Committee advances bill letting ODOT lower speeds near school zones after crashes

Representative Banning, sponsor of House Bill 29-79, told the House Public Safety Committee that the measure was prompted by a local traffic death and would give the Oklahoma Department of Transportation authority to reduce posted speeds where a fast highway comes into close proximity with a school zone. "If there's a 4 lane highway that the speed limit is 65 miles or more, that center line is a 150 yards from a school zone, Oklahoma Department of Transportation then can remove the, the speed limit to 45 miles an hour or lower," Banning said during his presentation.

The bill cleared the committee as a committee substitute and was reported "do pass" by unanimous consent after no objections or extended debate were raised. Committee members did not record substantive amendments on the floor during the hearing.

The bill's sponsor framed the measure as a response to a preventable local fatality and thanked the Oklahoma Department of Transportation for prior cooperation in similar situations. The committee's action advances the measure to the next House step; no enactment date was discussed at the hearing.