By: Perry S.B. No. 971
(Kacal)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requirements for certain farm vehicles when operating
on a highway.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 541.201(6), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(6) "Implement of husbandry" means:
(A) a vehicle, other than a passenger car or
truck, that is designed and adapted for use as a farm implement,
machinery, or tool for tilling the soil;
(B) a towed vehicle that transports to the field
and spreads fertilizer or agricultural chemicals; or
(C) a motor vehicle designed and adapted to
deliver feed to livestock.
SECTION 2. Section 622.901, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 622.901. WIDTH EXCEPTIONS. (a) In this section,
"farm tractor" and "implement of husbandry" have the meanings
assigned by Section 541.201.
(b) The width limitation provided by Section 621.201 does
not apply to:
(1) highway building or maintenance machinery that is
traveling:
(A) during daylight on a public highway other
than a highway that is part of the national system of interstate and
defense highways; or
(B) for not more than 50 miles on a highway that
is part of the national system of interstate and defense highways;
(2) a vehicle traveling during daylight on a public
highway other than a highway that is part of the national system of
interstate and defense highways or traveling for not more than 50
miles on a highway that is part of the national system of interstate
and defense highways if the vehicle is:
(A) a farm tractor or implement of husbandry; or
(B) a vehicle on which a farm tractor or
implement of husbandry, other than a tractor or implement being
transported from one dealer to another, is being moved by the owner
of the tractor or implement or by an agent or employee of the owner:
(i) to deliver the tractor or implement to a
new owner;
(ii) to transport the tractor or implement
to or from a mechanic for maintenance or repair; or
(iii) in the course of an agricultural
operation;
(3) machinery that is used solely for drilling water
wells, including machinery that is a unit or a unit mounted on a
conventional vehicle or chassis, and that is traveling:
(A) during daylight on a public highway other
than a highway that is part of the national system of interstate and
defense highways; or
(B) for not more than 50 miles on a highway that
is part of the national system of interstate and defense highways;
(4) a vehicle owned or operated by a public, private,
or volunteer fire department;
(5) a vehicle registered under Section 502.431; or
(6) a recreational vehicle to which Section 622.903
applies.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.