The Association of Equipment Manufacturer’s (AEM) persistence behind the scenes is evidenced in the highway bill just passed by the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The bill includes the AEM-supported Agriculture Machinery Illumination Safety Act (AMISA). This follows action taken in December 2011 by the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, which added the same legislative language to its version of the Senate highway bill.
AMISA seeks to take the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) standard for lighting and marking of agricultural equipment when traveling on public roads and make it the national minimum standard. This will eliminate confusion created by varying state requirements.
If the highway bills are approved later this month, a House/Senate conference committee early next month will meet to work out the differences between the two versions. AMISA should be included in the final conference bill if agreement on an overall highway bill can be reached by House/Senate negotiators.
