Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB777 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	83R21225 JRR-D
2	2	By: White, et al. H.B. No. 777
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 777:
4	4	By: Lavender C.S.H.B. No. 777
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to oversize or overweight vehicles transporting timber or
10	10	timber products; authorizing fees and civil penalties.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter G, Chapter 621, Transportation Code,
13	13	is amended by adding Section 621.510 to read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 621.510. ADDITIONAL CIVIL PENALTIES. (a) A person
15	15	convicted of an offense under this subtitle for conduct that
16	16	violates Section 622.041 shall also be assessed a civil penalty of:
17	17	(1) $1,000 for failure to comply with Section 623.323;
18	18	and
19	19	(2) $5,000 for failure to obtain a permit under
20	20	Section 623.321.
21	21	(b) The civil penalty may be awarded by a court having
22	22	jurisdiction over misdemeanors.
23	23	(c) A penalty collected under this section must be deposited
24	24	to the credit of the county road and bridge fund of the county in
25	25	which the violation occurred.
26	26	SECTION 2. Section 622.041, Transportation Code, is amended
27	27	to read as follows:
28	28	Sec. 622.041. WEIGHT AND LENGTH LIMITATION. (a) A person
29	29	may operate over a highway or road of this state a vehicle or
30	30	combination of vehicles that is being used to transport
31	31	[exclusively for transporting poles, piling, or] unrefined timber,
32	32	wood chips, or woody biomass [from the point of origin of the timber
33	33	(the forest where the timber is felled) to a wood processing mill]
34	34	if:
35	35	(1) the vehicle, or combination of vehicles, is not
36	36	longer than 90 feet, including the load; [and]
37	37	(2) the person holds for the vehicle or combination of
38	38	vehicles permits issued under Sections 623.011 and 623.321;
39	39	(3) the notice requirements of Section 623.323 are
40	40	met; and
41	41	(4) when the maximum allowable gross weight authorized
42	42	by a permit issued under Section 623.011 for the vehicle or
43	43	combination of vehicles is:
44	44	(A) not exceeded, the gross load carried on any
45	45	tandem axle of the vehicle or combination of vehicles does not
46	46	exceed 44,000 pounds; or
47	47	(B) exceeded, the vehicle or combination of
48	48	vehicles complies with the requirements of Section 621.101(b) [the
49	49	distance from the point of origin to the destination or delivery
50	50	point does not exceed 125 miles].
51	51	(b) Section 621.508 does not apply to a vehicle or
52	52	combination of vehicles operated under this section. [Subsection
53	53	(a)(1) does not apply to a truck-tractor or truck-tractor
54	54	combination transporting poles, piling, or unrefined timber.]
55	55	SECTION 3. Section 622.043, Transportation Code, is amended
56	56	to read as follows:
57	57	Sec. 622.043. CONFORMITY WITH GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING
58	58	TO VEHICLE SIZE AND WEIGHT. Except as otherwise provided by this
59	59	subchapter, the [The] width, height, and gross weight of a vehicle
60	60	or combination of vehicles subject to this subchapter shall conform
61	61	to Chapter 621.
62	62	SECTION 4. Section 623.0111, Transportation Code, is
63	63	amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
64	64	(d) Subsection (a)(2) does not apply to a person who holds a
65	65	permit issued under Section 623.321 for the vehicle or combination
66	66	of vehicles.
67	67	SECTION 5. Chapter 623, Transportation Code, is amended by
68	68	adding Subchapter Q to read as follows:
69	69	SUBCHAPTER Q. VEHICLES TRANSPORTING TIMBER
70	70	Sec. 623.321. PERMIT. The department may issue a permit
71	71	under this subchapter to a person for a vehicle or combination of
72	72	vehicles that is being used to transport unrefined timber, wood
73	73	chips, or woody biomass. A permit issued under this subchapter is
74	74	in addition to other permits required by law.
75	75	Sec. 623.322. QUALIFICATION; REQUIREMENTS. (a) To qualify
76	76	for a permit under this subchapter for a vehicle or combination of
77	77	vehicles, a person must:
78	78	(1) pay a permit fee of $800; and
79	79	(2) designate in the permit application each county in
80	80	which the vehicle or combination of vehicles will be operated.
81	81	(b) A permit issued under this subchapter:
82	82	(1) is valid for one year; and
83	83	(2) must be carried in the vehicle for which it is
84	84	issued.
85	85	Sec. 623.323. NOTIFICATION. (a) For purposes of this
86	86	section, "financially responsible party" means the owner of the
87	87	vehicle or combination of vehicles, the party operating the vehicle
88	88	or combination of vehicles, or a person that hires, leases, rents,
89	89	or subcontracts the vehicle or combination of vehicles for use on a
90	90	road maintained by a county or a state highway.
