84R5683 JXC-F
By: Martinez H.B. No. 2975
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to speed limits.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 545.352, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
read as follows:
(a) A speed in excess of a limit [the limits] established by
[Subsection (b) or under another provision of] this subchapter is
prima facie evidence that the speed is not reasonable and prudent
and that the speed is unlawful.
(b) Unless a special hazard exists that requires a slower
speed for compliance with Section 545.351(b), the following speeds
are lawful:
(1) [30 miles per hour] in an urban district:
(A) 30 miles per hour on a street other than an
alley; or
(B) [and] 15 miles per hour in an alley;
(2) outside an urban district, for a vehicle that is
not a school bus:
(A) [except as provided by Subdivision (4),] 70
miles per hour on a highway numbered by this state or the United
States [outside an urban district], including a farm-to-market or
ranch-to-market road; or
(B) [(3) except as provided by Subdivision (4),]
60 miles per hour on a highway that is [outside an urban district
and] not [a highway] numbered by this state or the United States;
(3) [(4) outside an urban district:
[(A) 60 miles per hour if the vehicle is a school
bus that has passed a commercial motor vehicle inspection under
Section 548.201 and is on a highway numbered by the United States or
this state, including a farm-to-market road; or
[(B) 50 miles per hour if the vehicle is a school
bus that:
[(i) has not passed a commercial motor
vehicle inspection under Section 548.201; or
[(ii) is traveling on a highway not
numbered by the United States or this state;
[(5)] on a beach, 15 miles per hour; or
(4) [(6)] on a county road adjacent to a public beach,
15 miles per hour, if declared by the commissioners court of the
county.
(b-1) The following speeds are lawful for a school bus
operating outside an urban district:
(1) 60 miles per hour if the bus has passed a
commercial motor vehicle inspection under Section 548.201 and is
operating on a highway numbered by this state or the United States,
including a farm-to-market or ranch-to-market road; or
(2) 50 miles per hour if Subdivision (1) does not
apply.
SECTION 2. Section 545.353, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 545.353. AUTHORITY OF TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION [COMMISSION] TO ALTER SPEED LIMITS. (a) If the
Texas Department of Transportation [Commission] determines from
the results of an engineering and traffic investigation that a
prima facie speed limit in this subchapter is unreasonable or
unsafe on a part of the highway system, the executive director or a
deputy director of the Texas Department of Transportation
[commission, by order recorded in its minutes], [and] except as
provided in Subsection (d), may determine and declare, in writing:
(1) a reasonable and safe prima facie speed limit; and
(2) another reasonable and safe speed because of wet
or inclement weather.
(b) In determining whether a prima facie speed limit on a
part of the highway system is reasonable and safe, the Texas
Department of Transportation [commission] shall consider:
(1) the results of an engineering and traffic
investigation;
(2) the width and condition of the pavement;
(3) [,] the usual traffic at the affected area;[,] and
(4) other circumstances.
(c) The Texas Department of Transportation shall provide
notice of a prima facie speed limit declared under this section on
the agency's Internet website for at least one year after the date
the speed limit is declared. The new [A prima facie speed] limit
[that is declared by the commission under this section] is
effective when the Texas Department of Transportation [commission]
erects signs giving notice of the new limit. A new limit that is
enacted for a highway under this section is effective at all times
or at other times as determined.
(d) The Texas Department of Transportation [Except as
provided by Subsection (h-1), the commission] may not:
(1) modify the requirements of [rules established by]
Section 545.351(b);
(2) except as provided by Subsection (d-1), establish
a speed limit of more than 75 miles per hour; [or]
(3) increase the speed limit for a school bus; or
(4) establish, or agree to establish, a speed limit
for environmental purposes on a part of the highway system [vehicle
described by Section 545.352(b)(4)].
(d-1) The Texas Department of Transportation may establish
the following prima facie speed limits under this section if the
agency determines that the speeds are reasonable and safe:
(1) up to 80 miles per hour on a part of Interstate
Highway 10 or Interstate Highway 20 in Crockett, Culberson,
Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kerr, Kimble, Pecos, Reeves, Sutton, or Ward
County; or
(2) up to 85 miles per hour on a part of the state
highway system if that part of the highway system is designed to
accommodate travel at that established speed or a higher speed.
(e) The Texas Department of Transportation shall develop
and publish a manual that provides the information and procedures
necessary to establish a speed zone or an advisory speed on the
state highway system. The Texas Department of Transportation shall
follow the procedures in the manual when [commission, in]
conducting an [the] engineering and traffic investigation for the
purposes of this section [specified by Subsection (a), shall follow
the "Procedure for Establishing Speed Zones" as adopted by the
commission]. The Texas Department of Transportation [commission]
may revise the manual [procedure] to accommodate technological
advancement in traffic operation, the design and construction of
highways and motor vehicles, and the safety of the motoring public.
(f) The [commission's] authority of the Texas Department of
Transportation to alter speed limits applies:
(1) to any part of a highway officially designated or
marked by the commission as part of the state highway system; and
(2) both inside and outside the limits of a
municipality, including a home-rule municipality, for a
limited-access or controlled-access highway.
(g) For purposes of this section, "wet or inclement weather"
means a condition of the roadway that makes driving on the roadway
unsafe and hazardous and that is caused by precipitation, including
water, ice, and snow.
[(h) Notwithstanding Section 545.352(b), the commission may
establish a speed limit of 75 miles per hour on a part of the highway
system if the commission determines that 75 miles per hour is a
reasonable and safe speed for that part of the highway system.
[(h-1) Notwithstanding Section 545.352(b), the commission
may establish a speed limit of 80 miles per hour on a part of
Interstate Highway 10 or Interstate Highway 20 in Crockett,
Culberson, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kerr, Kimble, Pecos, Reeves,
Sutton, or Ward County if the commission determines that 80 miles
per hour is a reasonable and safe speed for that part of the
highway.
[(h-2) Notwithstanding Section 545.352(b), the commission
may establish a speed limit not to exceed 85 miles per hour on a part
of the state highway system if:
[(1) that part of the highway system is designed to
accommodate travel at that established speed or a higher speed; and
[(2) the commission determines, after an engineering
and traffic investigation, that the established speed limit is
reasonable and safe for that part of the highway system.
[(j) The commission may not determine or declare, or agree
to determine or declare, a prima facie speed limit for
environmental purposes on a part of the highway system.]
SECTION 3. Section 545.3535, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 545.3535. AUTHORITY OF TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION [COMMISSION] TO ALTER SPEED LIMITS ON CERTAIN ROADS.
(a) The commissioners court of a county by resolution may request
that the Texas Department of Transportation [Commission to]
determine and declare a reasonable and safe prima facie speed limit
that is lower than a speed limit established by Section 545.352 on
any part of a farm-to-market or a ranch-to-market road of the
highway system that is located in that county and is without
improved shoulders.
(b) The Texas Department of Transportation [commission]
shall give consideration to local public opinion and may determine
and declare a lower speed limit on any part of the road without an
engineering and traffic investigation, but the agency [commission]
must use sound and generally accepted traffic engineering practices
in determining and declaring the lower speed limit.
(c) The Texas Department of Transportation [commission by
rule] shall establish standards for determining lower speed limits
within a set range.
SECTION 4. Section 545.355(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commissioners court of a county, for a county road
or highway outside the limits of the right-of-way of an officially
designated or marked highway or road of the state highway system and
outside a municipality, has the same authority to increase prima
facie speed limits from the results of an engineering and traffic
investigation as the Texas Department of Transportation
[Commission] on an officially designated or marked highway of the
state highway system.
SECTION 5. Sections 545.356(a) and (b), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The governing body of a municipality, for a highway or
part of a highway in the municipality, including a highway of the
state highway system, has the same authority to alter by ordinance
prima facie speed limits from the results of an engineering and
traffic investigation as the Texas Department of Transportation
[Commission] on an officially designated or marked highway of the
state highway system. The governing body of a municipality may not
modify the rule established by Section 545.351(a) or establish a
speed limit of more than 75 miles per hour.
(b) The governing body of a municipality, for a highway or
part of a highway in the municipality, including a highway of the
state highway system, has the same authority to alter prima facie
speed limits from the results of an engineering and traffic
investigation as the Texas Department of Transportation
[commission] for an officially designated or marked highway of the
state highway system, when the highway or part of the highway is
under repair, construction, or maintenance. A municipality may
not modify the rule established by Section 545.351(a) or establish
a speed limit of more than 75 miles per hour.
SECTION 6. Section 545.358, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 545.358. AUTHORITY OF COMMANDING OFFICER OF UNITED
STATES MILITARY RESERVATION TO ALTER SPEED LIMITS. The commanding
officer of a United States military reservation, for a highway or
part of a highway in the military reservation, including a highway
of the state highway system, has the same authority by order to
alter prima facie speed limits from the results of an engineering
and traffic investigation as the Texas Department of Transportation
[Commission] for an officially designated or marked highway of the
state highway system. A commanding officer may not modify the rule
established by Section 545.351(a) or establish a speed limit of
more than 75 miles per hour.
SECTION 7. Section 545.359, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 545.359. CONFLICTING DESIGNATED SPEED LIMITS. A prima
facie [An order of the Texas Transportation Commission declaring a]
speed limit declared for [on] a part of a designated or marked route
of the state highway system [made] under Section 545.353 or 545.362
supersedes a [any] conflicting [designated] speed limit
established under Section [Sections] 545.356 or [and] 545.358.
SECTION 8. Section 545.361(e), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) The Texas Department of Transportation [Commission],
for a state highway or [, the Texas Turnpike Authority, for] any
part of a turnpike constructed and maintained by the state
[authority], or [and] a local authority for a highway under the
jurisdiction of the local authority, may investigate a bridge or
other elevated structure that is a part of a highway. If after
conducting the investigation the agency [commission, turnpike
authority,] or local authority finds that the structure cannot
safely withstand vehicles traveling at a speed otherwise
permissible under this subtitle, the agency [commission, turnpike
authority,] or local authority shall:
(1) determine and declare the maximum speed of
vehicles that the structure can safely withstand; and
(2) post and maintain signs before each end of the
structure stating the maximum speed.
