Legislation that would allow for bigger, heavier all-terrain and off-highway vehicles in the state died Tuesday when the Alabama House ended its special session without voting on the bill.
Bill sponsor Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, will try again with the same bill in the Legislature’s regular session that resumes Tuesday.
Orr said the bill was at the request of Polaris Industries. Its 1,700-employee factory is in Orr’s district in Limestone County. The popular Ranger side-by-side is made there.
The legislation changes state regulations to allow a width of up to 60 inches and weight of up to 1,500 pounds for an ATV. An off-highway vehicle can now be up to 80 inches wide and up to 2,500 pounds.
According to Polaris, the demand is shifting from two-person ATVs to four- and six-person side-by-sides. To make the vehicles safer, they need lower centers of gravity, which require a wider footprint.
The bill received a 30-0 vote in the Senate last week.
The regular session bill is Senate Bill 74.