By: Nichols S.B. No. 1524
(In the Senate - Filed March 8, 2017; March 20, 2017, read
first time and referred to Committee on Transportation;
April 3, 2017, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 2; April 3, 2017,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1524 By: Nichols
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the movement of certain vehicles transporting an
intermodal shipping container; authorizing a fee; creating an
offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 621.303, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 621.303. MUNICIPAL REGULATION OF LOADS AND EQUIPMENT.
(a) The governing body of any municipality may regulate the
movement and operation on a public road, other than a state highway
in the territory of the municipality, of:
(1) an overweight, oversize, or overlength commodity
that cannot reasonably be dismantled; and
(2) superheavy or oversize equipment for the
transportation of an overweight, oversize, or overlength commodity
that cannot be reasonably dismantled.
(b) The governing body of a municipality may not, because of
weight, regulate the movement and operation on a state highway or
county or municipal road of a combination of vehicles operating
under a permit issued under Section 623.402.
SECTION 2. Chapter 623, Transportation Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter U to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER U. INTERMODAL SHIPPING CONTAINERS
Sec. 623.401. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "intermodal
shipping container" means an enclosed, standardized, reusable
container that:
(1) is used to pack, ship, move, or transport cargo;
(2) is designed to be carried on a semitrailer and
loaded onto or unloaded from:
(A) a ship or vessel for international
transportation; or
(B) a rail system for international
transportation; and
(3) when combined with vehicles transporting the
container, has a gross weight or axle weight that exceeds the limits
allowed by law to be transported over a state highway or county or
municipal road.
Sec. 623.402. ISSUANCE OF PERMIT. (a) The department may
issue an annual permit authorizing the movement of a sealed
intermodal shipping container moving in international
transportation by a truck-tractor and semitrailer combination that
has six total axles and is equipped with a roll stability support
safety system and truck blind spot systems only if:
(1) the gross weight of the combination does not
exceed 93,000 pounds;
(2) the distance between the rear axle of the
truck-tractor and the front axle of the semitrailer, measured
longitudinally, is 322 inches or greater;
(3) the truck-tractor is configured as follows:
(A) one single axle that does not exceed 15,000
pounds;
(B) one two-axle group that does not exceed
36,250 pounds, in which no axle in the group exceeds 18,200 pounds;
(C) the distance between the individual axles on
the two-axle group of the truck-tractor, measured longitudinally,
is not less than 51 inches and not more than 52 inches; and
(D) the distance between the single axle on the
truck-tractor and the nearest axle of the two-axle group on the
truck-tractor, measured longitudinally, is 154 inches or greater;
and
(4) the semitrailer is configured as follows:
(A) one three-axle group that does not exceed
49,195 pounds, in which no axle in the group exceeds 16,400 pounds;
and
(B) the distance between the individual axles in
the three-axle group of the semitrailer, measured longitudinally,
is 60 inches.
(b) The department may issue an annual permit authorizing
the movement of a sealed intermodal shipping container moving in
international transportation by a truck-tractor and semitrailer
combination that has seven total axles and is equipped with a roll
stability support safety system and truck blind spot systems only
if:
(1) the gross weight of the combination does not
exceed 100,000 pounds;
(2) the distance between the rear axle of the
truck-tractor and the front axle of the semitrailer, measured
longitudinally, is 256 inches or greater;
(3) the truck-tractor is configured as follows:
(A) one single axle that does not exceed 15,000
pounds;
(B) one three-axle group that does not exceed
44,500 pounds, in which no axle in the group exceeds 14,900 pounds;
(C) the distance between the individual axles on
the three-axle group of the truck-tractor, measured
longitudinally, is not less than 51 inches and not more than 52
inches; and
(D) the distance between the single axle on the
truck-tractor and the nearest axle of the three-axle group on the
truck-tractor, measured longitudinally, is 135 inches or greater;
and
(4) the semitrailer is configured as follows:
(A) one three-axle group that does not exceed
46,200 pounds, in which no axle in the group exceeds 15,400 pounds;
and
(B) the distance between the individual axles in
the three-axle group of the semitrailer, measured longitudinally,
is 60 inches.
(c) For purposes of Subsections (a) and (b), the gross
weight, group weights, and axle weights listed in those subsections
include all enforcement tolerances.
Sec. 623.403. COUNTY AND MUNICIPALITY DESIGNATION. (a) An
applicant for a permit under this subchapter must designate each
county and municipality in which the permit will be used.
(b) A permit issued under this subchapter is not valid in a
county or municipality that is not designated in the permit
application.