SECTION 9. Sections 545.362(a), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g),
(h), (i), and (j), Transportation Code, are amended to read as
follows:
(a) Subject to Subsection (c), the Texas Department of
Transportation [Commission] may enter an order establishing prima
facie speed limits of not more than 75 miles per hour applicable to
all highways, including a turnpike under the authority of the Texas
Turnpike Authority or a highway under the control of a municipality
or county. An order entered under this section does not have the
effect of increasing a speed limit on any highway.
(c) An order may be issued under Subsection (a) only if the
Texas Department of Transportation [commission] finds and states in
the order that:
(1) a severe shortage of motor fuel or other petroleum
product exists, the shortage was caused by war, national emergency,
or other circumstances, and a reduction of speed limits will foster
conservation and safety; or
(2) the failure to alter state speed limits will
prevent the state from receiving money from the United States for
highway purposes.
(d) Unless a specific speed limit is required by federal law
or directive under threat of loss of highway money of the United
States, the Texas Department of Transportation [commission] may not
set prima facie speed limits under this section of all vehicles at
less than 60 miles per hour, except on a divided highway of at least
four lanes, for which the Texas Department of Transportation
[commission] may not set prima facie speed limits of all vehicles at
less than 65 miles per hour.
(e) Before the Texas Department of Transportation
[commission] may enter an order establishing a prima facie speed
limit, it must hold a public hearing preceded by the publication in
at least three newspapers of general circulation in the state of a
notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing and of the action
proposed to be taken. The notice must be published at least 12 days
before the date of the hearing. At the hearing, all interested
persons may present oral or written testimony regarding the
proposed order.
(f) If the Texas Department of Transportation [commission]
enters an order under this section, it shall file the order in the
office of the governor. The governor shall then make an independent
finding of fact and determine the existence of the facts in
Subsection (c). Before the 13th day after the date the order is
filed in the governor's office, the governor shall conclude the
finding of fact, issue a proclamation stating whether the necessary
facts exist to support the issuance of the [commission's] order,
and file copies of the order and the proclamation in the office of
the secretary of state.
(g) If the governor's proclamation states that the facts
necessary to support the issuance of the [commission's] order
exist, the order takes effect according to Subsection (h).
Otherwise, the order has no effect.
(h) In an order issued under this section, the Texas
Department of Transportation [commission] may specify the date the
order takes effect, but that date may not be sooner than the eighth
day after the date the order is filed with the governor. If the
order does not have an effective date, it takes effect on the 21st
day after the date it is filed with the governor. Unless the order
by its own terms expires earlier, it remains in effect until a
subsequent order adopted by the procedure prescribed by this
section amends or repeals it, except that an order adopted under
this section expires when this section expires. The procedure for
repealing an order is the same as for adopting an order, except that
the Texas Department of Transportation [commission] and the
governor must find that the facts required to support the issuance
of an order under Subsection (c) no longer exist.
(i) If an order is adopted in accordance with this section,
the Texas Department of Transportation [commission] and all
governmental authorities responsible for the maintenance of
highway speed limit signs shall take appropriate action to conceal
or remove all signs that give notice of a speed limit of more than
the one contained in the order and to erect appropriate signs. All
governmental entities responsible for administering traffic safety
programs and enforcing traffic laws shall use all available
resources to notify the public of the effect of the order. To
accomplish this purpose, the governmental entities shall request
the cooperation of all news media in the state.
(j) A change in speed limits under this section is effective
until the Texas Department of Transportation [commission] makes a
finding that the conditions in Subsection (c) require or authorize
an additional change in those speed limits or in the highway or
sections of highway to which those speed limits apply.
SECTION 10. Section 545.363(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) When the Texas Department of Transportation
[Commission, the Texas Turnpike Authority], the commissioners
court of a county, or the governing body of a municipality, within
the jurisdiction of each, [as applicable,] as specified in this
subchapter [Sections 545.353 to 545.357], determines from the
results of an engineering and traffic investigation that slow
speeds on a part of a highway consistently impede the normal and
reasonable movement of traffic, the agency [commission,
authority], county commissioners court, or governing body may
determine and declare a minimum speed limit on the highway.
SECTION 11. Section 548.201(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A program under this section also applies to any:
(1) vehicle or combination of vehicles with a gross
weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds that is operated in
interstate commerce and registered in this state;
(2) school activity bus, as defined in Section
541.201, that has a gross weight, registered weight, or gross
weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds, or is designed to
transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver; and
(3) school bus that will operate at a speed authorized
by Section 545.352 [545.352(b)(5)(A)].
SECTION 12. Sections 545.357 and 545.360, Transportation
Code, are repealed.
SECTION 13. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 14. 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, 2015.