Governor Sanders declares state of emergency

LITTLE ROCK – Governor Sarah Sanders has declared a state of emergency, stating, “on or about June 17, 2023, severe thunderstorms and strong winds occurred throughout the State of Arkansas, causing danger, hardship, and suffering which now warrants this executive action.”

The resolution said, “The damage resulting from these storms includes numerous downed power lines, which have created the need for commercial vehicles to haul heavy equipment, oversized loads, transformers, necessary hardware, and other transmission and distribution equipment to line crews working to restore power to the citizens of Arkansas.

The Governor is authorized to declare a regional emergency for the duration of emergency conditions, not to exceed thirty (30) days from the date of the initial declaration of emergency, and any motor carrier or driver operating a commercial vehicle to provide emergency relief is temporarily exempt from the regulations found in 49 CFR §390 to §399 for the duration of the declared emergency.

She declared that a state of emergency exists in the State of Arkansas as applied to:

1. Commercial vehicles hauling heavy equipment, oversized loads, transformers, necessary hardware, and other transmission and distribution equipment to line crews for the purpose of restoring power to the citizens of the state; and

2. Emergency response vehicles such as, but not limited to, utility vehicles, bucket trucks, and electric utility supply trucks actively responding to the storms and related damage. These emergency response vehicles are authorized to bypass all Arkansas Department of Transportation weigh station facilities through July 17, 2023. This authorization does not include vehicles that require permits to operate on Arkansas’ roadways. This authorization does not relieve size and weight restrictions. This declaration only applies to weigh stations and to vehicles traveling in convoy.

The action suspends all provisions of regulating statutes prescribing procedures for the conduct of the Office of State Procurement, the Arkansas Building Authority, the Office of Personnel Management, and all other state departments and agencies to render maximum assistance to the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment and the Arkansas Department of Public Safety, through the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, relative to any potential impediment to the rapid and orderly rendering of assistance to affected political subdivisions.