But somebody should be enforcing. Darrell Archambault of the Michigan State Police said 19 motor carrier officers handle road patrol and scale sites in the Metro Detroit area. There are municipalities where the division will go out of business if they lose this money. Johnson, who has a commercial driver's license and has driven the big rigs, said he introduced his bill to help Michigan consumers. The fines drive up the cost of business, he said.
Someone has to pay for that, and, in the end, it is the consumer.
It is yet another example of local governments duplicating state enforcement of state laws. The Legislature has been accused several times this year of intruding on local control. It's not everywhere, but there are abuses. Westland started its motor carrier program in 1996. Since then, the number of overweight trucks on its roads has dropped dramatically and fewer trucks are being cited for minor equipment violations.