|
Senate Bill 1263 |
Senate Author: Watson |
|
Effective: 9-1-09 |
House Sponsor: Rodriguez |
Senate Bill 1263 amends provisions of the Transportation Code relating to certain mass transit entities to add provisions that apply only to a metropolitan rapid transit authority created before July 1, 1985, in which the principal municipality has a population of 750,000 or less. The bill authorizes such an authority to employ fare enforcement officers, specifying that a fare enforcement officer is not a peace officer, and establishes that an offense relating to the nonpayment of the appropriate fare, in addition to being a Class C misdemeanor, is not a crime of moral turpitude. The bill provides that a peace officer contracted for employment by such an authority has the same powers and duties as a peace officer commissioned and employed under other provisions of the law governing metropolitan rapid transit authorities. The bill establishes when a new or revised fare takes effect, requires the board of the authority to appoint an internal auditor, and subjects the authority to review under the Texas Sunset Act. The bill prohibits the authority from being abolished under the act and requires the first review to be conducted as if the authority were scheduled to be abolished September 1, 2011. The bill specifies that the law relating to a referendum for a rail plan does not require the authority to hold a referendum on a proposal to build or operate a fixed rail transit system for another entity, and it authorizes the authority to spend authority funds under a contract for such a purpose if the other entity will reimburse the authority for the funds. The bill requires the authority to provide an annual report to each governing body of a municipality or county in the authority regarding the status of any financial obligation of the authority to the municipality or county. Senate Bill 1263 also revises the composition and terms of the board of directors of the authority.