By: Birdwell S.B. No. 2199
(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2025; March 24, 2025, read
first time and referred to Committee on Border Security;
April 14, 2025, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 1; April 14, 2025,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2199 By: Birdwell
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to increasing the criminal penalty for loading certain
overweight vehicles transporting hazardous materials at a weight
that exceeds the weight limitations authorized for the vehicle.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 621.506, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-4) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsections (b-1), (b-2), [and]
(b-3), and (b-4), an offense under this section is a misdemeanor
punishable:
(1) by a fine of not less than $100 and not more than
$250;
(2) on conviction of an offense involving a vehicle
having a single axle weight or tandem axle weight that is heavier
than the vehicle's allowable weight, by a fine according to the
following schedule:
Pounds Overweight Fine Range Pounds Overweight Fine Range
Pounds Overweight Fine Range
less than 2,500 $100 to $500 less than 2,500 $100 to $500
less than 2,500 $100 to $500
2,500-5,000 $500 to $1,000 2,500-5,000 $500 to $1,000
2,500-5,000 $500 to $1,000
more than 5,000 $1,000 to $2,500; or more than 5,000 $1,000 to $2,500; or
more than 5,000 $1,000 to $2,500; or
(3) on conviction of an offense involving a vehicle
having a gross weight that is heavier than the vehicle's allowable
weight, by a fine according to the following schedule:
Pounds Overweight Fine Range Pounds Overweight Fine Range
Pounds Overweight Fine Range
less than 2,500 $100 to $500 less than 2,500 $100 to $500
less than 2,500 $100 to $500
2,500-5,000 $500 to $1,000 2,500-5,000 $500 to $1,000
2,500-5,000 $500 to $1,000
5,001-10,000 $1,000 to $2,500 5,001-10,000 $1,000 to $2,500
5,001-10,000 $1,000 to $2,500
10,001-20,000 $2,500 to $5,000 10,001-20,000 $2,500 to $5,000
10,001-20,000 $2,500 to $5,000
20,001-40,000 $5,000 to $7,000 20,001-40,000 $5,000 to $7,000
20,001-40,000 $5,000 to $7,000
more than 40,000 $7,000 to $10,000. more than 40,000 $7,000 to $10,000.
more than 40,000 $7,000 to $10,000.
(b-4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
an offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a felony of the second degree
if the offense involves a vehicle with three axles that is
transporting fuel or other hazardous materials in a cargo tank, as
defined by Section 162.001, Tax Code, and was loaded at a weight
that exceeds the weight limitations authorized for the vehicle.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For
purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the
effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred
before that date.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
* * * * *
Pounds Overweight Fine Range
less than 2,500 $100 to $500
2,500-5,000 $500 to $1,000
more than 5,000 $1,000 to $2,500; or
Pounds Overweight Fine Range
less than 2,500 $100 to $500
2,500-5,000 $500 to $1,000
5,001-10,000 $1,000 to $2,500
10,001-20,000 $2,500 to $5,000
20,001-40,000 $5,000 to $7,000
more than 40,000 $7,000 to $10,000.