1-1     By:  Alexander (Senate Sponsor - Cain)                 H.B. No. 981

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 11, 1997;

 1-3     April 14, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on

 1-4     Criminal Justice; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following

 1-5     vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to fines for traffic offenses in highway or street

 1-9     construction or maintenance work zones.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Sections 472.022(d) and (e), Transportation Code,

1-12     are amended to read as follows:

1-13           (d)  An offense under this section is a misdemeanor

1-14     punishable by a fine of not less than $1 or more than $200, except

1-15     that if the offense is committed in a construction or maintenance

1-16     work zone when workers are present, the offense is a misdemeanor

1-17     punishable by a fine of not less than $2 or more than $400.

1-18           (e)  In this section:

1-19                 (1)  "Barricade" means an obstruction:

1-20                       (A)  placed on or across a road, street, or

1-21     highway of this state by the department, a political subdivision of

1-22     this state, or a contractor or subcontractor constructing or

1-23     repairing the road, street, or highway under authorization of the

1-24     department or a political subdivision of this state; and

1-25                       (B)  placed to prevent the passage of motor

1-26     vehicles over the road, street, or highway during construction or

1-27     repair.

1-28                 (2)  "Construction or maintenance work zone" means a

1-29     portion of a highway or street:

1-30                       (A)  where highway construction or maintenance is

1-31     being undertaken, other than mobile operations as defined by the

1-32     Texas Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices; and

1-33                       (B)  that is marked by one or more signs

1-34     indicating that it is a construction or maintenance work zone.

1-35                 (3)  "Warning sign" means a signal, marking, or device

1-36     placed on a barricade or on a road, street, or highway under

1-37     construction or repair by the department, a political subdivision

1-38     of this state, or a contractor or subcontractor to warn or regulate

1-39     motor vehicular traffic.  The term includes a flagger deployed on a

1-40     road, street, or highway by the department, a political subdivision

1-41     of this state, or a contractor or subcontractor to direct traffic

1-42     around or on the road, street, or highway under construction or

1-43     repair.

1-44           SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 542, Transportation Code,

1-45     is amended by adding Section 542.404 to read as follows:

1-46           Sec. 542.404.  FINE FOR OFFENSE IN CONSTRUCTION OR

1-47     MAINTENANCE WORK ZONE.  (a)  If an offense under this subtitle,

1-48     other than an offense under Chapter 548 or 552 or Section 545.412

1-49     or 545.413, is committed in a construction or maintenance work zone

1-50     when workers are present:

1-51                 (1)  the minimum fine applicable to the offense is

1-52     twice the minimum fine that would be applicable to the offense if

1-53     it were committed outside a construction or maintenance work zone;

1-54     and

1-55                 (2)  the maximum fine applicable to the offense is

1-56     twice the maximum fine that would be applicable to the offense if

1-57     it were committed outside a construction or maintenance work zone.

1-58           (b)  In this section, "construction or maintenance work zone"

1-59     has the meaning assigned by Section 472.022.

1-60           SECTION 3.  Chapter 729, Transportation Code, is amended by

1-61     adding Section 729.004 to read as follows:

1-62           Sec. 729.004.  FINE FOR OFFENSE IN CONSTRUCTION OR

1-63     MAINTENANCE WORK ZONE.  (a)  This section applies to an offense

1-64     under Section 729.001 for a violation of Subtitle C, other than

 2-1     Chapter 548 or 552 or Section 545.412 or 545.413.

 2-2           (b)  If an offense to which this section applies is committed

 2-3     in a construction or maintenance work zone when workers are

 2-4     present:

 2-5                 (1)  the minimum fine applicable to the offense is

 2-6     twice the minimum fine that would be applicable to the offense if

 2-7     it were committed outside a construction or maintenance work zone;

 2-8     and

 2-9                 (2)  the maximum fine applicable to the offense is

2-10     twice the maximum fine that would be applicable to the offense if

2-11     it were committed outside a construction or maintenance work zone.

2-12           (c)  In this section, "construction or maintenance work zone"

2-13     has the meaning assigned by Section 472.022.

2-14           SECTION 4.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies

2-15     only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this

2-16     Act.  For the purposes of this section, an offense is committed

2-17     before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense

2-18     occurs before that date.

2-19           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

2-20     Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was

2-21     committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that

2-22     purpose.

2-23           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect January 1, 1998.

2-24           SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-25     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-26     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-27     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-28     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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