| 1 | 1 | | 85R9143 JAM-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Kacal H.B. No. 2142 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to oversize or overweight vehicles transporting livestock |
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| 8 | 8 | | feed, grain, or grain by-products. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 621.508(a), Transportation Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (a) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution of, or an |
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| 13 | 13 | | action under Subchapter F for, the offense of operating a vehicle |
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| 14 | 14 | | with a single axle weight or tandem axle weight heavier than the |
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| 15 | 15 | | axle weight authorized by law that at the time of the offense the |
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| 16 | 16 | | vehicle: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (1) had a single axle weight or tandem axle weight that |
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| 18 | 18 | | was not heavier than the axle weight authorized by law plus 12 |
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| 19 | 19 | | percent; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (2) was loaded with: |
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| 21 | 21 | | (A) timber, pulp wood, wood chips, [or] cotton, |
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| 22 | 22 | | livestock, livestock feed, grain, or grain by-products; or |
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| 23 | 23 | | (B) other agricultural products that are: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (i) [(A)] in their natural state; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | (ii) [(B)] being transported from the place |
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| 26 | 26 | | of production to the place of first marketing or first processing; |
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| 27 | 27 | | and |
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| 28 | 28 | | (3) was not being operated on a portion of the national |
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| 29 | 29 | | system of interstate and defense highways. |
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| 30 | 30 | | SECTION 2. Section 621.508(a), Transportation Code, as |
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| 31 | 31 | | amended by this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or |
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| 32 | 32 | | after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before |
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| 33 | 33 | | the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on |
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| 34 | 34 | | the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued |
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| 35 | 35 | | in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense |
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| 36 | 36 | | was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element |
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| 37 | 37 | | of the offense occurred before that date. |
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| 38 | 38 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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