Sec. 623.404. PERMIT FEE. (a) An application for a permit
under Section 623.402(a) or (b) must be accompanied by a permit fee
of $5,000, of which:
(1) 60 percent shall be deposited to the credit of the
state highway fund;
(2) 35 percent shall be equally divided among and
distributed to each county designated in the permit application;
and
(3) 5 percent shall be deposited to the credit of the
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles fund.
(b) At least once each fiscal year, the comptroller shall
send the amount due each county under Subsection (a) to the county
treasurer or office performing the function of that office for
deposit to the credit of the county road and bridge fund.
Sec. 623.405. ROUTE RESTRICTIONS. (a) A permit issued
under this subchapter does not authorize the operation of a
truck-tractor and semitrailer combination on:
(1) the national system of interstate and defense
highways; or
(2) load-restricted roads or bridges, including a road
or bridge for which a maximum weight and load limit has been
established and posted by the Texas Department of Transportation
under Section 621.102 or the commissioners court of a county under
Section 621.301.
(b) Subject to Section 623.406, a permit issued under this
subchapter authorizes the operation of a truck-tractor and
semitrailer combination only on highways and roads approved by the
Texas Department of Transportation.
Sec. 623.406. PERMIT CONDITIONS. (a) In this section,
"port of entry" has the meaning assigned by Section 621.001.
(b) The transportation of a sealed intermodal shipping
container under a permit issued under this subchapter:
(1) must begin or end at a port of entry that is
located:
(A) in a county contiguous to the Gulf of Mexico
or a bay or inlet opening into the gulf; or
(B) between this state and the United Mexican
States; and
(2) may not exceed a 30-mile radius from the port of
entry and must be on a highway or road described by Section
623.405(b).
(c) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (b), the
intermodal shipping container must be continuously sealed from the
point of origin to the point of destination with a seal that is
required by:
(1) the United States Customs and Border Protection;
(2) the United States Food and Drug Administration; or
(3) federal law or regulation.
(d) A permit issued under this subchapter does not authorize
the transportation of a material designated as of January 1, 2017,
as a hazardous material by the United States secretary of
transportation under 49 U.S.C. Section 5103(a).
Sec. 623.407. 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 truck-tractor.
The department shall design the form of the sticker to aid in the
enforcement of weight limits.
(b) The sticker must:
(1) indicate the expiration date of the permit; and
(2) be removed from the truck-tractor when:
(A) the permit for operation of the truck-tractor
expires;
(B) a lease of the truck-tractor expires; or
(C) the truck-tractor is sold.
Sec. 623.408. PERMIT AND WEIGHT RECORD DOCUMENTS. (a) A
permit issued under this subchapter must be carried in the
truck-tractor for which the permit is issued.
(b) A copy of the weight record in the form prescribed by the
department must contain the information required by Section
621.410(c) and must be:
(1) carried in the truck-tractor if the truck-tractor
is:
(A) on a public highway or road; and
(B) transporting an intermodal shipping
container that contains cargo; and
(2) presented, on request, to an officer authorized to
enforce this subtitle, regardless of whether a weight record is
required under Section 621.410.
Sec. 623.409. OFFENSE. (a) A person commits an offense if
the person fails to:
(1) display the sticker described by Section
623.407(a) in the manner required by that section;
(2) carry a permit issued under this subchapter as
required by Section 623.408(a); or
(3) carry or present a weight record as required by
Section 623.408(b).
(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
Sec. 623.410. RULES. (a) The department shall adopt rules
necessary to implement this subchapter, including rules governing
the application for a permit under this subchapter.
(b) The Department of Public Safety shall adopt rules
requiring additional safety and driver training for permits issued
under this subchapter.
SECTION 3. Section 623.003(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The Texas Department of Transportation shall provide
the department with all routing information necessary to complete a
permit issued under Section 623.071, 623.121, 623.142, [or]
623.192, or 623.402.
SECTION 4. Section 623.018(d), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) If a vehicle has a permit issued under Section 623.011
or 623.402, a commissioners court may not:
(1) issue a permit under this section or charge an
additional fee for or otherwise regulate or restrict the operation
of the vehicle because of weight; or
(2) require the owner or operator to:
(A) execute or comply with a road use agreement
or indemnity agreement;
(B) [, to] make a filing or application; or
(C) [, or to] provide a bond or letter of credit,
other than the bond or letter of credit prescribed by Section
623.012 for a vehicle issued a permit under Section 623.011.
SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 623, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 623.070 to read as follows:
Sec. 623.070. NONAPPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This
subchapter does not apply to the transportation of an intermodal
shipping container as defined by Section 623.401, regardless of
whether the container is sealed or unsealed.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect January 1, 2018.
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