before the 55 mph (90 km/h) federal requirement. Nevada's energy wasting fine was enacted on April 15, 1981, when signed by Governor Robert List. Motorists not exceeding 70 mph (110 km/h) in zones could be issued $5 "energy wasting" fines. However, standard speeding tickets were still allowed and "troopers were directed not to take the new law as a signal to stop writing tickets.", In 1986, North Dakota's fine for speeding up to over the limit was only $15 and had no license points. South Dakota cut speeding fines in 1985 and stopped assessing points for being or less above the speed limit in 1986. On August 1, 1986, Minnesota, which normally suspended licenses after three tickets, stopped counting speeding tickets for no more than . The 1980 Republican Party platform called for the repeal of the 55 mph National Maximum Speed Limit. In its section on Rural Transportation, it stated: "We believe the federal 55 miles per hour speed limit is counterproductive, and contributes to the high costs of goods and services to all communities, particularly in rural America. The most effective, no-cost federal assistance program available would be for each state to set its own speed limit." In 1981, 33 state legislatures debated measures to oppose the NMSL. In 1985, the U.S. Department of Transportation found the states of Arizona, Maryland (designated a "Strict Enforcement Area" by the American Automobile Association), and Vermont were out of compliance with the 55 mph (90 km/h) national speed limit, according to speed monitoring data collected and submitted by these states, showing that over 50 percent of their highway traffic exceeded 55 mph (90 km/h) in Fiscal Year 1984; the House Public Works and Transportation Subcommittee on Surface Transportation held hearings on July 23, 1985, to discuss proposals to revise the federal compliance requirements for 55 mph (90 km/h) on the basis of recommendations made by the National Research Council, to help these and other states come into compliance and avoid sanctions. Some law enforcement officials openly questioned the speed limit. In 1986, Jerry Baum, director of the South Dakota Highway Patrol, said "Why must I have a trooper stationed on an interstate, at 10 in the morning, worried about a guy driving 60 mph (100 km/h) on a system designed to be traveled at 70? He could be out on a Friday night watching for drunken drivers." Even organizations supporting the