85R11409 JRR-F
By: King of Hemphill H.B. No. 2862
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of vehicles transporting fluid milk;
authorizing a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 621.102(d), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) A vehicle operating under a permit issued under Section
623.011, 623.071, 623.094, 623.121, 623.142, 623.181, 623.192,
623.212, [or] 623.321, or 623.401 [as added by Chapter 1135 (H.B.
2741), Acts of the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013,] may
operate under the conditions authorized by the permit over a road
for which the executive director of the Texas Department of
Transportation has set a maximum weight under this section.
SECTION 2. Section 621.301(e), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) A vehicle operating under a permit issued under Section
623.011, 623.071, 623.094, 623.121, 623.142, 623.181, 623.192,
623.212, [or] 623.321, or 623.401 [as added by Chapter 1135 (H.B.
2741), Acts of the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013,] may
operate under the conditions authorized by the permit over a road
for which the commissioners court has set a maximum weight under
this section.
SECTION 3. Section 621.508, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), it [It] is an
affirmative defense to prosecution of, or an action under
Subchapter F for, the offense of operating a vehicle with a single
axle weight or tandem axle weight heavier than the axle weight
authorized by law that at the time of the offense the vehicle:
(1) had a single axle weight or tandem axle weight that
was not heavier than the axle weight authorized by law plus 12
percent;
(2) was loaded with timber, pulp wood, wood chips, or
cotton, livestock, or other agricultural products that are:
(A) in their natural state; and
(B) being transported from the place of
production to the place of first marketing or first processing; and
(3) was not being operated on a portion of the national
system of interstate and defense highways.
(a-1) The affirmative defense provided by Subsection (a)
does not apply to the excess weights authorized under Section
623.401(b).
SECTION 4. Chapter 623, Transportation Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter U to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER U. VEHICLES TRANSPORTING FLUID MILK
Sec. 623.401. PERMIT FOR VEHICLES TRANSPORTING FLUID MILK.
(a) The department may issue a permit that authorizes the operation
of a vehicle combination used to transport fluid milk:
(1) at a gross weight that is not heavier than 90,000
pounds; and
(2) with axle weights that comply with the
requirements of Section 621.101(a), except as authorized by
Subsection (b).
(b) A vehicle combination operating under a permit issued
under Subsection (a) may exceed the axle weights listed in Section
621.101(a) for the following axle groups if the overall distance
between the first and last axles of two consecutive sets of tandem
axles is 36 feet or more, the distance between each individual axle
in each axle group, measured from the center of the axle, is between
48 inches and 54 inches, and:
(1) a two-axle group does not exceed 36,500 pounds;
and
(2) a three-axle group does not exceed 42,500 pounds.
(c) To qualify for a permit under this subchapter, a permit
fee of $1,200 must be paid.
(d) A permit issued under this subchapter:
(1) is valid for one year; and
(2) must be carried in the vehicle for which it is
issued.
(e) A vehicle issued a permit under this subchapter may
operate on a federal interstate highway or a state, county, or
municipal road, including a load-zoned county road or a frontage
road adjacent to a federal interstate highway, if the vehicle
displays a sticker required by Section 623.402 and the vehicle
combination does not exceed the maximum axle or gross weight
applicable to the combination under the terms of the permit.
Sec. 623.402. PERMIT STICKER. (a) When the department
issues a permit under this subchapter, the department shall issue a
sticker to be placed on the front windshield of the vehicle. The
department shall design the form of the sticker to aid in the
enforcement of weight limits for vehicles.
(b) The sticker must:
(1) indicate the expiration date of the permit; and
(2) be removed from the vehicle when:
(A) the permit for operation of the vehicle
expires;
(B) a lease of the vehicle expires; or
(C) the vehicle is sold.
Sec. 623.403. COUNTY DESIGNATION; DISTRIBUTION OF FEE. (a)
An applicant for a permit under this subchapter must designate in
the permit application the counties in which the applicant intends
to operate. A permit issued under this subchapter is not valid in a
county that is not designated in the permit application.
(b) Of the fee collected under this subchapter for a permit:
(1) 75 percent of the amount collected shall be
deposited to the credit of the state highway fund;
(2) 15 percent of the amount collected shall be
divided equally among and distributed to the counties designated in
the permit application; and
(3) 10 percent of the amount collected shall be
deposited to the credit of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles
fund.
(c) At least once each fiscal year, the comptroller shall
send the amount due each county under Subsection (b) to the county
treasurer or officer performing the function of that office for
deposit to the credit of the county road and bridge fund.
Sec. 623.404. ROUTE RESTRICTIONS. (a) Except as provided
by Subsection (b), a permit issued under this subchapter does not
authorize the operation of a vehicle combination on a bridge for
which a maximum weight and load limit has been established and
posted under Section 621.102 or 621.301, if the gross weight of the
vehicle combination and load or the axles and wheel loads are
greater than the limits established and posted under those
sections.
(b) The restrictions under Subsection (a) do not apply if a
bridge described by that subsection provides the only public
vehicular access from an origin or to a destination by a holder of a
permit issued under this subchapter.
Sec. 623.405. CERTAIN COUNTY OR MUNICIPAL ACTIONS
PROHIBITED. Unless otherwise provided by state or federal law, a
county or municipality may not require a permit, fee, or license for
the operation of a vehicle combination described by Section
623.401(a) or (b) in addition to a permit, fee, or license required
by state law.
Sec. 623.406. EXCLUSIVE PERMIT. No other permit under this
chapter may be used to transport fluid milk, provided that a vehicle
combination operating under a permit issued under this subchapter
may be operated in accordance with a permit issued under Subchapter
K, L, M, O, P, S, or T.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.