BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 1212 By: Jackson 04-19-95 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND While the state has stringent regulations and safety standards enacted for the operation of motor carriers of hazardous materials, currently cities must have populations of 300,000 before municipal peace officers may be certified to detain motor vehicles under the statutes. Due to the location of many of our petro-chemical industries, these motor carriers must travel through small municipalities on a daily basis. PURPOSE HB 1212 affords certified peace officers in small cities, in Harris County the right to stop and detain hazardous material carriers for routine inspections of licenses, credentials and compliance to the safety regulations. In addition to decreasing safety violations, HB 1212 will have a positive impact on the amount of "bootleg" loads currently on the highways. Officers in cities with populations of 25,000 will be eligible to receive state certification, with associated costs and fees reimbursed by the municipalities. 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. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1:Decreased the population to 25,000 or more all or part of which is located in a county with a population of 2.4 million. This authorizes the department to establish reasonable fees to recover costs of training and certifying peace officers from cities. SECTION 2: This Act takes effect September 1, 1995. SECTION 3: Emergency clause. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION Pursuant to a public notice posted on March 16, 1995, at 5:53 p.m., the House Committee on Transportation met in a public hearing on Wednesday, March 22, 1995 at 2:00 p.m. in Room E1.014 of the Capitol Extension and was called to order at 6:54 p.m. after the rules were suspended on the House floor to meet in public hearing after the posted time, by the Chair, Representative Clyde Alexander. The Chair laid out H.B. 1212 and left H.B. 1212 pending before the Committee. Pursuant to a public notice posted on March 23, 1995, at 7:36 p.m., the House Committee on Transportation met in a public hearing on Wednesday, March 29, 1995 at 2:00 p.m. in Room E1.014 of the Capitol Extension and was called to order at 2:10 p.m. by the Chair, Representative Clyde Alexander. The Chair laid out H.B. 1212 and recognized Representative Jackson to explain H.B. 1212. The Chair recognized the following person who testified in support of H.B. 1212: Michael Miller, LaPorte Police Department. The Chair left H.B. 1212 pending before the Committee before the Committee. Pursuant to a public notice posed on April 13, 1995 at 4:14 p.m., the House Committee on Transportation met in a public hearing on Wednesday, April 19, 1995 at 2:00 p.m., or upon adjournment, in Room E1.014 of the Capitol Extension and was called to order at 2:16 p.m. by the Chair, Representative Clyde Alexander. The Chair laid out H.B. 1212 by Jackson, which was pending before the Committee. Representative Bosse moved that the Committee report H.B. 1212, without amendments, to the full House with the recommendation that it do pass. The motion prevailed by the following vote: Ayes (6), Nayes (0), Absent (3), Present not voting (0).