82R13689 NAJ-D
By: Phillips H.B. No. 2469
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2469:
By: Martinez C.S.H.B. No. 2469
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a memorial sign program for victims of motorcycle
accidents.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act shall be known as the Mike Grove
Motorcycle Fatality Awareness Act.
SECTION 2. Subchapter K, Chapter 201, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 201.911 to read as follows:
Sec. 201.911. MEMORIAL SIGN PROGRAM FOR MOTORCYCLISTS. (a)
In this section, "victim" means a person killed in a highway
accident while operating or riding on a motorcycle.
(b) The commission by rule shall establish and administer a
memorial sign program to publicly memorialize the victims of
motorcycle accidents.
(c) A sign designed and posted under this section shall
include:
(1) a red cross;
(2) the phrase "In Memory Of" and the name of one or
more victims in accordance with the commission rule; and
(3) the date of the accident that resulted in the
victim's death.
(d) The sign may include the names of more than one victim if
the total length of the names does not exceed one line of text.
(e) A person may request that a sign be posted under this
section by:
(1) making an application to the department on a form
prescribed by the department; and
(2) submitting a fee to the department in an amount
determined by the department to help defray the costs of posting the
memorial sign.
(f) If the application meets the department's requirements
and the applicant pays the memorial sign fee, the department shall
erect a sign. A sign posted under this section may remain posted
for one year. At the end of the one-year period, the department may
release the sign to the applicant. The department is not required
to release a sign that has been damaged.
(g) The department shall remove a sign posted under this
section that is damaged. Except as provided by Subsection (h), the
department may post a new sign if less than one year has passed from
the posting of the original sign and a person:
(1) submits a written request to the department to
replace the sign; and
(2) submits a replacement fee in the amount provided
by Subsection (e)(2).
(h) During the one-year posting period, the department
shall replace a sign posted under this section if the sign is
damaged because of the department's negligence.
(i) This section does not authorize the department to remove
an existing privately funded memorial that conforms to state law
and department rules. A privately funded memorial may remain
indefinitely as long as the memorial conforms to state law and
department rules.
(j) The commission shall adopt rules to implement this
section.
SECTION 3. 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, 2011.