered logging vehicle, the application of any vehicle weight limit established under this section.
Eligible vehicles would have to carry raw or unfinished forest products, with logs, pulpwood, biomass and wood chips expressly included. They would also have to travel no more than 150 air miles on the Interstate from their origin to a storage or processing facility. Air miles measure distance directly rather than along the road.
(2) Covered logging vehicle defined In this subsection, the term covered logging vehicle means a vehicle that— (A) is transporting raw or unfinished forest products, including logs, pulpwood, biomass, or wood chips; (B) is traveling a distance not greater than 150 air miles on the Interstate from origin to a storage or processing facility;
Qualifying vehicles would still have to meet the operating state's legal weight tolerances and vehicle configuration requirements for transporting raw or unfinished forest products. Weight tolerances are the permitted weight allowances; configuration requirements govern how the vehicle is arranged.
(C) meets State legal weight tolerances and vehicle configurations for transporting raw or unfinished forest products within the State boundaries in which the vehicle is operating.
The proposed waiver would apply only to state legal weight tolerances already in effect on the provision's enactment date. The text does not place the same enactment-date qualification on vehicle configurations.
(C) meets State legal weight tolerances and vehicle configurations for transporting raw or unfinished forest products within the State boundaries in which the vehicle is operating. (3) Application of weight tolerances The waiver in this subsection shall only apply with respect to a State legal weight tolerance in effect on the date of enactment of this subsection.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 19, 2026, records introduction in the House and referrals to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and its Subcommittee on Highways and Transit on March 14, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-19T23:24:22Z. 2025-03-14: Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. 2025-03-14: Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 2025-03-14: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-03-14. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish what other versions or accompanying materials contain.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied text contains a narrow regulatory exemption central to the bill's main policy. Classification as a targeted benefit does not establish whether the exemption is justified.
Operators of qualifying vehicles carrying raw or unfinished forest products would receive a mandatory exemption from vehicle weight limits under section 127. This industry-specific treatment would be limited by the 150-air-mile Interstate travel condition, applicable state vehicle requirements and state weight tolerances in effect at enactment.
The Secretary shall waive, with respect to a covered logging vehicle, the application of any vehicle weight limit established under this section.
(A) is transporting raw or unfinished forest products, including logs, pulpwood, biomass, or wood chips; (B) is traveling a distance not greater than 150 air miles on the Interstate from origin to a storage or processing facility; and (C) meets State legal weight tolerances and vehicle configurations for transporting raw or unfinished forest products within the State boundaries in which the vehicle is operating.
The waiver in this subsection shall only apply with respect to a State legal weight tolerance in effect on the date of enactment of this subsection.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 19, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI