Deukmejian Gets Support on Relaxing Speed Limit

The governors of 10 western states joined California Gov. George Deukmejian on Tuesday in urging Congress and the federal government to relax the nationwide 55-m.p.h. speed limit along selected rural highways.

The unanimous vote among governors attending a two-day conference here gave strong backing to Deukmejian’s contention that support for the 12-year-old law has slipped among large segments of the public.

“This is one more signal to our federal representatives that there is a feeling growing among the states” that the federal government should review the speed limit and modify it, said Deukmejian, who had asked his fellow governors to join in lobbying Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

But a spokesman for Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole said the secretary has not shown any inclination to recommend lifting the limit.

“Any kind of a groundswell is going to help,” Robert Beasley, a spokesman for Dole, said in a telephone interview from Washington. “But no one here is ready to talk about what our policy or recommendation will be.”

States that do not enforce the 55-m.p.h. speed limit face the loss of federal highway funds. California is among a number of states that are likely to lose as much as 10% of their federal highway dollars because a growing percentage of motorists commonly exceed the limit.

The vote among governors also reflected a continuing sense of frustration among officials of western states over federal intrusion into what they consider a states’ rights issue.

South Dakota Gov. William J. Janklow, in a pointed aside after the vote, said he wishes that “someone from Washington would come out here going 55 miles per hour. By God, if they go through my state they will drive 55 and they will be the only ones.”

Mining Restrictions

The issue of federal control was a major topic during the two days of talks and was reflected in another resolution supporting the California Coastal Commission in its legal battle to restrict mining on federal lands.

The resolution involves a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the commission’s authority to regulate Granite Rock Co.’s mining operations near Big Sur.

Deukmejian often has feuded with the Coastal Commission and has moved to cut its budget. But he said he supported the resolution because “basically it’s a states’ rights issue and . . . the state should be able to continue to exercise its jurisdiction over those lands.”

More than half the land area in the western United States is owned and managed by the federal government.

In addition to Deukmejian and Janklow of South Dakota, governors of Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah and Washington voted for the speed limit resolution.