Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3934 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R8248 JRR-D
2	2	By: Lozano H.B. No. 3934
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the operation of vehicles transporting iron or steel
8	8	products; authorizing a fee.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 621.102(d), Transportation Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(d) A vehicle operating under a permit issued under Section
13	13	623.011, 623.071, 623.094, 623.121, 623.142, 623.181, 623.192,
14	14	623.212, [or] 623.321, or 623.451 [as added by Chapter 1135 (H.B.
15	15	2741), Acts of the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013,] may
16	16	operate under the conditions authorized by the permit over a road
17	17	for which the executive director of the Texas Department of
18	18	Transportation has set a maximum weight under this section.
19	19	SECTION 2. Section 621.301(e), Transportation Code, is
20	20	amended to read as follows:
21	21	(e) A vehicle operating under a permit issued under Section
22	22	623.011, 623.071, 623.094, 623.121, 623.142, 623.181, 623.192,
23	23	623.212, [or] 623.321, or 623.451 [as added by Chapter 1135 (H.B.
24	24	2741), Acts of the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session, 2013,] may
25	25	operate under the conditions authorized by the permit over a road
26	26	for which the commissioners court has set a maximum weight under
27	27	this section.
28	28	SECTION 3. Sections 623.012(a) and (b), Transportation
29	29	Code, are amended to read as follows:
30	30	(a) An applicant for a permit under Section 623.011, other
31	31	than a permit under that section to operate a vehicle loaded with
32	32	timber or pulp wood, wood chips, cotton, or agricultural products
33	33	in their natural state, and an applicant for a permit under Section
34	34	623.321 or 623.451 shall file with the department:
35	35	(1) a blanket bond; or
36	36	(2) an irrevocable letter of credit issued by a
37	37	financial institution the deposits of which are guaranteed by the
38	38	Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
39	39	(b) The bond or letter of credit must:
40	40	(1) be in the amount of $15,000 payable to the counties
41	41	of this state;
42	42	(2) be conditioned that the applicant will pay a
43	43	county for any damage to a road or bridge of the county caused by the
44	44	operation of the vehicle:
45	45	(A) for which the permit is issued at a heavier
46	46	weight than the maximum weights authorized by Subchapter B of
47	47	Chapter 621 or Section 621.301, [or] 623.321, or 623.451; or
48	48	(B) that is in violation of Section 623.323 or
49	49	623.453; and
50	50	(3) provide that the issuer is to notify the county and
51	51	the applicant in writing promptly after a payment is made by the
52	52	issuer on the bond or letter of credit.
53	53	SECTION 4. Chapter 623, Transportation Code, is amended by
54	54	adding Subchapter W to read as follows:
55	55	SUBCHAPTER W. VEHICLES TRANSPORTING IRON OR STEEL PRODUCTS
56	56	Sec. 623.451. PERMIT. (a) The department may issue a
57	57	permit under this subchapter, as an alternative to a permit issued
58	58	under Section 623.011, authorizing a person to operate a vehicle or
59	59	combination of vehicles that is being used to transport indivisible
60	60	loads of iron or steel products, including scrap iron and steel and
61	61	iron and steel recycling material, in a county producing more than
62	62	100,000 tons annually of iron products, steel products, or a
63	63	combination of iron and steel products, as determined by the
64	64	department, at the weight limits prescribed by Subsection (b).
65	65	(b) A person may operate over a road or highway a vehicle or
66	66	combination of vehicles issued a permit under this section at a
67	67	gross weight that is not heavier than 96,000 pounds, if the gross
68	68	load carried on any tandem axle of the vehicle or combination of
69	69	vehicles does not exceed 44,000 pounds.
70	70	(c) Section 621.508 does not apply to a vehicle or
71	71	combination of vehicles operated under this section.
72	72	(d) The department shall annually update the number of
73	73	counties described by Subsection (a).
74	74	Sec. 623.452. QUALIFICATION; REQUIREMENTS. (a) To qualify
75	75	for a permit under this subchapter for a vehicle or combination of
76	76	vehicles, a person must:
77	77	(1) pay a permit fee of $900;
78	78	(2) designate in the permit application the counties
79	79	described by Section 623.451(a) in which the vehicle or combination
80	80	of vehicles will be operated; and
81	81	(3) satisfy the security requirement of Section
82	82	623.012.
83	83	(b) A permit issued under this subchapter:
84	84	(1) is valid for one year; and
85	85	(2) must be carried in the vehicle for which it is
86	86	issued.
87	87	Sec. 623.453. NOTIFICATION. (a) For purposes of this
88	88	section, "financially responsible party" means the owner of the
89	89	vehicle or combination of vehicles, the party operating the vehicle
90	90	or combination of vehicles, or a person that hires, leases, rents,
91	91	or subcontracts the vehicle or combination of vehicles for use on a
92	92	road maintained by a county or a state highway.
