81R3268 JAM-D
By: McClendon H.B. No. 2138
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain fees imposed in connection with the operation
of overweight and oversize vehicles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 623, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 623.002 to read as follows:
Sec. 623.002. EVALUATION OF PERMIT FEES. (a) The
department shall evaluate highway use by vehicles issued a permit
under this chapter and determine whether the fees charged for the
permits are adequate to offset the costs of additional damage to the
highways caused by those vehicles and recommend any fee adjustments
for the permits to reflect the costs of damage to highways caused by
those vehicles.
(b) Not later than October 1 of each even-numbered year, the
department shall report its findings to the Legislative Budget
Board.
SECTION 2. Section 623.077, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 623.077. HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE FEE. (a) An applicant
for a permit under this subchapter, other than a permit under
Section 623.071(c)(3), must also pay a highway maintenance fee in
an amount determined according to vehicle weight and distance
traveled. [the following table:
[Vehicle Weight in Pounds Fee [Vehicle Weight in Pounds Fee
[Vehicle Weight in Pounds Fee
[80,001 to 120,000 $150 [80,001 to 120,000 $150
[80,001 to 120,000 $150
[120,001 to 160,000 $225 [120,001 to 160,000 $225
[120,001 to 160,000 $225
[160,001 to 200,000 $300 [160,001 to 200,000 $300
[160,001 to 200,000 $300
[200,001 and above $375] [200,001 and above $375]
[200,001 and above $375]
(b) The department shall adopt rules to implement this
section and establish a schedule of rates, based on miles traveled,
for all vehicle weight categories that:
(1) provides for an increase in the rates according to
the weight of a vehicle; and
(2) does not result in an increase or decrease in the
amount of revenue realized from the collection of highway
maintenance fees in the state fiscal year that began on September 1,
2008.
(c) The department shall send each fee collected under
Subsection (a) to the comptroller for deposit to the credit of the
state highway fund.
SECTION 3. (a) The Texas Department of Transportation
shall adopt rules implementing Section 623.077, Transportation
Code, as amended by this Act, not later than January 1, 2010.
(b) Section 623.077(a), Transportation Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to an application for a permit submitted
under Subchapter D, Chapter 623, Transportation Code, to the Texas
Department of Transportation on or after January 1, 2010. An
application for a permit submitted before January 1, 2010, is
governed by the law in effect on the date the application was
submitted, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
[Vehicle Weight in Pounds Fee
[80,001 to 120,000 $150
[120,001 to 160,000 $225
[160,001 to 200,000 $300
[200,001 and above $375]