By: Martinez H.B. No. 2620
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the movement of oversize or overweight vehicles,
including the enforcement of motor vehicle size and weight
limitations; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 541.001, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subdivision (1) and adding Subdivision (1-a) to read as
follows:
(1) "Escort flagger" has the meaning assigned by
Section 623.008.
(1-a) "Operator" means, as used in reference to a
vehicle, a person who drives or has physical control of a vehicle.
SECTION 2. Section 542.501, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 542.501. OBEDIENCE REQUIRED TO POLICE OFFICERS, [AND
TO] SCHOOL CROSSING GUARDS, AND ESCORT FLAGGERS. A person may not
wilfully fail or refuse to comply with a lawful order or direction
of:
(1) a police officer; [or]
(2) a school crossing guard who:
(A) is performing crossing guard duties in a
school crosswalk to stop and yield to a pedestrian; or
(B) has been trained under Section 600.004 and is
directing traffic in a school crossing zone; or
(3) an escort flagger who is directing or controlling
the flow of traffic in accordance with a permit issued by the Texas
Department of Motor Vehicles under Subtitle E for the movement of an
oversize or overweight vehicle.
SECTION 3. Section 544.004(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The operator of a vehicle or streetcar shall comply with
an applicable official traffic-control device placed as provided by
this subtitle unless the person is:
(1) otherwise directed by a traffic officer, [or]
police officer, or escort flagger; or
(2) operating an authorized emergency vehicle and is
subject to exceptions under this subtitle.
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 621.503, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 621.503. PROHIBITION OF LOADING MORE THAN SIZE OR
WEIGHT LIMITATION.
SECTION 5. Sections 621.503(a) and (b), Transportation
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A person may not load, or cause to be loaded, a vehicle
for operation on a public highway of this state that exceeds the
height, width, length, or weight limitations for operation of that
vehicle provided by this subtitle [Section 621.101].
(b) Intent to violate a weight limitation is presumed if the
weight of the loaded vehicle is heavier than the applicable axle or
gross weight limit by 15 percent or more.
SECTION 6. Subchapter G, Chapter 621, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 621.511 to read as follows:
Sec. 621.511. NAME ON PERMIT; OFFENSE. (a) A person
commits an offense if:
(1) the person operates or moves on a public highway a
vehicle that is issued a permit under this subtitle; and
(2) the person operating or moving the vehicle is not
the person named on the permit for the vehicle or an employee of
that person.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(c) It is an exception to the application of this section
that:
(1) the vehicle being operated or moved is a
combination of a tow truck and a disabled, abandoned, or
accident-damaged vehicle or vehicle combination; and
(2) the tow truck is towing the other vehicle or
vehicle combination directly to the nearest terminal, vehicle
storage facility, or authorized place of repair.
SECTION 7. Subchapter Z, Chapter 622, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Section 622.956 to read as follows:
Sec. 622.956. OVER-THE-ROAD BUS. (a) In this section,
"over-the-road bus" has the meaning assigned by 42 U.S.C. Section
12181.
(b) An over-the-road bus may be operated on a public highway
of this state only if the gross weight and tires of the bus conform
to Section 621.101 and:
(1) the single axle weight is not heavier than 24,000
pounds; or
(2) the tandem axle weight does not exceed the maximum
tandem axle weight under Section 621.101 by more than 20 percent.
(c) An over-the-road bus may only operate under this
subchapter on a highway or road approved by the department.
SECTION 8. Subchapter A, Chapter 623, Transportation Code,
is amended by adding Sections 623.004, 623.005, 623.006, 623.007,
and 623.008 to read as follows:
Sec. 623.004. DENIAL OF PERMIT. (a) The department may
deny an application for a permit under this subtitle submitted by an
applicant who:
(1) is the subject of an out-of-service order issued
by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; or
(2) the Department of Public Safety has determined
has:
(A) an unsatisfactory safety rating under 49
C.F.R. Part 385; or
(B) multiple violations of Chapter 644, a rule
adopted under that chapter, or Subtitle C.
(b) A denial of an application for a permit under this
section is not required to be preceded by notice and an opportunity
for hearing.
(c) An applicant may appeal a denial under this section by
filing an appeal with the department not later than the 26th day
after the date the department issues notice of the denial to the
applicant.
Sec. 623.005. DISPOSITION OF PERMIT FEE IN TEXAS DEPARTMENT
OF MOTOR VEHICLES FUND. (a) This section applies only to a permit
authorized by the legislature on or after September 1, 2019.
(b) Ten percent of the fee collected for a permit issued by
the department under this subtitle shall be deposited to the credit
of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles fund with the remaining
fee distribution to be adjusted proportionately, if needed.
(c) Subsection (b) does not apply if a provision of this
subtitle expressly requires a different amount of a fee collected
to be deposited to the credit of the Texas Department of Motor
Vehicles fund.
Sec. 623.006. DISPOSITION AND USE OF PERMIT FEES DUE TO
COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY. Except as otherwise specified by this
subtitle:
(1) at least once each fiscal year, the comptroller
shall send from fees collected for a permit issued by the department
under this chapter any amounts due to a county or municipality;
(2) amounts due to a county must be sent to the county
treasurer or office performing the function of that office for
deposit to the credit of the county road and bridge fund; and
(3) amounts due to a municipality must be sent to the
office performing the function of treasurer for the municipality
and may be used by the municipality only to fund commercial motor
vehicle enforcement programs or road and bridge maintenance or
infrastructure projects.
Sec. 623.007. PERMIT TO BE CARRIED IN VEHICLE. A permit
issued by the department under this subtitle must be carried, in a
manner prescribed by the department, in the vehicle that is being
operated under the permit.
Sec. 623.008. AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE ESCORT FLAG VEHICLES AND
ESCORT FLAGGERS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Escort flag vehicle" means a vehicle that
precedes or follows an oversize or overweight vehicle operating
under a permit issued by the department for the purpose of
facilitating the safe movement of the oversize or overweight
vehicle over roads.
(2) "Escort flagger" means a person who:
(A) has successfully completed a training
program in traffic direction as defined by the basic peace officer
course curriculum established by the Texas Commission on Law
Enforcement; and
(B) in accordance with a permit issued by the
department under this subtitle, operates an escort flag vehicle or
directs and controls the flow of traffic using a hand signaling
device or an automated flagger assistance device.
(b) In addition to any other specific requirement under this
subtitle, the department may require a person operating under a
permit issued by the department under this subtitle to use one or
more escort flag vehicles and escort flaggers if required:
(1) by the Texas Department of Transportation; or
(2) for the safe movement over roads of an oversize or
overweight vehicle and its load.
SECTION 9. Section 623.0172(b), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The department shall issue an annual permit for the
international transportation of an intermodal shipping container
moving 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 95,000 [93,000] pounds;
(2) the distance between the front axle of the
truck-tractor and the last axle of the semitrailer, measured
longitudinally, is approximately 647 inches;
(3) the truck-tractor is configured as follows:
(A) one single axle that does not exceed 13,000
pounds;
(B) one two-axle group that does not exceed
37,000 pounds, in which no axle in the group exceeds 18,500 pounds;
and
(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
(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.
SECTION 10. Section 623.099, Transportation Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) A county or municipality may not require the use of an
escort flag vehicle or any other kind of escort for the movement of
a manufactured house under a permit issued under this subchapter
that is in addition to the escort flag vehicle requirements of this
section.
SECTION 11. The heading to Section 623.272, Transportation
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 623.272. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE
CERTIFICATE OR FOR FALSE INFORMATION ON CERTIFICATE.
SECTION 12. Section 623.272(a), Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department may investigate and impose an
administrative penalty on a shipper who:
(1) does not provide a shipper's certificate of weight
required under Section 623.274(b); or
(2) provides false information on a shipper's
certificate of weight that the shipper delivers to a person
transporting a shipment.
SECTION 13. Section 623.274, Transportation Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(b) On the written request of the person transporting the
shipment, a [For a shipper's certificate of weight to be valid, the]
shipper must:
(1) certify that the information contained on the
certificate of weight [form] is accurate; and
(2) deliver the certificate of weight to the person
transporting the shipment [motor carrier or other person
transporting the shipment before the motor carrier or other person
applies for an overweight permit under this chapter].
(c) A person transporting a shipment must provide the
department with a copy of the certificate of weight before the
issuance of an overweight permit under this chapter if the combined
weight of the vehicle or vehicles and load is more than 200,000
pounds.
SECTION 14. The following provisions of the Transportation
Code are repealed:
(1) Sections 623.0171(m), 623.081, and 623.324(b);
(2) Section 623.403(c), as added by Chapter 750 (S.B.
1383), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017; and
(3) Sections 623.404(b) and (c), as added by Chapter
108 (S.B. 1524), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session,
2017.
SECTION 15. Section 621.511, Transportation Code, as added
by this Act, applies only to a vehicle that is issued a permit under
Subtitle E, Title 7, Transportation Code, on or after the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 16. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
only to an offense or violation committed on or after the effective
date of this Act. An offense or violation committed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the offense or violation was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
subsection, an offense or violation was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense or
violation occurred before that date.
(b) The change in law made by this Act relating to an
application filed under Chapter 623, Transportation Code, applies
only to an application filed under that chapter on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application filed before that date
is governed by the law in effect on the date the application was
filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 17. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.