BILL ANALYSIS S.B. 1422 By: Hughes Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Petty Officer Billy Wayne Machen was killed in the line of duty on August 19, 1966, and was the first U.S. Navy SEAL to be killed in a combat mission during the Vietnam War. A trooper in the war, Machen led a team of men through the jungle and sacrificed his own life by taking on an enemy ambush alone to save his troops waiting behind. After Machen's heroic death, he received a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his unwavering sacrifice, and his legacy has lived on in every branch of the military as well as through his son, who was only a month old at the time of his death. S.B. 1422 seeks to honor Petty Officer Machen by designating the Farm-To-Market Road 852 bridge crossing Lake Gilmer in Upshur County as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Bridge. CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS S.B. 1422 amends the Transportation Code to designate the Farm-to-Market Road 852 bridge crossing Lake Gilmer in Upshur County as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Bridge, in addition to any other designation. The bill requires the Texas Department of Transportation, subject to a grant or donation of funds, to do the following: design and construct markers indicating the designation as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Bridge and any other appropriate information; and erect a marker at each end of the bridge. The bill establishes the legislature's intent that the bill's provisions be renumbered to prevent multiple provisions with the same designation. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
BILL ANALYSIS
# BILL ANALYSIS
S.B. 1422
By: Hughes
Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs
Committee Report (Unamended)
S.B. 1422
By: Hughes
Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs
Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Petty Officer Billy Wayne Machen was killed in the line of duty on August 19, 1966, and was the first U.S. Navy SEAL to be killed in a combat mission during the Vietnam War. A trooper in the war, Machen led a team of men through the jungle and sacrificed his own life by taking on an enemy ambush alone to save his troops waiting behind. After Machen's heroic death, he received a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his unwavering sacrifice, and his legacy has lived on in every branch of the military as well as through his son, who was only a month old at the time of his death. S.B. 1422 seeks to honor Petty Officer Machen by designating the Farm-To-Market Road 852 bridge crossing Lake Gilmer in Upshur County as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Bridge.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS S.B. 1422 amends the Transportation Code to designate the Farm-to-Market Road 852 bridge crossing Lake Gilmer in Upshur County as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Bridge, in addition to any other designation. The bill requires the Texas Department of Transportation, subject to a grant or donation of funds, to do the following: design and construct markers indicating the designation as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Bridge and any other appropriate information; and erect a marker at each end of the bridge. The bill establishes the legislature's intent that the bill's provisions be renumbered to prevent multiple provisions with the same designation.
EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Petty Officer Billy Wayne Machen was killed in the line of duty on August 19, 1966, and was the first U.S. Navy SEAL to be killed in a combat mission during the Vietnam War. A trooper in the war, Machen led a team of men through the jungle and sacrificed his own life by taking on an enemy ambush alone to save his troops waiting behind. After Machen's heroic death, he received a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his unwavering sacrifice, and his legacy has lived on in every branch of the military as well as through his son, who was only a month old at the time of his death. S.B. 1422 seeks to honor Petty Officer Machen by designating the Farm-To-Market Road 852 bridge crossing Lake Gilmer in Upshur County as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Bridge.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
ANALYSIS
S.B. 1422 amends the Transportation Code to designate the Farm-to-Market Road 852 bridge crossing Lake Gilmer in Upshur County as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Bridge, in addition to any other designation. The bill requires the Texas Department of Transportation, subject to a grant or donation of funds, to do the following:
design and construct markers indicating the designation as the Petty Officer Billy Machen Bridge and any other appropriate information; and
erect a marker at each end of the bridge.
The bill establishes the legislature's intent that the bill's provisions be renumbered to prevent multiple provisions with the same designation.
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025.