Enrolled Bill Summary

Under previous law, an employee of a railway company committed an offense if the employee obstructed a street, railroad crossing, or public highway with a train for more than five minutes. The offense was punishable by a fine of not less than $5 or more than $100. House Bill 2922 amends the Transportation Code to make a railway company accountable for the offense rather than its employee. It increases the grace period before an offense is committed to 10 minutes and increases the fines to not less than $100 or more than $300. The act removes reference to the arrest of a person who commits an offense, requires that a citation to appear in court be attached to the train or given to an agent of the railway company, and makes it a defense to prosecution that the train obstructs a crossing because of an act of God or breakdown of the train.