93	93	(b) Before a vehicle or combination of vehicles for which a
94	94	permit is issued under this subchapter may be operated on a road
95	95	maintained by a county or a state highway, the financially
96	96	responsible party shall execute a notification document and agree
97	97	to reimburse the county or the state, as applicable, for damage to a
98	98	road or highway sustained as a consequence of the transportation
99	99	authorized by the permit. At a minimum, the notification document
100	100	must include:
101	101	(1) the name and address of the financially
102	102	responsible party;
103	103	(2) a description of each permit issued for the
104	104	vehicle or combination of vehicles;
105	105	(3) a description of the method of compliance by the
106	106	financially responsible party with Section 601.051, 623.012,
107	107	643.101, or 643.102;
108	108	(4) the address or location of the geographic area in
109	109	which the financially responsible party wishes to operate a vehicle
110	110	or combination of vehicles and a designation of the specific route
111	111	of travel anticipated by the financially responsible party,
112	112	including the name or number of each road maintained by a county or
113	113	state highway;
114	114	(5) a calendar or schedule of duration that includes
115	115	the days and hours of operation during which the financially
116	116	responsible party reasonably anticipates using the county road or
117	117	state highway identified in Subdivision (4); and
118	118	(6) a list of each vehicle or combination of vehicles
119	119	by license plate number or other registration information, and a
120	120	description of the means by which financial responsibility is
121	121	established for each vehicle or combination of vehicles if each
122	122	vehicle or combination of vehicles is not covered by a single
123	123	insurance policy, surety bond, deposit, or other means of financial
124	124	assurance.
125	125	(c) A financially responsible party shall electronically
126	126	file the notification document described by Subsection (b) with the
127	127	department under rules adopted by the department not later than the
128	128	second business day before the first business day listed by the
129	129	financially responsible party under Subsection (b)(5). The
130	130	department shall immediately send an electronic copy of the
131	131	notification document to each county identified in the notification
132	132	document and the Texas Department of Transportation and an
133	133	electronic receipt for the notification document to the financially
134	134	responsible party. Not later than the first business day listed by
135	135	the financially responsible party under Subsection (b)(5), a county
136	136	or the Texas Department of Transportation may inspect a road or
137	137	highway identified in the notification document. If an inspection
138	138	is conducted under this subsection, a county or the Texas
139	139	Department of Transportation shall:
140	140	(1) document the condition of the roads or highways
141	141	and take photographs of the roads or highways as necessary to
142	142	establish a baseline for any subsequent assessment of damage
143	143	sustained by the financially responsible party's use of the roads
144	144	or highways; and
145	145	(2) provide a copy of the documentation to the
146	146	financially responsible party.
147	147	(d) If an inspection has been conducted under Subsection
148	148	(c), a county or the Texas Department of Transportation, as
149	149	applicable, shall, not later than the fifth business day after the
150	150	expiration of the calendar or schedule of duration described by
151	151	Subsection (b)(5):
152	152	(1) conduct an inspection described by Subsection
153	153	(c)(1) to determine any damage sustained by the financially
154	154	responsible party's use of the roads or highways; and
155	155	(2) provide a copy of the inspection documentation to
156	156	the financially responsible party.
157	157	(e) The state or a county required to be notified under this
158	158	section may assert a claim against any security posted under
159	159	Section 623.012 or insurance filed under Section 643.103 for damage
160	160	to a road or highway sustained as a consequence of the
161	161	transportation authorized by the permit.
162	162	Sec. 623.454. DISPOSITION OF FEE. Of the fee collected
163	163	under Section 623.452 for a permit:
164	164	(1) 50 percent of the amount collected shall be
165	165	deposited to the credit of the state highway fund; and
166	166	(2) the other 50 percent shall be divided equally
167	167	among all counties designated in the permit application under
168	168	Section 623.452(a)(2).
169	169	Sec. 623.455. TIME OF MOVEMENT. A permit issued under this
170	170	subchapter must specify the time during which movement authorized
171	171	by the permit is allowed.
172	172	Sec. 623.456. SPEED LIMIT. Movement authorized by a permit
173	173	issued under this subchapter may not exceed the posted speed limit
174	174	or 55 miles per hour, whichever is less. A violation of this
175	175	provision constitutes a moving violation.
176	176	Sec. 623.457. INTERSTATE AND DEFENSE HIGHWAYS. (a) This
177	177	subchapter does not authorize the operation on the national system
178	178	of interstate and defense highways in this state of a vehicle of a
179	179	size or weight greater than those permitted under 23 U.S.C. Section
180	180	127.
181	181	(b) If the United States authorizes the operation on the
182	182	national system of interstate and defense highways of a vehicle of a
183	183	size or weight greater than those permitted under 23 U.S.C. Section
184	184	127 on September 1, 2023, the new limit automatically takes effect
185	185	on the national system of interstate and defense highways in this
186	186	state.
187	187	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.