91	91	(b) Before a vehicle or combination of vehicles for which a
92	92	permit is issued under this subchapter may be operated on a road
93	93	maintained by a county or a state highway, the financially
94	94	responsible party shall execute a notification document and agree
95	95	to reimburse the county or the state, as applicable, for damage to a
96	96	road or highway sustained as a consequence of the transportation
97	97	authorized by the permit. At a minimum, the notification document
98	98	must include:
99	99	(1) the name and address of the financially
100	100	responsible party;
101	101	(2) a description of each permit issued for the
102	102	vehicle or combination of vehicles;
103	103	(3) a description of the method of compliance by the
104	104	financially responsible party with Section 601.051;
105	105	(4) the address or location of the geographic area in
106	106	which the financially responsible party wishes to operate a vehicle
107	107	or combination of vehicles and a designation of the specific route
108	108	of travel anticipated by the financially responsible party,
109	109	including the name or number of each road maintained by a county or
110	110	state highway;
111	111	(5) a calendar or schedule of duration that includes
112	112	the days and hours of operation during which the financially
113	113	responsible party reasonably anticipates using the county road or
114	114	state highway identified in Subdivision (4); and
115	115	(6) a list of each vehicle or combination of vehicles
116	116	by license plate number or other registration information, and a
117	117	description of the means by which financial responsibility is
118	118	established for each vehicle or combination of vehicles if each
119	119	vehicle or combination of vehicles is not covered by a single
120	120	insurance policy, surety bond, deposit, or other means of financial
121	121	assurance.
122	122	(c) A financially responsible party shall electronically
123	123	file the notification document described by Subsection (b) with the
124	124	department under rules adopted by the department not later than the
125	125	second day before the first day listed by the financially
126	126	responsible party under Subsection (b)(5). The department shall
127	127	immediately send an electronic copy of the notification document to
128	128	each county identified in the notification document and the Texas
129	129	Department of Transportation and an electronic receipt for the
130	130	notification document to the financially responsible party. Not
131	131	later than the first day listed by the financially responsible
132	132	party under Subsection (b)(5), a county or the Texas Department of
133	133	Transportation may inspect a road or highway identified in the
134	134	notification document. If an inspection is conducted under this
135	135	subsection, a county or the Texas Department of Transportation
136	136	shall:
137	137	(1) document the condition of the roads or highways
138	138	and take photographs of the roads or highways as necessary to
139	139	establish a baseline for any subsequent assessment of damage
140	140	sustained by the financially responsible party's use of the roads
141	141	or highways; and
142	142	(2) provide a copy of the documentation to the
143	143	financially responsible party.
144	144	(d) If an inspection has been conducted under Subsection
145	145	(c), a county or the Texas Department of Transportation, as
146	146	applicable, shall, not later than the second day after the
147	147	expiration of the calendar or schedule of duration described by
148	148	Subsection (b)(5):
149	149	(1) conduct an inspection described by Subsection
150	150	(c)(1) to determine any damage sustained by the financially
151	151	responsible party's use of the roads or highways; and
152	152	(2) provide a copy of the inspection documentation to
153	153	the financially responsible party.
154	154	Sec. 623.324. DISPOSITION OF FEE. (a) Of the fee collected
155	155	under Section 623.322 for a permit:
156	156	(1) 50 percent of the amount collected shall be
157	157	deposited to the credit of the state highway fund; and
158	158	(2) the other 50 percent shall be divided among all
159	159	counties designated in the permit application under Section
160	160	623.322(a)(2), with a county receiving an amount determined
161	161	according to the ratio of the total amount of timber harvested in
162	162	that county to the total amount of timber harvested by all counties
163	163	designated on the application, as determined by the most recent
164	164	edition of the Texas A&M Forest Service's Harvest Trends Report.
165	165	(b) At least once each fiscal year, the comptroller shall
166	166	send the amount due each county under Subsection (a) to the county
167	167	treasurer or officer performing the function of that office for
168	168	deposit to the credit of the county road and bridge fund.
169	169	Sec. 623.325. INTERSTATE AND DEFENSE HIGHWAYS. (a) This
170	170	subchapter does not authorize the operation on the national system
171	171	of interstate and defense highways in this state of a vehicle of a
172	172	size or weight greater than those permitted under 23 U.S.C. Section
173	173	127.
174	174	(b) If the United States authorizes the operation on the
175	175	national system of interstate and defense highways of a vehicle of a
176	176	size or weight greater than those permitted under 23 U.S.C. Section
177	177	127 on September 1, 2013, the new limit automatically takes effect
178	178	on the national system of interstate and defense highways in this
179	179	state.
180	180	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.