BWH C.S.H.B. 964 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS COUNTY AFFAIRS C.S.H.B. 964 By: Kamel 3-12-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Currently, counties with a population of more than 1.4 million have the authority to regulate activities surrounding their public highways and roads. Smaller urban counties do not have this authority. During the past years, many of these counties' roadways have become cluttered with roadside vendors who may sell food or merchandise on the roadway or right-of-way. The proliferation of these vendors have resulted in traffic jams along major county roadways, creating a burden upon the county governments and their citizens. PURPOSE House Bill 964, as substituted, gives the commissioners court of a county the authority to regulate vendors and their operations, with exceptions. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY SECTION 4 of the substitute provides the Texas Department of Transportation with express rulemaking authority under Subsection 285.005(e), Transportation Code. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends chapter heading to Chapter 285, Transportation Code. SECTION 2. Amends Sections 285.001, Transportation Code, by: 1) Amending Subsection (a) by changing the population bracket to less than 2.8 million, and provide an exemption that counties of less than 2.8 million may not regulate the sale of items listed in Subsection (b); and 2) Adds a new Subsection (b) which exempts aquaculture products, edible agricultural products, firewood, and cut flowers from county regulation. SECTION 3. Amends Section 285.002, Transportation Code as follows: 1) Amends Subsection (a)(2) by striking the requirement that a fee charged by a commissioners court for a permit must be "reasonable"; 2) Adds a new Subsection (b) which prohibits a commissioners court from authorizing the erection of a "permanent or portable structure" in certain locations; and 3) Adds a new Subsection (c) which sets out certain requirements regarding the amount of the fee which can be charged by the commissioners court for a permit. SECTION 4. Adds a new Section 285.005, Transportation Code as follows: 1) New Subsection (a) requires a commissioners court to submit a description of a proposed regulation or permit to the department; 2) New Subsection (b) sets out the reasons under which the department may not approve the proposed regulation or permit; 3) New Subsection (c) provides the department must notify the commissioners court of its action on the proposed regulation or permit, and allows the automatic approval of a proposed regulation or permit if the department has not acted within 30 days of the date received; 4) New Subsection (d) makes the department's disapproval of a proposed regulation or permit the final administrative decision without any further remedies being available to the commissioners court; and 5) New Subsection (e) provides the department with rulemaking authority. SECTION 5. The change in law made by this Act does not affect an offense committed before the effective date (September 1, 1997) . An offense is considered to have occurred before the effective date only if each element of the offense occurred before that date. SECTION 6. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The C.S.H.B. 964 adds a new SECTION 4 which creates a new Section 285.005 to the Transportation Code. Under this section a commissioners court will not have the authority to adopt a regulation or issue a permit under this Act without the approval of the Texas Department of Transportation.