By: Schwertner S.B. No. 206
(In the Senate - Filed November 17, 2020; March 3, 2021,
read first time and referred to Committee on Transportation;
April 22, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; April 22, 2021,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 206 By: Hancock
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of golf carts in certain areas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 551.403, Transportation Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 551.403. OPERATION AUTHORIZED IN CERTAIN AREAS. (a)
An operator may operate a golf cart:
(1) in a master planned community:
(A) that is a residential subdivision as defined
by Section 209.002(9), Property Code, or has in place a uniform set
of restrictive covenants; and
(B) for which a county or municipality has
approved one or more plats [a plat];
(2) on a public or private beach that is open to
vehicular traffic; or
(3) on a highway for which the posted speed limit is
not more than 35 miles per hour, if the golf cart is operated:
(A) during the daytime; and
(B) not more than two miles from the location
where the golf cart is usually parked and for transportation to or
from a golf course.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 551.402(b), a person may
operate a golf cart in a master planned community described by
Subsection (a) without a golf cart license plate on a highway for
which the posted speed limit is not more than 35 miles per hour,
including through an intersection of a highway for which the posted
speed limit is more than 35 miles per hour.
SECTION 2. Section 551.4031, Transportation Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 551.4031. PROHIBITION OF OPERATION ON HIGHWAY BY
MUNICIPALITY, COUNTY, OR DEPARTMENT. (a) A county or municipality
may prohibit the operation of a golf cart on a highway under Section
551.403 [551.404] if the governing body of the county or
municipality determines that the prohibition is necessary in the
interest of safety.
(b) The Texas Department of Transportation may prohibit the
operation of a golf cart on a highway under Section 551.403
[551.404] if the department determines that the prohibition is
necessary in the interest of safety.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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