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Show Three Hearings Set on 55 MPH Speed Limit The Utah Transportation Commission will hold three public hearings in December to receive comment on the proposed adoption of a 55 miles per hour speed limit. The limit would apply on all highways except those that are posted at a slower speed. The hearings will be held in St. George on Tuesday, Dec. 13, in the Dixie High School auditorium, in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Dec. 15, in the State Office Building auditorium; and in Nephi on Tuesday, Dec. 20, in the Juab High School auditorium. All hearings will begin at 7 p.m. If adopted the 55 miles per hour speed limit would remain in effect until amended, modified or repealed by the Utah Transportation Commission Com-mission or by the Legislature of the State of Utah. The proposed 55 miles per hour speed limit would become a permanent rule, under the Utah Administrative Ad-ministrative Rulemaking Act, and would replace an emergency 55 miles per hour speed limit rule that was passed by the Transportation Commission on August 26, 1977. The Transportation Commission first adopted the 55 miles per houd speed limit on Jan. 25, 1974, in response to Congressional passage of the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act. That resolution was due to expire June 30, 1975, therefore the Commission passed another 55 miles per hour resolution on May 23, 1975, with no expiration date. However, in January of this year, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that resolution was not based on appropriate safety studies and declared it invalid. in-valid. That ruling led to the .Commission's latest action, which is based on safety studies' by the National Highway High-way Traffic Safety Administration Ad-ministration and the Utah Department of Transportation. Tran-sportation. All persons interested in the 55 miles per hour speed limit are encouraged to attend and participate in one of the three hearings. |