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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to size limitations for certain vehicles transporting |
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agricultural products and equipment. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 504.505(a), Transportation Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) The department shall issue specialty license plates for |
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a single motor vehicle that is: |
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(1) used only to transport chile pepper modules, seed |
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cotton, cotton, cotton burrs, hay, or equipment used in |
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transporting or processing chile peppers, [or] cotton, or hay; and |
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(2) not more than 10 feet in width. |
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SECTION 2. Section 622.101, Transportation Code, is amended |
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by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as |
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follows: |
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(a) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a [A] single motor |
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vehicle or truck-tractor operated in combination with a semitrailer |
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and trailer or semitrailer and semitrailer used exclusively to |
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transport chile pepper modules, seed cotton, cotton, cotton burrs, |
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hay, or equipment used to transport or process chile pepper |
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modules, [or] cotton, or hay, including a motor vehicle or burr |
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spreader, may not be operated on a highway or road if the vehicle |
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is: |
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(1) wider than 10 feet and the highway has not been |
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designated by the commission under Section 621.202; |
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(2) longer than 48 feet, if the vehicle is a single |
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motor vehicle; or |
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(3) higher than 14 feet 6 inches, if the vehicle is a |
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single motor vehicle. |
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(d) Subsection (a) does not apply to a vehicle transporting |
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cylindrical bales of hay under a permit issued under Section |
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623.017. |
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SECTION 3. Section 622.902, Transportation Code, is amended |
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to read as follows: |
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Sec. 622.902. LENGTH EXCEPTIONS. The length limitations |
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provided by Sections 621.203 to 621.205 do not apply to: |
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(1) machinery used exclusively for drilling water |
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wells, including machinery that is itself a unit or that is a unit |
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mounted on a conventional vehicle or chassis; |
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(2) a vehicle owned or operated by a public, private, |
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or volunteer fire department; |
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(3) a vehicle or combination of vehicles operated |
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exclusively in the territory of a municipality or to a combination |
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of vehicles operated by a municipality in a suburb adjoining the |
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municipality in which the municipality has been using the equipment |
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or similar equipment in connection with an established service to |
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the suburb; |
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(4) a truck-tractor, truck-tractor combination, or |
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truck-trailer combination exclusively transporting machinery, |
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materials, and equipment used in the construction, operation, and |
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maintenance of facilities, including pipelines, that are used for |
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the discovery, production, and processing of natural gas or |
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petroleum; |
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(5) a drive-away saddlemount vehicle transporter |
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combination or a drive-away saddlemount with fullmount vehicle |
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transporter combination, as defined by 23 C.F.R. Part 658 or its |
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successor, if: |
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(A) the overall length of the combination is not |
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longer than 97 feet; and |
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(B) the combination does not have more than three |
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saddlemounted vehicles if the combination does not include more |
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than one fullmount vehicle; |
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(6) the combination of a tow truck and another vehicle |
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or vehicle combination if: |
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(A) the other vehicle or vehicle combination |
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cannot be normally or safely driven or was abandoned on a highway; |
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and |
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(B) the tow truck is towing the other vehicle or |
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vehicle combination directly to the nearest authorized place of |
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repair, terminal, or destination of unloading; |
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(7) a vehicle or combination of vehicles used to |
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transport a harvest machine that is used in farm custom harvesting |
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operations on a farm if the overall length of the vehicle or |
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combination is not longer than: |
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(A) 75 feet if the vehicle is traveling on a |
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highway that is part of the national system of interstate and |
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defense highways or the federal aid primary highway system; or |
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(B) 81-1/2 feet if the vehicle is not traveling |
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on a highway that is part of the national system of interstate and |
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defense highways or the federal aid primary highway system; |
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(8) a truck-tractor operated in combination with a |
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semitrailer and trailer or semitrailer and semitrailer if: |
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(A) the combination is used to transport a |
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harvest machine that is used in farm custom harvesting operations |
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on a farm; |
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(B) the overall length of the combination, |
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excluding the length of the truck-tractor, is not longer than |
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81-1/2 feet; and |
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(C) the combination is traveling on a highway |
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that: |
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(i) is not part of the national system of |
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interstate and defense highways or the federal aid primary highway |
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system; and |
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(ii) is located in a county with a |
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population of less than 300,000; [or] |
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(9) a truck-tractor operated in combination with a |
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semitrailer and trailer or semitrailer and semitrailer if: |
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(A) the combination is used to transport chile |
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pepper modules, seed cotton, cotton, cotton burrs, hay, or |
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equipment used to transport or process chile pepper modules, |
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cotton, or hay, including a motor vehicle or burr spreader; and |
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(B) the overall length of the combination is not |
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longer than: |
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(i) 75 feet if the combination is traveling |
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on a highway that is part of the national system of interstate and |
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defense highways or the federal aid primary highway system; or |
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(ii) 81-1/2 feet if the combination is not |
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traveling on a highway that is part of the national system of |
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interstate and defense highways or the federal aid primary highway |
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system; or |
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(10) a towaway trailer transporter combination, as |
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defined by 49 U.S.C. Section 31111, if the overall length of the |
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combination is not longer than 82 feet. |
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SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |