Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB422 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R4237 AAF-D
2	2	By: Watson S.B. No. 422
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment and operation of a motor-bus-only
8	8	lane pilot program in certain counties.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 455, Transportation Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Section 455.006 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 455.006. MOTOR-BUS-ONLY LANE PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The
13	13	department, in consultation with the Department of Public Safety
14	14	and in conjunction with and with the elective participation of the
15	15	appropriate metropolitan rapid transit authorities, county
16	16	transportation authorities, municipal transit departments, and
17	17	regional transportation authorities and the municipalities served
18	18	by those mass transit entities, shall establish and operate a
19	19	motor-bus-only lane pilot program for highways that are part of the
20	20	state highway system and have shoulders of sufficient width and
21	21	structural integrity.
22	22	(b) A highway designated as part of the program must be
23	23	located in:
24	24	(1) Bexar, El Paso, Tarrant, or Travis County; or
25	25	(2) a county adjacent to a county listed in
26	26	Subdivision (1) if the highway is an extension of a highway
27	27	designated in a county listed in Subdivision (1).
28	28	(c) The program shall:
29	29	(1) provide for the use by motor buses of highway
30	30	shoulders as a low-speed bypass of congested highway lanes when the
31	31	speed of vehicles being operated on the main traveled part of the
32	32	adjacent highways is 35 miles per hour or less;
33	33	(2) limit the maximum speed of a motor bus being
34	34	operated on a motor-bus-only lane to the lower of:
35	35	(A) 15 miles per hour greater than the speed of
36	36	vehicles being operated on the main traveled part of the adjacent
37	37	highway; or
38	38	(B) 35 miles per hour;
39	39	(3) provide for attainment of local operational
40	40	experience with the conversion of existing highway shoulders to
41	41	motor-bus-only lanes during peak traffic periods;
42	42	(4) include consideration of the following:
43	43	(A) safety;
44	44	(B) travel time and reliability;
45	45	(C) driver and passenger perceptions;
46	46	(D) level of service and maintenance; and
47	47	(E) capital improvements; and
48	48	(5) be limited only to public transit motor buses
49	49	operated by the mass transit entities in the counties specified by
50	50	Subsection (b).
51	51	(d) The department shall also include in the program:
52	52	(1) bus driver safety training;
53	53	(2) public awareness and education;
54	54	(3) bus operating rules that require bus drivers to
55	55	yield to passenger cars and emergency vehicles; and
56	56	(4) roadside signs and pavement markings indicating
57	57	that affected lanes are reserved for public transit motor-bus-only
58	58	use.
59	59	(e) The department, in coordination with the appropriate
60	60	mass transit entities under Subsection (a), shall fund the
61	61	implementation of the program features under Subsection (d). Mass
62	62	transit entities that participate in the program shall reimburse
63	63	the department for the funds spent on implementation of the program
64	64	features. A metropolitan rapid transit authority that includes an
65	65	advanced transportation district may use funds from the district to
66	66	pay for expenses associated with the pilot program.
67	67	(f) The department shall initiate the motor-bus-only lane
68	68	pilot program as soon as practicable but not later than December 31,
69	69	2015. Not later than December 31, 2017, the department shall submit
70	70	to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house
71	71	of representatives, and the presiding officer of each legislative
72	72	standing committee with primary jurisdiction over transportation a
73	73	written report that contains:
74	74	(1) a description of the results of the program based
75	75	on local operational experience described in Subsection (c)(3);
76	76	(2) any recommendations for changes to the program;
77	77	and
78	78	(3) a plan on how the department will convert the
79	79	program into a permanent program.
80	80	(g) The department may cancel the program if the department
81	81	finds evidence of a trend of increasing vehicle accidents
82	82	attributable to operation of buses under the program.
83	83	(h) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the department may not
84	84	establish or operate a motor-bus-only lane on a highway or toll
85	85	facility maintained by a regional tollway authority established
86	86	under Chapter 366 without the authority's consent.
87	87	SECTION 2. Section 542.002, Transportation Code, is amended
88	88	to read as follows:
89	89	Sec. 542.002. GOVERNMENT VEHICLES. A provision of this
90	90	subtitle applicable to an operator of a vehicle applies to the
91	91	operator of a vehicle owned or operated by the United States, this
92	92	state, or a political subdivision of this state, except as
93	93	specifically provided otherwise by this subtitle [for an authorized
94	94	emergency vehicle].
95	95	SECTION 3. Section 545.058(c), Transportation Code, is
96	96	amended to read as follows:
97	97	(c) A limitation in this section on driving on an improved
98	98	shoulder does not apply to:
99	99	(1) an authorized emergency vehicle responding to a
100	100	call;
101	101	(2) a police patrol; [or]
102	102	(3) a bicycle; or
103	103	(4) a motor bus of a mass transit entity described by
104	104	Section 455.006 operating on a shoulder designated by the Texas
105	105	Department of Transportation under that section.
106	106	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
107	107	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
108	108	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
109	109	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
110	110	Act takes effect September 1, 2015.