An effort to triple the fee Louisiana-based truck drivers pay each year to license their trucks has been removed from consideration.

Rep. William Daniel IV, D-Baton Rouge, pulled his bill from consideration during a meeting of the House Transportation Committee on Monday, May 23. He cited opposition from the truck industry as the reason.

The bill – HB667 – called for earmarking the revenue from the increased truck fees for roadwork the state could not otherwise afford.

Daniel’s bill sought to hike the registration fee for a typical, 80,000-pound, commercial vehicle to $1,512 per year to register in the state – an increase of more than $1,000, The Times-Picayune reported. The fee hike would have affected all commercial vehicles in the state as well as those that haul forest products and gravel.

The bulk of revenue generated would have gone into a fund, also to be created in the bill, to offset the cost of highway work, particularly toll roads. Registration fees are now funneled into the state’s general fund.

In addition to the undo burden the bill placed on truck drivers, Cathy Gautreaux, executive director for the Louisiana Motor Transport Association, said the effort was unfair to truckers because it didn’t include a similar increase in automobile registration.

“We do want a transportation plan. We do want our money dedicated to highways,” Gautreaux told the newspaper. “If you spread the burden over a large group, like everyone who uses the highways, then no one gets hit disproportionately.”