H.B. No. 875
AN ACT
relating to civil liability for erecting or maintaining certain
outdoor signs or advertising.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 391.035(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) In lieu of being subject to a criminal penalty, a person
who intentionally violates this subchapter or Subchapter C may be
liable [to the state] for a civil penalty. The attorney general or
a district or county attorney of the county in which the violation
is alleged to have occurred may sue to collect the penalty.
SECTION 2. Section 393.007, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) A person who places or commissions the placement of a
sign on the right-of-way of a public road that is not otherwise
authorized by law may be liable [to the municipality] for a civil
penalty. A district or county attorney or a municipal attorney in
the jurisdiction in which the placement of a sign on the
right-of-way of a public road is alleged to have occurred may sue to
collect the penalty.
(d) A district or county attorney or a municipal attorney
may recover reasonable attorney's fees incurred in an action
brought under Subsection (a).
SECTION 3. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to
Sections 391.035(a) and 393.007, Transportation Code, apply only to
a violation described by those sections that occurs on or after the
effective date of this Act. For purposes of this section, a
violation occurs before the effective date of this Act if any
element of the violation occurs before that date.
(b) A violation that occurs before the effective date of
this Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was
committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 875 was passed by the House on April
22, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 149, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 875 was passed by the Senate on May
11, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor