| 1 | 1 | | 88R20875 JAM-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Hernandez, Bucy H.B. No. 2224 |
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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 the authority of a municipality to alter speed limits. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Sections 545.356(b-1), (c), and (d), |
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| 10 | 10 | | Transportation Code, are amended to read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | (b-1) Except as provided by Subsection (b-3), the governing |
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| 12 | 12 | | body of a municipality, for a highway or a part of a highway in the |
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| 13 | 13 | | municipality that is not an officially designated or marked highway |
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| 14 | 14 | | or road of the state highway system, may declare a lower speed limit |
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| 15 | 15 | | of not less than 20 [25] miles per hour, if the governing body |
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| 16 | 16 | | determines that the prima facie speed limit on the highway is |
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| 17 | 17 | | unreasonable or unsafe. A municipality is not required to perform |
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| 18 | 18 | | an engineering or traffic investigation to declare a lower speed |
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| 19 | 19 | | limit under this subsection if the street is located in a residence |
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| 20 | 20 | | district. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (c) A prima facie speed limit that is altered by the |
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| 22 | 22 | | governing body of a municipality under Subsection (b)[, (b-1),] or |
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| 23 | 23 | | (b-3) is effective when the governing body erects signs giving |
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| 24 | 24 | | notice of the new limit and at all times or at other times as |
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| 25 | 25 | | determined. |
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| 26 | 26 | | (d) The governing body of a municipality that declares a |
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| 27 | 27 | | lower speed limit on a highway or part of a highway under Subsection |
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| 28 | 28 | | [(b-1) or] (b-3), not later than February 1 of each year, shall |
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| 29 | 29 | | publish on its Internet website and submit to the department a |
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| 30 | 30 | | report that compares for each of the two previous calendar years: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) the number of traffic citations issued by peace |
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| 32 | 32 | | officers of the municipality and the alleged speed of the vehicles, |
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| 33 | 33 | | for speed limit violations on the highway or part of the highway; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) the number of warning citations issued by peace |
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| 35 | 35 | | officers of the municipality on the highway or part of the highway; |
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| 36 | 36 | | and |
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| 37 | 37 | | (3) the number of vehicular accidents that resulted in |
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| 38 | 38 | | injury or death and were attributable to speed limit violations on |
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| 39 | 39 | | the highway or part of the highway. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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